A Marvel Interview

*ahem*  I'd like to introduce all of you to Eva, the proprietor of Ramblings of a Janeite.  Not only is she my Frozen sister and Bestie Dearest, she's also responsible for my beautiful new header and background.  Thank you very much, m'dear! (She has a multitude of other Talents and Virtues, as well, but they're too numerous to list here.)
One of her passions happens to be Marvel--more specifically, Steve Rogers' hair the Avengers.  She graciously granted me an interview on the subject, so without further ado, here she is!

~How did you get interested in Marvel/the Avengers?  

Well, when I first started blogging seriously, I noticed that several of my blogging friends had watched Captain America: The First Avenger, and had really enjoyed it.  Around that time, my brother got a free Captain America/Thor comic book, which cemented his opinion that Captain America was his favorite superhero.  It started to rub off on me, so when I saw that CA: TFA was available on Netflix, I asked my Dad if my siblings and I could watch it.  He said no, and I forgot about the whole thing.  Several months later, he and my mom did end up watching it, and they said my three older siblings and I could watch it (but not the little kids, because of Red Skull).  I watched it and instantly fell in love with Steve Rogers and, by extension, the Marvelverse.

~How many of the movies have you seen?  

Only one, sadly.  Captain America: The First Avenger (about seven times and, no, I'm not tired of it).  My dad doesn't like any of the other superheroes, so I haven't watched any other of the movies (when I grow up...).  I am very much looking forward to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, even though I have to wait for its release on DVD.  However, even though I haven't seen any other Marvel movies, I've watched clips on Youtube, seen a gajillion pins on Pinterest, read synopsises on Wikipedia, and listened to friends who have seen the Avengers' films.  So I still feel qualified to answer these questions :)

 ~Who is your favorite Avenger?  

STEVEROGERSSTEVEROGERSSTEVEROGERSTHEEND.  Okay, I'll elaborate a leetle bit more: I don't love Steve Rogers because of his amazing good looks (although, really, those never hurt when you're a superhero ;)), or his muscles, or the fact that he can kill bad guys with the best of them (is that an oxymoron?).  I mean, I loved Steve before his augmentation.  A lot (the grenade scene, anyone?).  It's what he is on the inside that I love.  An old-fashioned gentleman, with a strong moral compass, a compassionate heart, and a huge amount of patriotism.  The fact that he's willing to live and die for what he believes in speaks volumes about the kind of person he is.  I love that he's not flashy like Iron Man, or other-earthly like Thor, or insane when he becomes mad like The Hulk (the other augmented member of the Avengers team).  And he's adorkably awesome.  Shout-out to Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff: The archer who wouldn't give in, even when he was under Loki's control, and the girl from Russia who wants to wipe the red out of her ledger.  I love them both.  Almost as much as Steve, which is saying a lot.

~Least favorite?  

Tony Stark.  I loathe him with unadulterated loathing. *crickets* Okay, maybe it's not that bad, but I still think he's an arrogant playboy with serious attitude problems.  I understand the whole thing about him going on the one way trip to get rid of the atomic bomb (or whatever is was), and I'm not playing that down, but the bad still outweighs the good, in my opinion.  I know he's hilarious, handsome (okay, that's debatable, but most everyone thinks he is, so...), a billionaire, a genius, and a bunch of other stuff, but he's still my least favorite.  He fights with Steve!  He mocks Coulson!  He's rude to everyone!  The list could go on and on...

 ~Which one do you think is most like you?  

I think it would be, um...Bruce Banner/The Hulk.  Because I'm normally pretty mild-mannered and non-demonstrative when it comes to showing my emotions, but I get angry easily (something I am trying to work on) and then I yell and do Other Unpleasant Things (wow...this is getting personal).  Oh, and I'm very tech-minded (SCIENCE BROS FOREVER!).  At least I don't lose control and turn into a giant green rage monster...

~Which Avenger movie--barring The Winter Soldier--would you be most excited to watch?  BARRING THE WINTER SOLDIER????  Come on. Fine.  The Avengers.  Because neither Clint nor Natasha have a movie all to themselves, and I'm not really interested in watching any of the separate movies for Thor, Iron Man, or The Hulk.  And if I watched The Avengers, I'd get a good overview of everyone, and be able to see Coulson and all the tragic parts (THE TRADING CARDS) and all the Clintasha moments.  So that's what I choose.

~Which Avenger (except Cap, Eva!) would you most like to assist?  

Hmmmm...seeing as the only other two I really like are Clint and Natasha and Natasha and I would not get along well (at least I don't think we would), I'll go with Clint (wow - the thought of that is 'epic-ing' me out).  I could make sure he never ran out of arrows and that he stayed far away from Loki and his 'glow stick of destiny'.  But our relationship would always be platonic because if Natasha ever thought there was anything going on between us, she'd probably assassinate me.  Not to say she isn't nice, but just...yeah.  It would be better to keep everything simple ;)

~Which of their costumes is your favorite?

Asgardian capes are awesome.  Just saying.

~What Avengers do you ship, if any?  

*rubs hands together gleefully*  I do indeed.  My current OTP (One True Pairing) is...CLINTASHA (Clint/Natasha).  They are such an amazing ship.  For starters, they're not actually a canon ship, but they are so close to being canon it's insane.  I've probably watched every Clintasha scene in The Avengers (courtesy of Youtube), plus some gorgeous fan-videos, so I feel well-versed in their relationship.  There is so much sub-text in their scenes (BUDAPEST, anyone?), and the chemistry between them is some of the best I've seen in an onscreen couple (and they look perfect together...not a must, but it helps).  Of course, all that delightful romantic stuff just makes Clint-being-brainwashed-and-trying-to-kill-everyone even harder to stomach.  So. Much. Harder.

~Which villain do you think is the best (i.e. most believable)?  

There are only three Marvel villains I know enough about to have them contending for the answer to this question - Loki, Red Skull, and The Winter Soldier.  Red Skull is evil, plain and simple.  There is no redeeming quality about him, no human side to him, no vulnerable spot.  Which, in my opinion, makes him Not Much Of A Believable Villain.  Whereas Loki (the ultimate sympathetic villain), and The Winter Soldier (who people are calling 'the new Loki') are evil, human, flawed, believable, worthy-of-fangirl-tears, and handsome...wait.  How did that get in there?  Anyway...I haven't seen any of 'their' movies, and I honestly can't decide.  Really.  Don't ask me.  I'm biased toward The Winter Soldier (for obvious reasons), but Loki is the epitome of The Villain, so...no idea.

~Besides Bucky, who are your favorite sidekicks/love interests of the different Avengers?  

Aw, don't take Bucky out of the picture!  Welll...fine.  But let me just say that Bucky is the most awesome side character ever to grace the screen of any movie, and I love him dearly.  Almost as much as Steve.  So, besides Bucky, I would say Peggy Carter and Phil Coulson.  Peggy is an amazing heroine.  She has strength/fighting abilities but she tempers that with a more feminine side and she does it well.  She was always there for Steve - during his augmentation, getting Howard to help him get to the Hydra base, comforting him after Bucky died, or setting a date/time/place for the date that never happened while his plane was hurtling toward icy water.  And from what I've heard of CA: TWS, she's still there for him, even in modern times.  As for Phil Coulson...in my opinion, he's one of the best characters Marvel ever created.  He's had an obsession with Captain America ever since he was a little kid (and has several vintage playing cards of Cap to prove it), so when he actually got to meet Cap, he was pretty much speechless (except for what could be termed the most awkward moment in Marvel history - "I watched you while you were sleeping").  But besides his admiration for Steve, which I think is pretty cool, he's a great person in his own right.  He has high ideals and he isn't afraid to speak out about them (I'm mainly thinking of his little talk with Loki during The Tragic Scene).  I sometimes wonder if that came of how he made Steve his role-model.  He's hugely courageous, funny, and the all around good guy.  I'm team #IBelieveInPhilCoulson.  Just so you know.

 

Thanks bunches for doing this interview, Eva!  

-Miss Jane Bennet

Time For Elevenses, Mr. Gruber!

 Serena of poetree nominated me for the Liebster Award!  Thank you, Serena! :)

The purpose of the Liebster Award is to recognize blogs with fewer than 200 followers. There are some rules:

~Thank and link back the person who nominated you 
~List eleven facts about yourself 
~Answer the eleven questions asked by the blogger who nominated you 
~Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers (you can't nominate the blogger who nominated you)
~Ask them eleven questions
~Let them know of their nomination!

 My Eleven Facts:

~I love to do hair.  Especially Disney Princess hairstyles.
~In case you hadn't guessed already, Captain America is my favorite Avenger.  Actually, he's my favorite superhero EVAH.  Period, end of story.
~In that vein, Flynn Ryder is my favorite Disney hero (well, unless you count Tom Hiddleston).
~My favorite song from POTO is "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again".
~I love the books of E. Nesbit and Edgar Eager.
~For years, my favorite book--or rather, book series--was Betsy-Tacy.  You may be hearing more about that later this month.
~I HATE pickles.  And I don't especially like popcorn either...
~I've only read four books of Dickens'.  A Tale of Two Cities, Little Dorrit, The Pickwick Papers, and A Christmas Carol.
~My two favorite books of Marguerite Henry's are Black Gold and Born To Trot.
~ I am terrified of spiders.
~WWI is my favorite time period of American history.

My Answers:

• How long have you been blogging for?

 Ummm...*counts on fingers*  Approximately ten months and a half. ;)  And I've loved it for that long, too. =)

• Why do you blog?

 That's a question that would have been answered very differently when I first started blogging, and will doubtless be answered differently in the future.  But right now, I blog mostly because I enjoy it.  I love putting my thoughts down, I love that it challenges me to write better and find new ways to interest people, and perhaps most of all, I love the amazing people I've been introduced to through my blog.

• What do you find challenging about blogging?

Well, right now I'm still figuring things out, really: how much information to give out, what kind of post am I best at, when it's a good idea to follow/comment, and so on and so forth.  Probably the most challenging thing at the moment, though, is to try to make my writing engaging and interesting; sometimes I get either too enthusiastic or too dull, and I want my readers to enjoy my posts, so...

• Dark, milk, or white chocolate?

Ummm...well, I don't especially like milk chocolate generally, but I love milk hot chocolate for some reason.  I don't much like dark chocolate, either, so I suppose that just leaves me with white chocolate.  I don't actually like that too much either, though, so I think I'll just choose milk.  My favorite kind of chocolate, though, is mint.  In case you were wondering. :)

• Tea or coffee?

 TEA.  I love tea.  There are so many different kinds (including chocolate tea, for those who like it strong), it's so Regency-ish, and I love fancy teacups and teapots (though I also enjoy some of the patterns on coffee mugs, so that goes both ways).  Also, coffee does not do my health any favors. :P

• What is your favorite tree species?

Tree species??  Um, I like apple and cherry trees.  The blossoms are so pretty. 

 

• Who is your favorite poet? (Or singer/songwriter. They're poets.)

 Hm.  I like Hilaire Belloc; he's fun.  Who can resist a title like "Matilda: Who Told Lies and Was Burned To Death"? :D  I suppose that when serena asked this question, she did not intend for me to write a ten-page essay on Why I Like Michael Ball, so I'll just leave it at that. :P

• What do you enjoy doing on a sunny day?

 Pitching tents, playing tennis, sitting outside in a sunbeam reading, going barefoot, climbing trees...that sort of thing. ;)

• And on a rainy day?

 Staring bleakly out a window, muttering about being bored with my life (points if you get that reference.  I actually haven't seen the movie or read the book, but I've certainly seen the trailer many, many times.  But only because it plays before Sherlock. :P), reading curled up next to a fire, drinking hot chocolate, watching a nice, feel-good movie like Les Mis (KIDDING, peoples), and I also enjoy splish-splash-sploshing.  Because it's fun to act like a little kid once in awhile. ;)

• What's your favorite book genre?

 Jane Austen. :P  But seriously, I have so many favorites...I even like the occasional romance (like I said, JA)!  I love historical novels especially, though, and childrens' classics. :)

• Do you know how to play any musical instruments? If so, which one(s)? If not, are there any you'd like to play?

I play violin, as most of you know.  I'd like to learn viola someday, and I sometimes plink out tunes on the piano.  Also, I sing/hum/whistle incessantly.  That's about it. 

 My Nominees:
GreenMedallion of Green Medallion
Monica of Spilled Ink
Maddie Rose of The Madd Rose
Kate of Her Own Thoughts And Reflections
Anna of A Cowgirl and a Dream
Evie Scott of A Period Drama Fangirl
Kiri Liz of Lianne Taimenlore
Sydney Summers of Ramblings from a Les Misérables Fanatic
Sierra Bailey of A Burst of Many Colors

My Questions:
~What movie genre is your favorite?
~Do you like musicals?  If so, list a few favorites.
~Favorite modern author?
~Do you prefer reading a paperback or hardback book?
~Favorite time period in history?
~Least favorite food?
~Do you have any historical role models?  If so, who and why?
~Fictional character who's most like you?
~Do you ever take personality quizzes?  If so, list a few of your favorites.
~Favorite book when you were little?
~Thoughts on Kindles?

-Miss Jane Bennet

Happy April!

Hello hello hello, everybody!  Good grief, I've been away for quite a long time, but now my blogger's block is gone, so here I am and hopefully nobody's too angry at me.
Anyways!  Thank you to everyone for your very helpful suggestions.  I will be using many of them in the weeks to come, and the person whose ideas I used will be credited.  To start, I'm modifying one of AnElvenPrincess's thoughts a bit and letting you all know what I've been up to lately, because those posts always interest me.

~Reading~

Make that tea. ;)

I've been reading a variety of books lately, from French-translated-into-German-which-I'm-translating-into-English books (more on that in a bit) to old favorites such as Johnny Tremain to beta-reads to one not-so-good (putting it mildly) book, the title of which I won't disclose. :P  The main thing I've been "reading" lately is The Little Prince--or rather, Der Kleine Prinz.  Yes, this is the aforementioned German book.  It was recommended to me by a friend recently, so I decided to attempt a translation.  Right now it looks more like the Google Translate version of "Let It Go" than anything else (no, I haven't been using Google Translate--okay, maybe a little :P), but hopefully it ends up being somewhat intelligible.

~Watching~

Mostly Sherlock, actually.  After a Very Long Hiatus from it because of the creepiness of "The Great Game," I'm watching it again and next up is "The Reichenbach Fall".  Yes, I am prepared to cry.  We got Frozen recently on DVD, so I've seen that twice more since I reviewed it. (I HAVE NO OBJECTIONS.  Speaking of Frozen, I now ship Hans/Elsa, or Elsan.  My Frozen sister--note the capital F :P--and I have been coming up with theories about this for quite awhile now.) Also, I've been watching some Scooby-Doo episodes because they're fun and rewatching Star Wars.  Have I mentioned yet that I love SW?  Because I do.

~Writing~

Actually, not much.  My NaNo novel has pretty much stalled, and my writing inspiration has gone wherever my blogging ideas did--only it hasn't come back. *le sigh*  Also, I've been pinning lots of writing things.  Because, um, it inspires me. :P  I have, however, been writing emails by the dozen and may or may not have some unfinished posts in my Drafts folder. ;)  I'm also working on two Secret Projects with other bloggers, which shall be revealed in time.

~Learning~

How to embroider (I got to do something Tangled-themed a few days ago, which was fun ;)), all about Napoleonic France, water color painting, how to get Skype to work when it's being Evil and Uncooperative, why one should never stay up too late for many nights in a row, and the delights of having a best friend.

~Laughing~

At overly romantic swoons, Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, silly improvisation while acting, parodies of "Let It Go," the delightful hilarity of P. G. Wodehouse, the Amusing Antics of one Sherlock Holmes, adorable babies, and Very Loud Singing.

~Fangirling~

This is one of the main reasons I haven't been posting lately, actually.  It's all the fault of Certain People who start irresistible chats about a Certain Movie That Came Out Today (*frowns threateningly*).  Actually, I don't mind one whit.  I've been having more fun waiting for Captain America: The Winter Soldier than really makes sense. :D  Also, I've been rediscovering Les Mis; I haven't been "into" it much lately and I'd forgotten how much I love it. :)  VIVE LA ENJOLRAS! :D

~Listening~

 As I mentioned before, I've been listening to Les Mis.  Besides that, I've also been re-introducing myself to Cinderella (2013), playing Wicked/Frozen/both (some of the W/F crossover fanvids are really amazing, btw) almost non-stop, and acquainting myself with the music of Captain America: The First Avenger and its sequel.

So basically, life has just been its normal (at least for me ;P) self for the past month or so.  That's not to say it hasn't been delightful.  I certainly haven't been doing much in the way of Great Works, but I've grown closer to God, family and friends, had some pretty awesome experiences, and just enjoyed life.  It's been kind of nice, having a short break from blogging, but don't worry, I'm not quitting--coming back makes me realize that I have missed it quite a lot (no, it means don't get shot. :P).  So here's some virtual chocolate (fine, yes, you can have mint chocolate, Pascal) for all my AMAZING followers, commenters, and even Shady Blog Stalkers.  I'm so glad you consider my posts worth your time. :)

-Miss Jane Bennet