Another Contest!

Well, I'm doing another P&P95Forever Club contest!  This time, we have to find a picture and write an appropriate caption.  I'm not sure if mine counts since it's two pictures, but I'll enter it anyway...
Here it is!

And there it is!
(Sorry about the size, if it was any bigger it wouldn't fit on this post.)
-Miss Jane Bennet

Can You Hear the Clennams Sing?...

Hi all!
I haven't posted for a while, and that is simply because I had nothing very interesting to say.  Now, however...
First, let me just say that I just found out Chauvelin's first name!!!  How cool is that?
(By the way, it's Armand.  Any and all who are members of the Down With Armand! Club are welcome to use this little tidbit as they wish.)
Anyway...
I am one of those people who thinks that everything can be improved with music.  I'm reading Little Dorrit right now (it's by Dickens, in case you didn't know), and I began to think what a great musical it would make.  You could have all sorts of sad songs sung by (who else?) Amy Dorrit, and a bunch of awesome duets by Clennam and Amy (Little Dorrit is just too lengthy to type all the time), and Mr. Dorrit could have some funny song...one with lots of hemming and hawing, heh heh...
But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I wanted to state the reasons that Little Dorrit would make a great musical in a logical order.  But it's not too late!
My reasons are, first, that Lady Catherine desires it that the storyline is just great musical material.  It can be condensed without taking anything away,  so the actresses and actors don't have to stand on a stage singing for four hours straight.  (Sorry, BBC.  I love the length of your movies.  But it just wouldn't work for a musical.  Probably.  But what do I know??)
ANYWAY.  The storyline is pretty much this: A girl named Amy Dorrit has been born and brought up in a debtors' prison, where her widowed father has been for the last twenty-two years.  A man named Arthur Clennam meets her one day because she works at his mother's house, feels sorry for her, and tries to help her.  Then he and his friend discover that the Dorrits have inherited a fortune and are now extremely rich.  That's as far as I've gotten, but I know that Spoiler!! Clennam marries Amy, who is hopelessly (and I mean as in she doesn't think her love is returned) in love with him.  End of Spoiler.
The end.
Wouldn't that make a very convenient musical storyline?  Excellent song material- which brings me to my next point.
Just off the top of my head, I can think of a lot of songs that could be made out of that.  When the family discover that they're rich, when being rich and not having to work and traveling is so unfamiliar to Little Dorrit, when Clennam realizes he loves her...and those are just a few examples.  Nearly all the plot points are great for songs.
Let me see, what was my third point?...Oh yes, that many of the Dickens works have been made into very good, if not popular, musicals.  Oliver Twist, for example. Or A Tale of Two Cities.  Those are both pretty good musicals and Oliver Twist, at least, used to be tremendously popular.  I think another musical adaptation of one of Dickens' works would be very well received.  Assuming it was good, of course, but that's another matter altogether.
Fourth, it's a really good story.  There has already been a pretty successful and (from what I hear, anyway) very good movie made out of it, and I think a Little Dorrit musical would be well received.
So those, in brief, are my reasons for wanting a Little Dorrit musical.  I'm thinking of doing a dream cast, please comment and tell me whether you like my idea or not.  I'm not very familiar with singers/actresses/actors either, so if you could give me suggestions for a dream cast, that would be extremely helpful!  :)
Oh yeah, and while I'm not a composer, I am a bit of a poet and you did not know it! so I just might write words to future songs in the (hopefully!) future musical, Little Dorrit.

Notes: My apologies for this short post.  As soon as I finish Little Dorrit, I will write a review of it, so keep a lookout for that.  I think that's it...
And please comment and tell me what you think of a Little Dorrit musical!
-Miss Jane Bennet

An Interview With My Partner

Before I get to the main point of my post, let me give a big thank you to Anne-girl for organizing the June Crusade!  It must take a lot of work to set up all the activities you've planned for June, and I really appreciate it.  So, thank you, Anne-girl!!!

And now...
The lovely VK, who blogs at Singin' My Own Song, is my partner in the June Crusade.  We are doing several activities together, and we decided to interview each other and post our partner's answers on our respective blogs. So without further ado, here are her answers!

1. Where is your favorite place to write?

Either on my bed or at my desk. I come up with scenes while going on walks or doing yard work.

2.  Do you prefer typing or writing by hand?

Since it is really hard to read my handwriting and I hate holding pencils (They hirt) I prefer typing. 

3. What is your favorite genre?

Sci-Fi or Hi-Fi 

4. Why do you like to write?

A couple of reasons one, It gives me a time to let my emotions out without hirting myself in the prosses. As Kendra once said Authors are the only people in the world who can come to the dinner table and sit down and announce that they have killed someone that day without anyone thinking twice about it. 

Second: I want to be like my sister. I always have and since she is a published Author I want to be one too. I am not that good but I enjoy doing it anyways. 

5. Do you like to write poetry or any other type of writing besides novels?

My first love is poetry. I have written about forty songs/poems about twenty or so are published the rest are in notebooks and documents waiting for me to rewrite them again and again till I know it is ok to be published. Some though I never will because they are... personal. Most of my songs have been lost due to the fact that I never wrote them down. There was a time in which I wrote a new song daily but since I didn't know how to write it down at the time I never got them on paper. (Not that they were any good.)

6. What is one weird fact about you?

One weird fact. People say I am weird all the way around. I was home-schooled, I tiptoe, I talk to animals, I used to preach to my goat, I used to scratch my back like a dog, I don't wash berries when I pick it off the vine, Messes drive me nuts. My way of dealing with my temper is moving dead branches and putting them in the burn pile. and the list can go on. It is almost daily when I am out that somebody raises an eyebrow at me. (Which is another weird thing about me, I like getting that look. I think eyebrows are so cute.) 

7. What is your favorite thing to do besides writing?

Music, horses, and children with special needs take up most of my time. I love to teach I love to learn. I sew, I train my rabbits, I draw, I do photography I fiddle, People call me a jack of all trades and the master of none. I say I know enough about it to get in trouble but not enough to get back out. 

8. What do you do when you get writers' block?

I go for a walk, I read a book, I talk to my sister and tell her what I am trying to do and if I can't get out of it that way I switch books and work on another one. I have ignored Akeaka, Cloaked, The great Cowboy Round-up, and most of my other stories for months because I don't know what to do with them. 

9. Where do you want to live when you grow up?

I want to live on a large ranch with lots of horses and adopt special needs children.I don't care where I haven't really studied very many places and except for the heat it is quite nice where I live now. 

10.  Which character was the most fun to write in your story?

Jack Bell. A boy who invents things, is my favorite of the boys and Rose Eaglewing is my favorite of the girls. 

So that is VK!  You should see my answers to her interview up on her blog within a couple days.  :)

Again, thank you to Anne-girl for making this possible!

-Miss Jane Bennet

Character Tag

Anne-girl has challenged the characters to answer some questions about their authors.  I got tagged by VK- or rather, Kate got tagged by VK.  I told Kate to answer them, so with much grumbling, I'm handing the mouse over to her.  I'm dreading her answers...
Switch to Kate.

Hi!  I'm Kate.  This is my sister Melody.  Apparently I have to answer some questions about my author.  Since she controls my every move, it shouldn't be hard.
1. Describe your author in one word.
Rather strange...oh, wait- that's two words.  Just "strange" then.  ;)
2. If your author had a theme song, what would it be?
A theme song, huh?  Probably something by Handel.
3. If you could pick an actor to play your author, who would it be?
A young Amanda Root, maybe.
4. What are your author's strengths?
She's kind and thoughtful...
5. Weaknesses?
Impatience and lack of focus.
6. What type of laugh does he or she have?
A high, quick one.  Sometimes it's a low chuckle, too.
7. Any strange hobbies?
Umm...she used to fence...she used to dance...she likes to get up insanely early...;)
8. What was the weirdest thing she did for her writing?
She bought a pretty notebook and then wrote in it nonstop for twenty pages.  :)
9. If you could make her do one thing differently, what would it be?
Lots of things.  :)  Well, really only that she'd actually keep writing a story till she's done.  It's a bit hard on other characters to be inside an unfinished story.
10. What is your favorite thing about her writing?
Her characters.  ;)  Well, actually her plot devices.  :)

I finally wrestled the mouse away from Kate, so now I'm back again.  I really liked this tag!
-Miss Jane Bennet

P&P95Forever Club Contest!

As those who have examined the blog buttons on my sidebar will know, I am a member of the P&P95Forever Club.  They just posted a new game in which you write an advice column.
Perhaps I need to explain further.  I (and anyone else who wants to enter the contest) have to write a letter asking for advice on some subject from anyone- and then an answering letter full of wise advice from Mrs. Bennet.
That sentence just made me laugh.  :D
Anyway, the people who enter the contest are supposed to post their entry on their blog, and then comment on the P&P95Forever Club site with the link to their post.
So, here is mine.  It's a letter from Lady Marguerite Blakeney (The Scarlet Pimpernel) to Mrs. Bennet's advice column, I Can Help You Find A Husband (with five THOUSAND a-YEAR!).

Dear Mrs. Bennet,

Oh, dear, I am in such a sorry plight!  I really do not know what to do.  I recently married Sir Percy Blakeney, Baronet.  I thought he loved me, but a mere twenty-four hours after our wedding all love for me seemed to vanish.  You see, I, in the foolishness of youth, denounced the Marquis St. Cyr and his family to the French Revolution.  He was guillotined.  As soon as Percy heard of this, he seemed to lose all love and trust for me.  He still gives me many presents and showers jewels upon me, but those don’t make me happy.  He seems to be indifferent to my sufferings.  I have practically begged him to forgive me, to no avail.  Please give me advice!  I want my husband's love back.

Very sincerely yours,

Lady Marguerite Blakeney

My DEAR Lady Blakeney,

WHAT an HONOR it is to have a correspondence with such an important personage as yourself!  My nerves are so dreadfully in a flutter.  I have such poor nerves, Lady Blakeney, and my husband has no compassion on them.  It is really terrible of him.

You are so FORTUNATE to have married such a man as Sir Percy Blakeney!  A baronet!  I wish my girls had been half so lucky.  My youngest, dear Lydia WICKHAM, recently married a Mr. Wickham.  He is such a charming, handsome man, but as he is a soldier (and a most IMPORTANT one too!) he hasn’t much money to spare.  As you are so rich, perhaps you could send him and Lydia a bit of help occasionally.  I know they could use some help with their rent, poor souls.

You get presents of jewels and they don’t make you happy?  What more could you want?  You should not be so selfish.  My poor Lydia is so poor, and yet she makes do very well.  She is always so cheerful, and never complains. 

You are really too lucky.  My girls should have caught that baronet.  However, I suppose that Jane, my eldest daughter, is much more beautiful than you are, and had he but seen her first, he would have completely forgotten you.  However, we cannot all have what we want, and my Jane has five THOUSAND a-YEAR!  So I am very happy for her, even though it really would have been better for her to have married Sir Percy.  I expect his fortune is very large.

I congratulate you on your extremely fortunate match.  It is no doubt much more than you deserve.

Wisely yours,

Mrs. Bennet, would-be baroness

Well, I hope you like it!

-Miss Jane Bennet

And The Long-Awaited Review...

Well!
No, my Emma review is not done yet.
But my TSP81 review is HERE!!
However, before I relieve you curiosity as to how I felt about TSP81, I have a few updates.  A lot of things have happened over the weekend!
First of all, I joined the June Crusade over at Scribblings of My Pen and Tappings of My Keyboard, a lovely blog written by Anne-girl.  My partner is VK and her blog is here.  We have to critique each other's work, write guest posts on each other's blogs, and write 15 comments per week on various blogs.
I haven't told you I'm a writer yet, have I?  Well, I am.  I've been writing basically since Kindergarten, but I've been really sort of seriously been doing it since 4th grade.  I'm also a bit of a poet.  :D
Which brings me to my review!
Since the storyline of the movie is rather different from the storyline of the book, please note that this is NOT a review of the book.  Someday I'll do a review of each of the Scarlet Pimpernel books.  For now...well, maybe tomorrow I'll do one.  ;)
I'm going to assume that people who read this blog already know the storyline, so I'm not going to do a long, detailed synopsis of the movie.  I'll just describe what I like (YES!) about the movie, and what I didn't like (...drawing a blank here...).
First off, since Sir Percy Blakeney (who is-SPOILER- The Scarlet Pimpernel.  If you didn't know that, you shouldn't be reading this.  You know now.  There will be many spoilers in this review, so if you haven't watched the movie and don't want to know what happens until you've watched it, this is NOT the review to read.) is the most important character, let me just say that ANTHONY ANDREWS DID A MARVELOUS, FANTASTIC, WONDERFUL JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, you may have gathered that I like TSP81.  In fact, let me make a statement here:
While the Jane Austen books are my favorite classics, while The Phantom of the Opera is my favorite musical based on a classic (although I haven't seen Les Mis yet), The Scarlet Pimpernel (from 1981, of course!) is my favorite movie adaptation of a classic.
Really, what can I say?
I loved this movie.  Anthony Andrews' "Sink me!" was actually not in the book, but really...
I'm usually a stickler for the books.  If the movie doesn't stick (hah! Pun unintended.) to the plot and characters of the book, I'm against it.  "Go books!" is my battle cry.  ;)
This movie deviated from the plot a lot more than some of my least-favorite movies did- but I liked it so much better!  It combined two books, added other elements that weren't in the TSP series in the first place, and I loved it!  How fickle is the human mind...
Now, that was what my "ranting mood" is all about.  All-caps, random tangents, and complete randomness.
But I will try to pull myself together and write a coherent review.
I had already read many spoiler-full reviews, so I already knew what was going to happen, but still...wow.  I was still panting and staring wide-eyed at the screen, and if my siblings hadn't been in bed, I would have been screaming at the TV.  When Percy fell into the trap, I immediately joined the Down With Armand! Club, but of course I had to leave it at the end because Percy forgave him.  .
I AM a Leaguette after all.  ;)
 At the end, my heart pulled a Wicked Witch of the West number and melted even without water.  ;)
I think that there have actually been enough reviews praising this movie (not that there can EVER be enough, in my opinion, but whatever...) so I'm just going to list the few nitpicks I have and leave it at that.  I'm a bit tired right now and can't write a review that's actually enjoyable to read and does full justice to TSP.
So without further ado...
My nitpicks.
1.  What was with the Armand/whatever the girl's name was living together??  We easily fast-forwarded those scenes, but really...did they HAVE to put that in there?  It wasn't in the book, by the way.  Hah.
2.  Small nitpick that almost everyone points out- can't the French characters have French accents??
Those are pretty much the only ones.  I really like the movie, as I've already stated at least five times.

I apologize for this completely inadequate review, but hopefully I'll be able to make the next one better.

Notes: So far, my blog has been lacking pictures, so I'm going to do a post tomorrow just on pictures.  I'll just put a long list of screencaps, paintings, and any other pictures related to classic things.  There WILL be captions, some of which are supposed to be funny.  :D
Please comment as often as possible!  I like to hear what readers are thinking!
-Miss Jane Bennet