Fall has returned

My favourite season is back!
After a hot hot summer, I am enjoying the light breeze and cool air that Fall is bringing.
Even the rain is nice (though not everyday). I love rain on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon when you can just curl up with a blanket and a book or movie.
It's also great weather for walking.

Drop Dead Diva- helpful or hurtful to big girl stereotypes?

There is a show on TV called Drop Dead Diva.
It focuses on the main character Deb who is an aspiring model (tall, thin, blond), but in the first episode, she dies unexpectedly. However, lucky for her, whilst up in heaven she presses a button that sends her back to Earth, but of course into another body: Jane's. Jane is a plus-size lawyer who was just shot and is lying in the hospital unconscious. So, conveniently, Deb gets to live, but the catch is that she is stuck in Jane's body.

This show is well written and the acting is good enough. However, the entire premise of the show kind of urks me and I will tell you why.

Jane is a big girl, but quite attractive (played by actress Brooke Elliot). However, it isn't until her body is inhabited by Deb that she starts to actually put effort into her looks (clothing, make-up, etc) and begins acting like a confident pretty girl.

Basically, before being taken over by Deb, Jane was just a frumpy fat girl. She played into every stereotype about big girls: always eating junk food, didn't put effort into her appearance, lacked confidence. My problem with this is that it makes it seem like it takes the mentality of a model (Deb) to make Jane confident and girly. It's as if no big girl could ever actually act/ feel this way on her own, she'd have to be taken over by a dead model first. It makes me wonder if the show would be successful or believable if the audience didn't know that Jane was actually Deb, which apparently justifies her confidence and extremely feminine demeanour.

As someone who has struggled with my weight and the stereotypes that go along with it for many many years, I just find it insulting that a beautiful plus size woman on TV can't be represented as confident and feminine without first being taken over by a model. I would estimate I am about the same size as Jane and I like to think I am just as attractive in the face. I think my mentality and behaviour is similar to that of Jane/Deb and I didn't need a model to take me over first!~

Now, to be fair, they also represent Deb as a total bimbo. It isn't until she takes over Jane's body (and apparently gets all of the memories/knowledge that Jane had too) that she is actually able to act intelligent, or at least recall intelligent facts that Jane retained from law school.

While I understand that in society, unfortunately a lot of bigger girls do lack confidence and sometimes give up on their appearance for various reasons, there are also a lot that embrace their size and still dress well and wear make-up and act girly and have the confidence of a model without being a size 2. I would just love to see a show that has one of those women as the main character, without needing the model takeover of the body.

It's Been Awhile....

Well, blogging is clearly not my forte.
Sadly, I just never have anything interesting to write. Or at least, I don't think I do. Maybe I will just start writing at least one thing everyday and see what happens. I imagine at least a few interesting things might slip through.
For example....strawberries have more Vitamin C than oranges. Huh, isn't that interesting?

Dear Julia Stiles, No thanks.

Julia Stiles. is. the. worst.
I was so disappointed when she joined Dexter this season. Apparently she will appear in 10 episodes, which I hope does not extend.
As an actress, I think she just plain stinks. I also find something about her voice irksome. I feel like she is just (like so many) a pretty girl who is not the right kind of pretty for modeling, but looks pretty enough on TV and in magazines, so therefore; is an actress.

Anyways, aside from my already formed negative opinion of her, I also found Sunday's episode of Dexter very awkward. When Julia Stiles and Michael C. Hall are having conversations at the diner, it is as if their scenes were filmed at different times. Did anyone else notice how choppy and awkward these scenes were? I even noticed that Michael C. Hall's hair changed between shots, which makes me believe it was another person entirely sitting across from her. Why do directors do this? Are actors really that busy that they have to film scenes in which they appear sitting across from each other, seperately?

Though I know this is not Julia Stiles' fault, I still contribute it to my dislike for her. I just really hope she doesn't ruin Dexter like she does most things.
To her credit, I can say she was fine in 10 Things I Hate About You. I absolutely love that movie. I think "Teenage Angst" might be the only acting class she ever mastered.

PS. Did you know there is a (cancelled) television show called "10 Things I Hate About You", based on the exact same premise of the movie? Can't anyone come up with original ideas anymore? Remakes of movies, movies based on TV shows and now TV shows based on movies? Just try something different. Or make shows/movies that are based on great books. Those usually work well. (Dexter, True Blood, Harry Potter...). Oh, and please do not ever again create a show based on a Twitter account. Shit My Dad Says, is shit my dad won't even watch.

Fall into Fall

When I was teaching in Korea a couple of years ago, one of the units I taught to more than one class was "seasons and months". It was my job to come up with little activities and lessons related to the seasons, weather and months. One of these little projects was for the students to do an illustration of themselves enjoying their favourite season. It was a simple task and involved art, so naturally I would also complete the assignment as the students worked on theirs. It was then that I realized Fall is my favourite season. I like Fall/Autumn for a few different reasons.


1) The Fashion- I love sweaters and scarves. Don't even get me started on light jackets. <3
2) The Coolness- As much as I love summer, I dislike being too hot. I hate to sweat and feel sticky-icky. So the cool breezes of Fall feel great.
3) The Colours- Walking during Autumn is amazing. Yellows, Oranges and Reds naturally occuring and constantly changing.
4) Christmas Looming- As Fall comes to a close, the only thing on my mind is Christmas. The anticipation of the amazing holiday is usually better than the actual day itself.

Thanks!

Thanksgiving again, but this year it's a bit more special because the date is 10/10/10!!! OMG!
Anyways.....Thanksgiving is a great holiday! Not only do we get to stuff our faces with turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie, but we also get to remind ourselves and each other of why we are thankful for everything in our lives.

I also like Thanksgiving because it's such a family holiday. It's a time to get together with your family and just enjoy each other's company. My family and I ate lots of yummy food, listened to music and played an interesting board game called "The Settlers of Catan". It was our first time playing and I was victorious! I'd recommend this game to anyone who likes a bit of strategy and a bit of luck. It takes awhile to get through the instructions, but once you get going the game is not too difficult. I think it will make another appearance at Christmas time.

So, on this day, here are the  top 10 things I am thankful for:
1) Family
2) Friends
3) Being a Canadian citizen
4) Health
5) My home
6) My dogs
7) Comedy
8) Education
9) Nature
10)Technology

I am thankful for so many more little things in everyday life, but that top ten list covers the major things that I am happy I don't have to live without.

Oh...and I am thankful that Michael and Kevin were not eliminated on The Amazing Race tonight! :)

Get Over Yourself

I stumbled upon this interesting read (literally stumbled upon using the stumble upon tool bar in my web browser) and I really enjoyed it. I think we all need a reminder sometimes that we are our own worst enemy and others don't pay nearly as much attention to us as we think.
I am a naturally anxious person, particularly when it comes to social situations. I don't know if it is because I am an introvert and generally shy, or if it is more of a learned behaviour. However, in social situations, I am always worried about how others view me and when I commit any sort of faux pas, the worry increases exponentially. It's nice to have this article as a reminder to cut the crap and get over myself.