Tag: Jane Austen

Posted in motivational, Uncategorized

Umbrella

Posted on by D. Parker

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Dr. Seuss was correct (always, even if he might not have said this one, who knows, but he makes me smile).

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Nothing can protect you from the storms of life, not enough the biggest umbrella (thanks Rhianna/Jay-Z, I’ll never get that song out of my head).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/Put on those rain boots, galoshes, rubbers, overshoes, Wellies, whatever and go out and dance in the rain. Stand in it. Sit. Sleep.

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Those storms are going to come, whether you fear them or not.
Change is going to come whether you fear it or not.
The lightning strikes of technology.
The rumbling thunder of racism. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
The pelting hail of misinformation.
The sleet of corruption.

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The hurricanes of hate.
The tornadoes of greed.
The slapping winds of regression.
Face them. Fight them. Survive them. But you can’t avoid them.

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Ignoring something never made it go away. Get stormy, let your inner Mary Poppins out, and get on with it.

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Too often in my life I’ve missed out on good, hell, amazing things because I was afraid. My fear stopped me. Siting on my shoulder, claws curled into my trembling flesh, cackling in my ear about how I was going to fail, how it wasn’t going to turn out anyway (it rarely did), I was going to get hurt, I was going flounder, or goof…

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I was going to ruin things, even ruin my life https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/01/04/so-youve-ruined-your-lifenow-what/ I listened, avidly, to the voice of fear, so I missed out on smiling because it happened.

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Much of what we fear stems from what we’ve learned, consciously or subconsciously.
Fear is actively used in: child-rearing, schooling, work, play, sports, politics, science, religion, movies, TV, books, business, and well, everything – then we’re shocked/surprised that fear rules us? Sometimes those fears are irrational and sometimes: “be afraid, be very afraid”.

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So many fears…Fear of the dark comes from fear of the unknown (what’s out there I can’t see?).
Fear of strangers, immigrants, different races?  Just people you don’t know yet.

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Fear of snakes?  Boo, hiss!
Fear of antiques? That gets old fast.
Fear of spiders?  Sorry Charlotte, you know I love you (and your web), but you’re super creepy looking.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Fear of bananas?  That’s bananas!
Fear of time?  But it’s so wibbly wobbly timey wimey.

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Fear of falling asleep?  Probably good away after a good night’s sleep.
Fear of Trump?  Well, duh, that’s rational.

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Fear of failure? It has all happened before and it will all happen again.
Fear of success?  I could live with that.

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Fear of heights?  You never want to get to the bottom of things with that one, but I could fall for that fear.
Fear of planes, trains, and automobiles?  Really, it’s a hilarious movie.

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Fear of books?  What?!? The?!? No, just no.
Fear of fear?  Nothing to fear but…

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Yoda got it so right, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering”.

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“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” ~C.S. Lewis
Some days I feel I’ve lost something, or am missing something. In those times, I go about my life with a weird, niggling feeling gnawing at the base of my skull.
Slowly I come to the same conclusion, it feels like fear, but it’s grief. Loss of loved ones, loss of health, loss of what could have been, loss of civility, loss of decency, loss of honour, loss of dreams as they fade into changed expectations.

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Yet, at these moments, “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”  Jane Austen, my courage hasn’t always risen – I’ve been intimidated, dispirited, badgered, ruffled, browbeaten, disheartened, constrained…But sorry not sorry that’s a thing of the past (and it can stay there) https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/07/15/see-you-again/

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Fear is likely even part of my procrastination issues https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/02/07/after-all-tomorrow-is-another-day/. I’ve made a promise, to myself, to let my courage flag fly, I can’t always let them grind me down…

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I used to believe if I tried to control everything I could control, even conquer my fear. That I could stop bad things from happening. Nope. The only thing I can control is how I react to fear. How I react to the bad things.

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I’m out of control and loving it (when I’m not terrified beyond words).
Trust yourself. Respect yourself. Not the Fear. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/17/all-were-asking-is-for-a-little-respect/

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And I hope you know, you can always stand under my umbrella (not with the Umbrella Corporation, they suck), or dance with me in the rain.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

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Posted in Awards, Blogs, Books, Canada, Cats, Chocolate, Internet, Uncategorized

I Can’t Make You Love Me

Posted on by D. Parker

1blog70It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of a blog, must be in want of readers.

For some, blogs take off faster than a Nascar driver chasing after sponsorship, for most others, like me, it’s a slow ride…

I know some of the reasons it’s been a slow ride, I’ve broken the first rule of The Blog Club, don’t talk about The Blog Club, no, that’s not it, oh yes, find a niche. Never have, probably never will. I figure if I get bored, you will too.

To me, giving blogging advice is like trying to explain to someone how to: dance, paint, drive, or make love in a canoe. Sometimes you just have to do it and make the mistakes, have the close calls, possibly tip over at the most inopportune moment.

When asked my blogging advice I offered https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/04/10/im-hooked-on-a-feeling/

 …but with a rebel yell you cried more, more, more…so here goes:

1. Choose a name for your blog. I didn’t know this was important when I choose mine. Live and learn.

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2. Size matters, but it’s more about how you use it, mind out of the gutter, I’m taking about post size. Remember, it doesn’t matter how much they love your posts, your readers have lives.

3. Try to use images that work with your post. Adding a random picture of an adorable kitten just to suck up to the cats who run the internet might be smart, but come on, who does that?

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4. Don’t get too stressed about the numbers, like right now, most numbers seem down on WordPress, who knows why? First, I blamed the Royal baby, but Princess Charlie is just too awfully cute. Then Mayweather/Pacquiao fight, Mother’s Day, elections, weather, labour unrest, but in the end I had to admit the truth – it’s WordPress. They probably changed their algorithms, come on, they’re always changing something, so statistically (and they love stats), it has to be them.

5. Poofread, er, proofread or get someone else to (and you can always correct it afterwards). We all make mistakes.

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6. I can’t make you love me, well, actually, my posts, but one of the best parts about blogging is connecting with your readers and other bloggers, without all of you, what’s the point? Like everything else, sometimes you have to take someone’s hand and other times, offer yours.

7.  It’s not a race or a contest. Don’t worry if  a post is going to go viral, or get Freshly Pressed https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/03/26/why-i-will-never-be-freshly-pressed/ or be nominated for awards, or making you rich and famous. Take a deep breath. Right now is about right now.

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8. Blogging advice can be confusing, here’s the problem, what I think is terribly catchy and clever might not be to others. Obviously I think I’m writing something good, otherwise why would I publish it? Do what you want to do.

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9. To be a shameless self-promoting bloghussy like me or not to be, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous rejection while promoting on social media….aye, there’s the rub. I like Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest, but Facebook just lays there like a mouldy, old ad-filled sock. 

10. Don’t worry about if you’re going to offend someone, it’s the internet, someone is always, and I mean always, offended. Always.

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Who am I kidding? I have no idea what works. I’ve poured my heart out and had the post sit there, alone, shivering like the last leaf on a tree before winter. Just do what you feel is right, in the famous words of those sage philosophers, Cheap Trick, “Surrender, Surrender, but don’t give yourself away”.

What about you, dear readers, what would be your best blogging advice?

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Posted in Books, Jane Austen, Uncategorized

Unleashing Mr. Darcy

Posted on by D. Parker
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Despite the title, no safe words needed, this isn’t 50 Shades of Darcy (note to self, write a novel called 50 Shades of Darcy); instead this is a sweet, romantic working of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in a modern world of dog shows.

Teri Wilson has stayed true to Ms. Austen’s core of Pride and Prejudice, making it all about First Impressions (Ms. Austen’s working title for Pride and Prejudice) especially the fact that Ms. Austen proves that in P & P and all her other works that first impressions are often wrong.

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We’ve all met someone who we think is lovely or someone who we think is horrid and it turns out, we were incorrect, they’re in fact, horrid or lovely instead.
Sometimes it’s circumstances that give us the wrong impression, or the mood of the person, or our mood, or the other issue Ms. Austen loves to use in her stories, misunderstandings. Pride and Prejudice and her other works are riddled with misunderstandings that lead people to think certain things that may not be true or just. Ms. Wilson also added dogs and dog shows.

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I unabashedly adore romance novels and movies. They lighten my mood and relax me. They make me think of being young and carefree.  They’re also a lovely palate cleanser between non-fiction, politics (sorry, I can’t list that with the non-fiction because there are so many fictional elements in politics, sadly), horror, sci-fi, fantasy, drama, and of course, real life.

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This was a delightful read, as we follow Miss Elizabeth Scott and her beloved Cavalier, Bliss through misadventures, misunderstands and reaching 30. From New York to London, Elizabeth struggles to find her way while continuing to be thrown into the path of smug but gorgeous billionaire dog breeder and judge Donovan Darcy.

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that a good romance novel and some chocolate (yes, any ice cream included, of course) can improve even the roughest of days.

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http://www.teriwilson.net

Posted in Books, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Well-Read Women

Posted on by D. Parker

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“I’ll think about it tomorrow, after all, tomorrow is another day.”1read3
Margaret Mitchell may have written the words of Gone With The Wind, but it’s Scarlett O’Hara we think of when we read or hear them.

Elizabeth Bennet      Anne Shirley      Daisy Buchanan
   Auntie Mame      Catherine Earnshaw      Nancy Drew
Holly Golightly      Dorothy Gale      Jo March      Cosette
Jane Eyre       Juliet Capulet      Nora Charles       Charlotte
Blanche Dubois     Pecola      Alice      Daisy Miller      Lily Bart
Becky Sharp      Mary Lennox       Emma Woodhouse

We’ve had tea and coffee with these women.

Ate ice cream and chocolate with these women.

Even taken baths with these women.

Stretched out under a tree with these women.

Flew with these women.

Drank with these women.

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Dreamed of being these women.

Tried to make sure not to be some of these women.

Loved them. Hated them. Pitied them.

We’ve cried with them, laughed with them.

Shouted yahoo! for these women.

Watched them live, love, sometimes die.

Felt their sorrow.

Rejoiced in their triumphs.

We’ve learned from their failures, cheered them on.

They’ve seen us at our best and our worst.

They’ve met our loved ones, including cats and dogs.

IM000475.JPGThey live in our homes.IM000476.JPG

Fiction’s loved and hated heroines hold a place in our hearts and remind us of who we were, who we are and who we want to be.1read2

Take a few minutes to relax and remind yourself of the joys of a good read with this delectably illustrated book, Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction’s Most Beloved Heroines by Samantha Hahn (Chronicle Books).

Contains smile-inducing illustrations of fictional heroines (although I would have liked Bridget Jones included, but maybe in the next book) by the talented Samantha Hahn, accompanied by some of your favourite quotes from these ladies and their authors.IM000469.JPG

“It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party. It’s like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting “Cathy” and banging your head against a tree.” ~Bridget Jones
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

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Posted in Books, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

Emma

Posted on by D. Parker

emma3Jane Austen’s diverting and delightful Emma has intrigued audiences, in print and on screens for many years. Emma is a woefully well-intended but misplaced matchmaker, suppressed adventuress, and a stymied intellectual. Her main foil is her own Queen Bee attitude; her immature overconfidence that she knows best for everyone.

Along with her overprotective father, her handsome and under-appreciated neighbour/brother-in-law and a whole cast of other characters Emma takes a winding and oft self-deceiving journey to a place she should have explored long before – her own heart.

I enjoyed much of this 2009 TV adaptation.

emma1Lively and amusing, Romola Garai seemed a tad too worldly for Emma.

Jonny Lee Miller (a divine Mr. Knightley) was too background. They needed to use Miller and Michael Gambon to more effect. They really needed to use this whole cast to better effect. For heaven’s sake why hire brilliant actors and then under- utilize them?

The chemistry with Garai and Miller is fabulous, the cut and thrust of their conversations scrumptious, but sparse.

The flow of the series leans at times toward tentative and expected. Emma should be more bold, joyful, and flourishing in it’s a journey of self-discovery.

Overall, this series was charming, efficient, and lovely, but how many versions of Jane Austen novels do we need? Many will disagree, but I would like to see some other stories told, perhaps some that are more unfamiliar to us. While it is cozy to watch a story so beloved and memorable, why not give us some other classics, or lesser known works that we may also enjoy? I know the answer. Money. People flock to the recognizable.

While I enjoy various versions of Austen, I guess I’d also like more variety.emma2

Posted in Books, Christmas, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY

Posted on by D. Parker

bridgetjones20It is a truth universally acknowledged that just about everyone knows a Bridget, is a Bridget, or wants to be a Bridget.bridgetjones23

I get why this movie is branded a chick flick, but I respectfully disagree. This is a movie about choices, about being yourself and true to yourself even if that might be a little wonky, and about love. Aren’t those common themes? If not, maybe they should be.

And as funny as the movie is, I tend to think the book even funnier, but then you don’t get the cast, toss up.bridgetjones2So whether you’ve found your reindeer jumper magic or still asking where’s the loo, keep going, because as long as you’re having fun…that’s the real magic.bridgetjones17Happy Christmas!

Posted in Books, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

Posted on by D. Parker

cf9Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

What can I say about this masterpiece that hasn’t been said thousands of times and ways?
And if we’re going to involve the movies or TV series made of this novel that’s wow, just wow.
P & P is warm fudge topping over heavenly hash ice cream.
It is a kitten’s purr.
Silk on your skin.
A musical piece that caresses your soul.
It is all that the blarry, scratchy, low-manners modern world isn’t.
It is perfection that one can visit and relax. It is tea.
Tea with fresh crumpets.
Tea with fresh crumpets and jam.