Sometimes you just need ol’fashioned advice to do the work of a much needed pick-me-up. Today it’s Emerson’s words that inspire…..

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."

"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars."

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air."

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them."

"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer."

"Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true."

"Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes."

"Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all
your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Unwarranted advice and more......

I have epiphanies.....every now and then. At the drop of a hat, just like that. They come at the most inopportune moments.....but then again, maybe that’s the way it was meant to be. See, I ain’t complaining; I need them. Especially with the kind of utter goop (I try to refrain from profanity, because believe me, goop is definitely not what I was going for!) my life is currently in...I need all the optimism I can muster up.

Today’s special:
# 1 >Sometimes you have to let go…..backing off is not necessarily cowardice, sometimes it’s just about self-preservation.

#2 >Be there for the people you want to be there for, but for the Love of God don’t always expect the favour to be returned. And no, I am not being cynical.

#3 >Impulsiveness is good, but not when the aftermath involves you banging your head against a hard-surface and calling yourself every kind of fool.

#4 >Being polite is always good, whatever the situation. Like life doesn’t suck enough…you need a perfect stranger scowling at you to complete the circle.

#5 >Never take your friends for granted…you have to respect them and some boundaries should never be crossed. Believe me, I know....

#6 >Music , books and art….the ultimate pain-killers. Surround yourself with plenty. And no, they don’t have to be what everyone’s listening to or talking about or gawping at. Whatever floats your boat.....go for it!

#7 >I never believed that load of crock where it was okay to yell at a particular person, because they love you and therefore would understand. Whoever said that was a mean, demented dork who needs to get his head examined. Obnoxious prats around the world deserve politeness and the one person who actually cares for you, needs to be abused??!?!.....um, I think NOT!........................................................................................................................

.................#8 >and yes, Green Day helps……always!! :)

Bottom line: Basic good manners never hurt anybody….treat people right and life just gets a little less suck-worthy.

Avalon High : Coronation #1: The Merlin Prophecy

"Avalon High" was a good book. Meg Cabot’s tale of a new girl fitting in had a fresh supernatural twist weaved in. It was funny, intriguing and had all the makings of a fantastic sequel. But then Cabot had to go Manga...which was not necessarily a bad thing. While being quite a heathen where Manga is concerned, I was sufficiently intrigued to see the synergy of Meg Cabot’s writing and Jinky Coronado’s artwork.

Sadly, I felt a little let-down. The sequel was more like a flashback into Ellie and Will’s pasts. Necessary ofcourse for first time readers…but it gets kind of tedious when the whole book turns out to be nothing but that!

Moreover, when you read a book…you form a certain impression in your mind about the physical appearance of the characters. Ellie, star of the track-team always seemed like the quintessential tomboy…stick-thin, plucky and sufficiently strong enough to be believable as the reincarnation of the ‘Lady of The Lake’ in the Arthurian Legend. However Ellie-Manga style is a bit hard to digest. Long streaming hair with a smoking hot body; she is portrayed as a whiny, perpetually-on-the-verge-of-tears character.

I sincerely honestly hope that Avalon High:Coronation #2:Homecoming ties up all the loose ends.

The Princess Diaries : Ten Out Of Ten

“No one has ever died of embarrassment – never, not once in the whole history of time. Of which I am living proof, having a grandmother like mine.” ~Mia Thermapolis

And that pretty much sums up Meg Cabot’s last and final instalment in the hugely popular Princess Diaries series.

PROS: Mia or should we say Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo is at the tail-end of her senior year. She has mastered the reluctant art of being a princess of a small European Principality, Genovia. She also has an assorted clique of well-meaning(and slightly delusional) friends. AND…she has the perfect boyfriend : J.P.

CONS: So along the way, she broke up with the love of her life Michael Moscovitz (who went off to design a surgical arm in Japan), parted ways with her best friend Lilly Moscovitz and ended up in therapy. And oh…let’s not forget the Princess Lessons, from her singularly freaky grandmother, Dowager Princess Clarisse!!!

BIG SWEATY-PALM INDUCING CONS: She hasn’t yet chosen her college, despite having received acceptance letters from each and every one of them. (which she suspects has something to do with her being a princess). The book she has been secretly writing for the past two years gets rejected with alarming regularity by most of the publishers. Her father is running for Prime Minister of Genovia and according to the current polls.... he is far, far behind. Add to that the little fact, that Michael is back…his CardioArm has been a huge success and he’s looking better than ever(or as Tina would put it: he got hit with a stick of pure awesomeness!).

So what does Mia do? She freaks out, hyperventilates and writes. She writes in the weirdest places and at the most inopportune moments. She pours out her insecurities, her doubts and her guilty secrets. While this sounds quite alarming and tedious, it actually isn’t. Meg Cabot’s quirky sense of humour guides Mia through her angst. Questions are answered, mysteries unravelled and Mia slowly but surely grows up.

A must for all Cabot (and Mia ) fans…this is the perfect ending to a great storyline.

Stardust

For all those fantasy flicks/ fairy tales that claimed to be different, but turned out to be run-of-the-mill...this is originality, people! Based on the novel with the same name, by Neil Gaiman…the movie veers from the original, condenses the plot and still manages to deliver the goods.

The protagonist is Tristan Dunst (Charlie Cox), the quintessential country bumpkin who lives in a place called Wall (so named after a wall that separates the village from an alternate magical world). An ordinary shop-boy, he hopes to win the affections of the most-sought after girl in the village, Victoria (Sienna Miller, looking adequately snooty and empty-headed). She treats him like dirt and prefers the pretentious and well-turned out Humphrey. And Tristan in one of his many foolish attempts to woo Victoria promises her the stars or to be more precise…A Star, a single fallen star.

And thus begins his quest…

What our earnest hero doesn’t realize is that the Star is infact an injured, smart-talking girl called Yvaine(Claire Danes). And while she hasn’t exactly fallen from the sky, she was pretty much thrown to the ground by a ruby flung into the sky by a dying King (Peter O'Toole). Now why would he do a silly thing like that? The King is the ruler of a place called Stormhold. And his dying wish is that whichever of his surviving sons brings back the stone.....he shall be the next ruler of Stormhold. Easy-peasy!

So there’s Tristan…and now some throne-hungry kings out to get the star. But wait.....there’s someone else: a coven of three ancient and powerful witches known as the Lilim. Devouring the Star’s heart can restore their lost beauty and youth. So Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), the eldest and most powerful witch joins the mad race too.

Tristan and Yvaine have a rip-roaring adventure. They encounter unicorns, humans morphed into goats and ofcourse, Captain Shakespeare’s (Robert De Niro) flying ship. They burn Babylon candles, learn to dance, handle swords…and to top it all, get a spanking makeover too!

While Stardust doesn’t take itself as seriously as other fantasy flicks, it’s a delightful mix of a dream-cast, fabulous sets, seriously funny moments and a whimsical love-story. Charlie Cox is likeable, right down to his infectious smile and straightup honesty. Claire Danes shines (…and not just because she’s a star!!...couldn't resist that pun!) and renders a quip-a-minute. While Michelle Pfeiffer’s pixen features make her most suitable for the role of a fairy queen……she does resounding justice to the evil, conniving head witch. And then ofcourse, there is the ever-reliable Robert de Niro. As the crusty, rough-talking Captain Shakespeare who has a mighty secret in his Hollywood style-closet, he is a fantastic surprise.

In all, a good film that renews my love for all things extraordinary and unbelievable!

Megan McCafferty's latest.....

Megan McCafferty, the author of the hugely popular and thoroughly entertaining 'Jessica Darling' series....is coming out with the fifth and last instalment :

To read her interview in the latest issue of Writer's Digest, click HERE

Food for Thought

This was a poem by Rudyard Kipling, which talks about strength of character, determination and how we can shape our destiny. While it could very well be a growing-up litany that a father imparts to his son......I was quite inspired by the words. Here goes....

If...

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
And make allowance for their doubting, too;

If you can wait and not get tired of waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies;
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating;
And yet don’t look good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream, and not make dreams your master;
If you can think, and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,
And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you have spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you give your life to, broken,
And stoop, and build them up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold On!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch-
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you-but none to much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And-which is more-you’ll be a Man, my son!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rudyard Kipling

Cinnamon Girl : Starting Over

Another one about the mighty highs ‘n’ lows of an angsty teenager. The second in the Cinnamon Girl series, the book carries on India Jane’s travails as she starts off a new year in a new school. Plagued by first-day woes, she wonders whether she will fit in...make friends…and hopefully get things moving with Joe Donahue (…the boy she met on her last holiday in Greece).

But the path to fitting-in never runs smooth. With all the cliques and pre-formed groups……India finds herself floundering, putting her foot-in on more than one occasion…and watching her social life go slowly and steadily down the drain.

While the book is nothing out of the ordinary…it’s charm lies in the fact that India is a feisty teenager. She’s confident and witty and is someone who would come out fighting in any given situation. Her occasional rants are restricted to her chat sessions with her best buddy from her last school in Ireland…Erin. Erin is her smart-talking anchor. It's a good friendship which sparkles with wisecracks and tough-love. Something we all needed back in the good ol' days(......well, even now!!)

A light, lie-on-the-beach kind of read. Enjoyable.

10 Items or Less

I like to catch an indie-flick once in awhile….there’s something about them that appeals to the contemplative side of my nature. Quick-silver dialogue, strong yet quirky characters and a storyline that stretches out like a long unwinding road. And then ofcourse, there's usually a message lurking somewhere in the background. 10 items or Less fulfills all the above and much more......

Morgan Freeman plays a successful actor, pushing 70 (infact, himself most probably!). Doing research for a new role that he may consider, he makes his way to a dead-end grocery store in LA. And there he befriends (or more like gets on the last nerve of) a beguiling yet cranky young store-member, Scarlet (Paz Vega). She works the '10 items or less' checkout lane and is unwillingly drawn into Morgan Freeman’s incessant questions and observations.

When Freeman is stranded with no way to get home, Scarlet reluctantly offers him a ride. And as they drive around the seamier side of LA, they form a bond…a good-old fashioned friendship. In Scarlet, Freeman’s sees himself …a proud, independent loner. He listens to her problems, spouts wisdom and encourages her to take a shot at the big-job interview she’s nervous about. The original big-time 'Hollywood', he’s exhibits an unaffected delight in all the things he has left behind. From retail-therapy to take-out services to connecting with another individual who is so much like him….he soaks in everything. And spits out a lot of his feel-good charm in return.

Morgan Freeman is perfectly natural, wreathed in smiles and curious as hell. For all the gritty and onerous roles he portrays, once in awhile he comes along with light-hearted gems like these. He probes and questions and yet never gets offensive. The feisty Scarlet matches wits with aplomb, the dialogue flows freely and most lines give you something to think about.

I watched this movie on a depressing day. And '10 Items or Less' proved to be the perfect antidote for a sour mood and a grumpy disposition.