the cuteness factor here is overwhelming!

Click through for more photos of members of The Hobbit cast meeting their Lego counterparts. :)

Source: buzzfeed.com via Ruth on Pinterest

keeping my fingers crossed...

...that this guy shows up on the cover of my Entertainment Weekly...

But I'm bracing myself for Gollum. *wink*

Ripper Street previews

I was talking to a friend recently about Matthew Macfadyen's upcoming BBC America drama, Ripper Street -- and since she hadn't heard of it yet I thought I'd share the previews I've seen here.

Trailer Playlist (3 videos):



I gotta say, Matthew looks to be on fire in this show. Also, the third trailer set to a Jay-Z/Kanye West song kinda cracks me up. *wink*

Les Misérables Wedding Flash Mob

I absolutely LOVE this. Also, go Danes (this was filmed at the Workers' Museum in Copenhagen)!

Review: Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara

Cascade
By: Maryanne O'Hara
Publisher: Viking
ISBN: 978-0-670-02602-9

About the book:

Cascade, Massachusetts, 1935. Desdemona Hart Spaulding, a talented young artist who studied in Paris, has sacrificed her dreams of working in New York City to put a roof over her newly bankrupt and ailing father's head. Two months later he has died and Dez is bound by the promises she has made to her father, her husband, and her town. Dez is stifled by her marriage to kind but conservative Asa, who is impatient to start a family, and her ambitions are fading. She also stands to lose her father's legacy, the Cascade Shakespeare Theatre, as Massachusetts decides whether to flood Cascade to create a new reservoir for Boston.

Amid this turmoil arrives Jacob Solomon, a fellow artist and kindred spirit for whom Dez feels an immediate and strong attraction. As their relationship reaches a pivotal moment, a man is found dead and the town points its collective finger at Jacob, a Jewish outsider. When unexpected acclaim and a chance to recapture her lost dreams of life in New York City arise, Dez must make an impossible choice.

As the threads of this enthralling novel intertwine, they weave a portrait of an unforgettable young woman who finds herself caught in the age-old struggle between duty and desire.

Review:

As what comes to be known as the Great Depression spreads its stranglehold across America, from the crowded streets of New York to the western plains, aspiring artist Desdemona Hart finds her life irrevocably changed. When the fallout from the flailing financial markets wiped out her father's resources, including the family home, Dez was forced to give up her precious art school, the tuition far too dear. Instead of moving to New York City and immersing herself in the whirlwind of its cosmopolitan art scene, she agrees to marry Asa Spaulding, the local pharmacist, in order to provide a roof over her ailing father's head. But a scant two months into the marriage of convenience, Dez's father dies, having given his precious Shakespearean playhouse to his son-in-law while leaving Dez charged with seeing the once-famous summer theater brought to life once more. Stifled by the trappings of the domestic life she never wanted, Dez finds solace in the weekly visits from Jacob, a Jewish peddler and fellow artist, giving birth to a dangerous and all-consuming attraction. As Dez's hometown faces the threat of imminent domain, takeover by the government in order to provide nearby Boston with a precious water supply, Dez is faced with a choice. Will she settle for a life of tradition and security, or will the call of her art, the desire to create, prove too great a lure?

Cascade is a lyrical debut, marking Maryanne O'Hara as an author to watch. Set during one of my favorite historical time periods -- the tumultuous 1930s, with the ever-encroaching threat of a second world war on the horizon, O'Hara has crafted a novel of a woman, her town, and indeed the world on the brink. Caught in the raging, warring waters of societal expectations, world events, personal desire, and life's greatest constant -- change -- Cascade is in many respects a chronicle of how mankind alternately embraces and fights the great river that, over time, forms the path and direction of one's life.

Given the time period in which Dez's story occurs, and the unexpected (and delightful!) nods to Shakespeare throughout the novel, I hoped to love Cascade. And while there is much to appreciate in O'Hara's lyrical prose and grasp of time and place, for fully the first two-thirds of the novel I struggled to tolerate Desdemonda. While the circumstances that drove her to make the sacrifice of a hasty marriage to Asa are compellingly set forth, from the moment her father dies and Jacob is introduced into the narrative she becomes selfish and cloyingly immature. There are flashes of remorse, of second-guessing, but for the Dez of Cascade art, the desire to create, to leave her mark, trumps everything. While I realize divorce carried a stigma in the '30s that has been largely lost today, Dez's half-hearted attempts at maintaining the status quo while romanticizing her affair de coeur with Jacob, elevating it to the levels of star-crossed Shakespearean tragedy, fell flat.

That said, despite my issues in connecting with Dez, O'Hara's use of water imagery throughout the novel is masterful, a compelling study in how much we are formed by the events we encounter -- to what extent are we products of our circumstances, and to what lengths can we form our futures by how we respond to those experiences. I loved how Dez is drowning in her choices -- namely, a convenient marriage -- even as her town faces flooding. She loses herself in her attraction to Jacob even as the world around her is engulfed by an ever-encroaching flood of anti-Semitism. And, most tragically, she nearly loses any hope of a future as she becomes so obsessed with what-ifs and might-have-beens that she nearly drowns, carried under by the weighty baggage of her own emotional history.

Despite my personal dislike for the manner in which Dez chooses to pursue her dreams, by the final third of the novel, when both Dez and Cascade's lives reach their respective crisis points, I was thoroughly invested in O'Hara's storytelling. Her world-building is superb, and her gift with language and her artistic flair for vibrant, visual imagery is oft-times stunning. Much like the postcards Dez creates documenting Cascade's eventual destruction, O'Hara's debut is a beautifully-rendered "postcard" snapshot of a world in flux, but -- like the timeless final words of The Tempest (one of my favorite plays), an unflinchingly honest, beautifully stark examination of the best and worst life offers and lasting power of art as a vehicle to document, encourage, and challenge both the creator and its audience.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for the review opportunity!

I kind of love this...

Okay, I'm really not sure how I feel about the news that NBC is planning a new version of The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood as Maria. I mean I LOVE her music and her voice, but she and Julie Andrews are SO different. However this video has come across my radar and it is a stunner...

Review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1)
By: Beth Revis
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
ISBN: 978-1-59514-467-6

About the book:

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends -- and planet -- behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship. Amy and her parents believe they will wake on a new planet, Centauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber.

Someone tried to murder her.

Now, Amy is caught inside a tiny world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tryannical and frightening leader. And Elder, Eldest's  rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold metal walls. All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

Review:

When Amy's parents are chosen to participate in Project Ark Ship aboard the Godspeed -- her mother for her scientific knowledge, her father for his military expertise -- Amy is given the option of joining them as a "nonessential" passenger. But saying yes to the Godspeed means giving up life as she knows it -- family, friends, her world -- for the participants in Project Ark Ship are being cryongenically frozen, set to awaken 300 years in the future when the Godspeed is scheduled to reach Centauri-Earth and their knowledge is needed to seed life on humanity's new planetary home. Terrified of life without her only family, Amy agrees to be frozen and consigns herself to a never-waking nightmare, a dream existence where her frozen body is powerless to stop her racing imagination.

Centuries later, Elder, the teenage heir to Eldest, the all-powerful leader controlling every aspect of life aboard Godspeed, from the workers' reproductive lives to their very purpose aboard ship, discovers a secret -- the existence of the cyro chambers and their frozen cargo. Elder is the leader who was never meant to be, the replacement heir, and as such is one who insists on testing the boundaries of the controlling Eldest's authority. When cyro chamber #42 -- Amy's -- is unplugged, nearly killing her, Elder is fascinated by this girl from another time and place, a relic of old Earth, whose flame-red hair denotes an individuality that threatens the centuries-old way of subservient, unquestioning obedience that characterizes life aboard Godspeed. As a relationship blossoms between Elder and Amy, the two teens find themselves locked in a struggle for survival against an unseen and deadly enemy -- one who seeks to quell any hint of individuality and rebellion. But the power of questions, the power of free will proves to be an irresistible lure, and Elder and Amy find themselves at the center of an unlikely battle for the very soul of Godspeed and her passengers, with the future of mankind hanging in the balance.

Last month I was able to attend a booksigning where Beth Revis spoke about her writing process and inspiration for Across the Universe -- in short, a murder mystery in space. I've always had a weakness for space operas -- epic, fast-paced, other-worldly adventures -- stories of that ilk have an ability to captivate the imagination like no other. And on that score, Across the Universe delivers in spades. This is a thick, meaty novel, consisting of alternating chapters between Elder and Amy's points-of-view. With many of the chapters consisting of a single page, Revis establishes a rapid-fire sense of pace and tension that manages to sustain itself throughout the novel's 400 page-length. With its claustrophobic, contained setting wherein those who question authority have no hope of outside recourse and support but their own wits and determination, the resulting product is a thoroughly engaging novel that kept me entertained from the start.

That said, for all Revis focused on only two points of view they remain, in the end, frustratingly out of focus, a touch flat. Given the "hive" mentality Elder grew up surrounded by, that reticence towards vibrant self-expression is somewhat understandable. But as Elder is positioned as the lead -- and a romantic one at that -- I hope in subsequent volumes he develops into a more fully-realized character, dare one say it? -- more of an alpha, a leader of men with a touch of charisma worthy of the title, but the humanity and empathy necessary for a believable connection with Amy. Revis needs to work on penning a more authentic male voice, as Elder's is a tad effeminate which makes the burgeoning romance between him and Amy fizzle rather than spark. Amy is an engaging, more realized character, and while she spends a fair amount of page time bemoaning her fate (understandably), I'm looking forward to seeing how she navigates this brave new world she's been unceremoniously thrust into.

For all it can be argued that Revis's debut lacks subtlety, her writing possesses an infectious and promising energy that leaves me with high hopes for the second and third volumes in the trilogy. Now that the "murder mystery" aspect of the storyline has been resolved (or more accurately, devolved into a non-issue), and the secrets of Godspeed revealed, I look forward to seeing Elder and Amy navigate the fallout from the revelations of the latter. With more nuanced character development and forward-moving plot momentum, Revis is poised to deliver a thoroughly entertaining space opera. Across the Universe marries a dystopian vision of the future with the heart of a thriller and a dash of romance, touching on issues of freewill vs. predestination and individuality vs. conformity. A rollicking adventure from start to finish, Revis's debut marks her as an author to watch.

when the Doctor met a Disney princess (or two...)

Thanks to being recently featured on Ript Apparel, I discovered the art of Karen Hallion. She has created some absolutely GORGEOUS Doctor Who/Disney art that you can purchase as prints or notecards through her Etsy site. I opted to purchase one each of her the Doctor-meets-a-Disney-princess cards for framing purposes, and they are gorgeous -- vibrant colors on sturdy cardstock, fabulous for framing or mailing. :) With Karen's permission I'm thrilled for the chance to feature her art and shop on the blog today.

"Adventure in the Great Wide Somewhere" (purchase):

"Part of Every World" (purchase):

"Come Away With Me" (purchase):

"You Coming Blondie?" (purchase):

Please be sure to visit Karen's shop to check out all her other awesome Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Firefly inspired art!