Saturday, August 20, 2016

Five Favorite Couples Tag

Olivia at Meanwhile, in Rivendell tagged me for this favorite couples tag.  Thanks, Olivia!

Rules
1.)  Pick one couple from each category
2.)  Tagging is optional
3.)  Link back to my site

Categories
1.) Period Drama Couple
2.) Sci-Fi/Fantasy Couple
3.) Superhero Couple
4.) Preferred Couple (from a love triangle)
5.) Couple Ended Too Soon

This was tougher than I thought.  At first, I couldn't think up any couples!  Then, all of a sudden, the floodgates opened and I had way too many and I couldn't narrow it down.  Typical.

1.) Period Drama Couple
This is one of the options where I have way too many I could select from, but for now, because I recently re-watched it and it's fresh on my mind, I'm going with Tristan and Isabel Two from Legends of the Fall (1994).  This is one of those movies I had to grow into.  When I first saw it, I liked the first half, then thought it went all weird, and nothing worked for me (other than James Horner's score).  But with age comes experience and a different mindset, and after I passed forty, suddenly this movie made sense, clicked in place, and became one I now rewatch quite frequently.  And I adore Isabel Two.  She's so beautiful, strong, sweet, gentle.  After all the messed up relationships in this movie, when Tristan and Isabel fall in love, it is such a healthy, happy relationship for them both, they just make me happy.  I want them to live happily ever after forever and ever.


2.) Sci-Fi/Fantasy Couple
Herbert and Amy from Time After Time (1979).  They're amazing.  It doesn't hurt that the Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenbergen fell in love making this movie, as that definitely shows in their performance.  They're not just my favorite sci-fi/fantasy couple, they might just be my favorite movie couple ever.  It's magic whenever they're together on screen. 


3.) Superhero Couple
Okay, I don't know many true superhero couples, and I don't feel like picking any of them.  So, I'm going with a slightly different type of superhero:  Wall-E and Eve from Wall-E (2008).  They're robots, so they can do far more than any human, which makes them "superhuman" in my eyes.  For two characters who don't really speak in words, these two are more expressive (and far more human) than many live performers.  The way Wall-E gets an instant crush on Eve, the way she comes to love him... these two are so wonderful together.  I never tire of watching Wall-E and Eve "dancing," or Wall-E proudly showing her his collection, or taking care of her when she shuts down...  Their relationship is one of the many things that make this one of my favorite Pixar movies.


4.) Preferred Couple (from a love triangle)
This is the one I had the hardest time with.  For some reason, I just couldn't remember any love triangles in movies.  How lame is that when there are so many?  But every time I tried to think of one, my brain went to the world of opera where there are love triangles by the boatload and I couldn't swim back to the world of movies.  So, going with something rather obvious, but... Manolo and Maria from The Book of Life (2014).  We watch this movie a lot at our house, and it just gets funnier and better with each viewing.  Manolo and Maria are adorable.  To love a couple, I have to love the individuals by themselves, and I dig them both. 


5.) Couple Ended Too Soon
Lt. Cable and Liat from South Pacific (1958).  Cuz really, why'd he have to die????  They are so young and beautiful together, and once he figures out he loves her and really wants to be with her... it's too late.  They make me cry.


So, that's that.  If you want to play along, by all means, do so!

Monday, August 15, 2016

August update

Is it autumn yet?  I am so done with the misery that is summer, of not being able to sleep at night because it's too hot, of not being able to take my dog for a walk because it's too hot, of watching my yard die because it's too hot and we're in a severe drought and can't water.  Come on, October, get here already.  End of September will do for starters... the nights finally start cooling off then at least.

Silver is doing well.  Here's a couple pictures I snapped last night, of Rosie cuddling up with him. She love him so much, it's hilarious.  He always cleans her ears and head when she gets close to him.



He really is such a good boy that I have to remind myself he's only 6 months old, and that he will be getting even better as he gets older.  He's rambunctious, of course (puppy!), and so very social.  I've never had any dog who loves other dogs and people as much as he does.  I'm sure he'd love nothing more than if I were to get a second dog.  Some days, I even consider it, as the two would keep each other happily occupied and, more importantly, worn out.  But... I had two dogs for many years, and it was a handful and I'm not sure I want to go there again.  Besides, we have a nice predictable routine right now.  Up at 6, breakfast and play in the back yard awhile.  Take a 1-3 mile walk about 6:45.  I start work at 8 am, and he goes to sleep, and he literally stays asleep until somewhere between 3 and 4 pm.  I mean, come on, how perfect is that?  He's a Husky!  And he's okay with sleeping all day!   I usually take him out around 1 pm to go to the bathroom, but he comes back in and goes back to sleep.  It means I can actually do my job without any interruptions.  Then, after 5 pm, we go play some more, and right now I have to wait until abut 7:30 or later, when we can finally go for our evening walk (and sometimes it's still too hot).  Then I go to my sister's for dinner, and he crashes out again until bedtime.

There's only one problem with this. I'm an ISTP and I hate doing the same thing every day.  It's like a soul-eating torture.  So it's like this blissful, easy way to know what Silver is going to do at any point in the day... while I secretly chafe and stress over the fact that it's so easy and I should really appreciate this but I really want to do something else in the middle of that schedule.  Ah well, I knew when I got him that I'd be giving up one kind of freedom, so I my complaints are really just to vent and then feel better.  The dog comes first.

I got back last week from attending the 50th Anniversary Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, with my sister and my best friend, Hamlette, who has very awesomely posted reports on each day of our activities on her blog, complete with lots of pictures and (as always) more details than I can recall!  It was an absolutely, ridiculously fabulous time with my two favorite people in the whole world.  Wouldn't trade those few days for anything.


Here's one picture: me with a gentleman cosplaying my favorite Star Trek series guest character, Captain Merik, from Bread and Circuses, which is my favorite original Star Trek episode.  I had to get a pic with him!  It was my first time cosplaying anywhere, and it was way more fun than I realized it would be.