This Present Darkness

"This Present Darkness" by Frank Peretti

     In 1986, Frank Peretti threw open the doors of Christian fiction with this incredible novel about spiritual warfare between angels, demons and the humans caught in between. The small, sleepy town of Ashton, New York may seem unobtrusive, but the steady stream of newcomers, such as a big-time journalist and his family, the new young pastor and his wife, and a mysterious psychology teacher begin to stir up the normally calm waters. Or maybe the waters were already being stirred up and these strangers have been brought to Ashton for a bigger purpose than any of them realized. 

     When I read this book, I was completely overwhelmed! Peretti's descriptions of the beauty of spiritual goodness and bravery in stark contrast to vileness of satanic evil and of ordinary human people who are called to do God's work, regardless if they believe in him or not. Peretti also wrote a sequal called, "Piercing The Darkness" which was just as exciting and darker than the first book. If you really want to read a story that is scary and eyeopening as well as get a look at what real faith in action looks like, these books will definitely be worth the read. 

     For years, people have wanted these books to be made into movies and I would love to see them as movies, but dealing with spiritual warfare is never an easy undertaking. Here's my inspirational (no pun intended) for a possible cast list. 

Ashton, NY

     Marshall and Kate Hogan: Former journalists from New York City, Marshall, his wife, Kate, and their college age daughter, Sandy come to Ashton for a slower pace. Marshall takes over the dying paper the Ashton Clarion, after a scandal drove the former editor out of town. Marshall and Kate are a strong couple, but their obstinate daughter forever clashes with her father. After Marshall visits Sandy's school, he senses an evil presence from Sandy's psychology teacher, and that presence haunts him continually. When Sandy becomes involved in a satanic coven, Marshall will do anything to save her, even if it means turning toward a God that he never gave any thought of before. 

     Hank and Mary Busche: The new, but unwanted, pastor and his wife are hardly welcomed in Ashton, after Hank ex-communicated a long standing member from the church for adultery. The community (or at least the old boy network) want Hank gone and will lie, cheat and steal to make it happen. God has other plans for the faithful pastor, however, and no matter how hard they try, the town of Ashton need Hank and Mary, if they want to survive the upcoming spiritual warfare that has also arrived in Ashton.

The Host of Heaven

     God's strongest, bravest and most faithful of heavenly hosts. A small, but lethal arm, led by Tal, have gathered around Ashton to guide and protect its Christian community from the onslaught of demonic forces. All of them spread from all over the world, from the British Isles, to India, Saudi Arabia, Asia, and Africa, which really made the story very unique. Each angel is gifted in their own way and are given different assignments that challenge and strengthen them. Several of them are veteran angels that have fought many wars against many horrific demons throughout the centuries. Others are newcomers brought in by The General (Michael, the archangel) to fight the great Ba-al Rafar (Prince of Babylon) and the Strongman, Lucifer's most sinister of demons. 

Vlog #2 - February

At almost 10:00 P.M. I thought it would be a great idea to do my second vlog, in my pajamas and with no makeup on. I primarily talk about school and what I'm doing on my site as well as a few of my favorite fandoms. Hope you like it!

Daniel Gillies Appreciation Post

Daniel Gillies

 

     This handsome actor I may have mentioned once or twice on my site...only not as the actor himself. Canadian actor, Daniel Gillies, is most well known for playing my favorite vampire and Original, Elijah Mikaelson, in The Vampire Diaries and the spin-off series, The Originals. I had never heard of him prior to seeing Season 2 of TVD where he made his first appearance as the enigmatic Elijah, but his performance in his role was just astounding! I went from being terrified of him (and he was scary when he first arrives on the show), to completely admiring him as one of the most honorable heroes on the show. 

     Although, the character of Elijah is incredibly serious, Daniel Gillies is actually really funny and outgoing in real life. One of the things that really surprised me. I mean, I don't judge an actor by the characters they play, but I'm always amazed at how good actors are when they play characters that are completely opposite of their real life selves. 

Daniel Gilles and his wife, Rachel Leigh Cook

      Oh yeah, another funny fact about Daniel's acting; he usually plays the guy that loses the girl, (Bride and Prejudice, Spider-Man 2, and frequently on The Vampire Diaries and The Originals) but in real life, he's been married to the same woman for over ten years! That's like a lifetime in Hollywood! I hope they stay together, because they're quickly becoming one of my favorite Hollywood couples (after Chris and Elsa Hemsworth and followed by Jared and Genevieve Padalecki) and anyway, marital fidelity (especially on the man's part) is a sexy attribute, I'm not going to lie. Daniel and Rachel have a daughter, Charlotte Easton, who was born on September 28, 2013 (I can't find any pictures of her!) and last month they announced that they're expecting another child.

Edit: Unfortunately, Daniel and Rachel divorced in 2021

     Although, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals is where I've seen most of Daniel's work, there are two other movies I have watched him in; Spider-Man 2 (prior to TVD) and Bride and Prejudice (after TVD). It's not a lot, but he's also in a Canadian medical show called Saving Hope and he works alongside Erica Durance...Lois Lane from Smallville! I mean, Elijah and Lois in an operating room together! I'll have to find some way to watch the show, I've read that he's the comic relief.

Daniel as John Jameson in Spider-Man 2 and
Johnny Wickham in Bride and Prejudice

     In Spider-Man 2 he played Mary-Jane's quiet, but generous fiance, John Jameson, a young astronaut and first man to play football on the moon, as well as the son of Peter Parker's boss, J. Jonah Jameson, the erratic editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle. That guy was absolutely amazing and to think, that Mary-Jane left the poor man at the alter on their wedding day. I really did feel bad for him and even my sisters said that it was a terrible and cruel thing for her to do, because John was a great guy who would have been a very good match to Mary-Jane's quirky personality.

      Bride and Prejudice, on the other hand, he was exactly the opposite as the conniving Johnny Wickham (Bollywood version of Jane Austin's "Pride and Prejudice" villain, George Wickham). Johnny is introduced coming out of the water at a high end Indian resort in Goa. He takes a liking to Lalita (Lizzy Bennett) and she invites him to her home where he meets her family, especially her immediately infatuated younger sister, Lahki (Lydia Bennett). Throughout the movie, Will Darcy warns Lalita about how dangerous Johnny is, but she refuses to listen, until it becomes to late and Lahki has run off with him. Unlike the book, Wickham does lose the girl and even gets into a fight with Darcy at the end.

      Daniel could not have played two more different roles (and in the same year), but both he was very good in. You felt so terrible for John when he lost Mary-Jane and yet, were so excited when Johnny didn't get Lahki in the end. I actually bought Bride and Prejudice when I found out he was in it...but I feel no shame because now it's one of my favorite movies!

Daniel as Elijah in The Originals
(and having to put up with his sister's nonsense.) 

   I really am hoping to see Daniel in more films and shows, because I do love his acting. As Elijah, he is absolutely heartbreaking, but there is always a sense redeeming hope in his character, which is probably why so many people love the character so much. I mean, after all, it was because of Elijah that the Original Mikaelson family was even written for the show!

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      I'm thinking of making an appreciation post every month. It won't always be about an actor, of course, but just anything I enjoy; such as a country, movie, television show, etc. They're fun to do and a little look into my interests and why I like them...and also a way to fan-girl, just a little bit.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, 

too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

 ~Henry Van Dyke

Smallville Overview Pt. 2

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Chloe Sullivan

     Clark's best friend whose ambition is to be The Daily Planet's next big reporter. Chloe grows up remarkably throughout the show. During the high school seasons, Chloe is the editor of the school paper The Torch and is absolutely determined to dig up the weird and abnormal that goes around in Smallville. Although a good journalist, Chloe is an even more loyal friend. In spite of her crush on Clark in the first several seasons, she is always by his side. She and Lana may have been on two opposite ends of the high school spectrum in the beginning, but overtime they become intensely close and protective of each other. In Season 4, Chloe's cousin Lois Lane joins the Smallville youth contingency and both of them bring a good amount of much needed humor and fun to the show. 

From The Torch to The Daily Planet

      When Chloe transitions from Smallville High to The Daily Planet, she sees her once small world broaden in many ways. One of them is finally discovering Clark's secret of his alien heritage. Afterwards, Chloe becomes devoted to Clark's journey and assists him with her journalistic and computer skills. Keeping Clark's secret is never easy and more often than not, becomes detrimental to Chloe and the relationships in her life, namely Jimmy Olsen whom she falls in love with while working at The Daily Planet or the undercover agencies who find her through her hacking skills.

     By the end of the show, Chloe has definitely made her mark as one of the most loyal and faithful of Clark's friends as well as an instrumental and integral part of the beginnings of the Justice League. Love never came easily for Chloe and she finds her heart broken many times, but the joy and completion she finds in the end was worth all the heartbreak she endure and that only made her stronger. 

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The Daily Planet

Tess Mercer & Jimmy Olsen

The Daily Planet: Tess Mercer - Editor-in-chief and Jimmy Olson - photographer

      With Chloe came the introduction to Metropolis and The Daily Planet which became the transition from Smallville and The Torch. The Daily Planet becomes the major hub activity for Clark, Lois, Chloe and other character in the later seasons of the show. 

     Tess Mercer - Brought on to be Lex's replacement in Seasons 8-10, Tess starts out as a conniving, manipulative and destructive woman capable of doing anything a Luthor can do. As the editor-in-chief for The Daily Planet, Tess could care really care less for the people working there, except the mysterious new reporter, Clark Kent, whom she knows about from her mentor Lex Luthor. Tess' curiosity about Clark and his life, ultimately become her redemption and by the end of the show, proves herself to be a worthy hero, who would willingly lay down her life.

     Jimmy Olson - Introduced in Season 6, Jimmy is a young rookie photographer at The Daily Planet who loved his job, but even more, loves pretty Chloe Sullivan. Their relationship is on-again, off-again, due to Chloe's friendship with Clark and having to harbor his secret from everyone else. Jimmy is a fun character that gives the later seasons of the show a lightheartedness, especially as the show's storylines grow darker. Jimmy, himself, begins to see the darkness that begins to envelop the world he lives in, but keeps constant faith with the heroes who are emerging from their shadows to fight and overcome it. 

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The House of El

Top: Lara-El and Jor-El
Bottom: Kara-El//Kara Kent//Supergirl

     From Seasons 7-10, the show did a fantastic job on exploring Clark's Kryptonian heritage. Jor-El becomes Clark constant voice of reason and disciplinarian from Season 2 to the show's end. Although Clark can communicate with his father vocally in The Fortress of Solitude, he never actually meets him until the end of Season 9, where Jor-El's digital copy of himself makes it way to earth. Clark's mother appears in Season 7, where she does actually meet her son if only for a short amount of time. Both parents give Clark an intense insight on the universe beyond Earth, what Krypton was destroyed for and what they died for. Jor and Lara were wonderful characters and solid parental figures; heartbreaking and bittersweet, they gave Clark a greater purpose for the protection of universal humanity.

     Kara Kent: Clark's beautiful Kryptonian cousin who was introduced in Season 7. During the destruction of Krypton, Kara's father Zor (brother of Jor-El) hid 13 year old Kara into an escape pod which shuttled her to the three year journey to Earth. Before Kara leaves, Zor tells her that she must locate and protect her baby cousin Kal-El, no matter what happens. So you can imagine her shock when she finds that Kal-El is no longer a baby, but a tall twenty year old with a sense a superiority as well as the same strange powers that she inherited when she first crashed onto Earth. 

     In Season 7, Clark becomes the paternal father figure to Kara and helps her to settle into Smallville life, while also teaching her to hone her new-found powers. At the end of the show, Kara becomes an independent and responsible young woman who has carried on her family's legacy as a force for good in the world.

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Oliver Queen & The Justice League

     Members of The Justice League are slowly introduced throughout the seasons. Starting with Bart Allan (Impulse) in Season 4, Arthur Curry (Aquaman) and Oliver Stone (Cyborg) in Season 5, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) in Season 6 and Dinah Lance (Black Canary) in Season 7.

      Oliver Queen: Of all of the characters, Oliver Queen is the only character that has a lead role in the show as well as the creator of the Justice League. Oliver in a way is like a moral Lex Luthor. Although incredible wealthy, Oliver is a humanitarian who was been though a crucible of pain and loss in which created a hero for Metropolis and the world, as well as a counterpart for Clark Kent. Oliver has a habit of taking people off the streets like stray animals, especially if they have some unique power that they can contribute to the bettering of mankind. 

     Oliver and Clark's friendship springs from their known former pasts with the Luthors' as well as the death of Jonathan Kent, which causes Clark to rely on Oliver's advice. Oliver himself goes through extreme trial during his time on the show; sometimes the past can never be forgotten and the future is always uncertain, but it only made him a more admirable and honorable character and hero. 

     Bart Allan (Impulse): First appearing in Season 4, Bart is a runaway and thief that comes across the Kents after he stole from them. Clark sees the good person Bart can be and trusts that maybe he can turn out all right. When Bart returns in Season 7, he is Oliver Queen's right hand man for exposing LuthorCorp's secrets and a fundamental part of the Justice League.

     Arthur Curry (Aquaman): After he rescues Lois Lane from a drowning accident in Season 5, Arthur Curry makes a name for himself as a animal rights activist, plotting to destroy Lex's new nuclear water weapon. In the midst of thwarting Lex's plans, he falls in love with Lois, but after he gets into trouble with the Luthors', must literally make a dive for it. He returns as a member of The Justice League and by the end is a happily married man, forging his own destiny with his wife, Mera.

     Victor Stone (Cyborg): Victor was a former football star who was supposedly killed in a freak car accident, but was actually taken to Luthor labs to be experimented on. The experiments turned him into a full functioning human robot with extreme strength, durability, and computer/electronic hacking skills. Reserved by nature, but completed by a generous heart, Victor can understand Clark's want to be a normal human and craving a real life with the loved ones he had to leave behind.

     Dinah Lance (Black Canary): A conservative talk show host at the Daily Planet by day, but at night a mercenary with a deafening supersonic scream. Dinah Lance starts off as a pawn for Lex Luthor, but begins to see into Lex's diabolical plan and ultimately ends up joining Oliver's little save-the-world group. Dinah's character isn't as explored as much as the others, but what time she makes on the show is great, seeing as she's the only woman who can stead head-to-head with Lois and still live to talk about it. 

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Otherworldly Villains

L-R: Dr. Milton Fine (Brainiac/Brainiac 5), Davis Bloome (Doosmday), General Zod

      In the beginning of Season 5, other major villains from the DC Superman universe are introduced through the series. It's bad enough that Clark has to fight off Lex Luthor and his plans to overtake the world, but villainous alien life forms, begin to creep to the surfaces of Smallville and Metropolis. 

      Dr. Milton Fine (Brainiac): In the form of an opinionated and biased history teacher at Smallville University, Dr. Milton Fine is really a Kryptonian artificial intelligence that comes to Earth to control Kal-El. An antagonistic and manipulative character that will torment, harass, and kill to get his plan fulfilled, Brainiac is finally destroyed. However, he returns as a redeemed character in the the final season to help Clark focus on his relationship with Lois and how it will affect the world.

     Davis Bloome (Doomsday): In Season 8, a young and handsome EMT who seems completely harmless ends up becoming a colossal destructive force. Davis Bloome has no idea that he is really the human disguise for one of of Krypton's most horrific villains. The genetically mutated son of General Zod and his wife, Faora, the creature was also sent to Earth the same time baby Kal-El was. Instead he was found by Lionel Luthor and was then thrown into a chain foster homes, where he received hardly any love or affection. Throughout Season 8, Doomsday slowly starts to break through Davis Bloome's camouflage and becomes the monster he was bred to be.

     General Zod: Krypton's most decorated general and best friend to its top scientist, Jor-El, General Zod believes that destructive bloodlines could ruin Krypton's future and stages a coup to end them. Before the war, Zod asked Jor-El to create copies of themselves and Zod's army to send to Earth in hopes of obtaining the powers of the yellow sun. Jor-El complies, but strips the copies of the ability to gain their abilities of the sun. When the the copies are found and released in Season 9, General Zod emerges and is ready to take over Earth, while hunting down and murdering the son of his betrayer Jor-El. 

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     WOW! I did it!!! I manged to do a general overview of the whole Smallville series! This show is going down as one of my favorite shows (and I have a lot) as well as my favorite fandom. 10 Seasons is a long, long run, but every single season was worth the watch and subsequent re-watch.

Smallville Overview Pt. 1

Tom Welling as Clark Kent

     I finished Smallville several months ago, but I couldn't figure out how I was going to do nine more season reviews. So I decided to do a general overview of the characters, as well as villians and the the beginnings of the Justice League. 

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Clark Kent // Superman

Tom Welling as Clark Kent from Seasons 2-10

     How far Clark Kent has come since season 1 x episode 1 when he tripped over his feet in front of Smallville High. Clark's slow progression from the boy he thought he was to the man he was destined to become was an extraordinary journey of heartbreak, happiness, joy, sorrow, love, loss, and finding the courage to love again. In Season 2, Clark finds out about his mysterious past from the reclusive genius, Virgil Swann (played by the late Christopher Reeve) who tells him that he is Kal-El from Krypton and from there his life takes an unexpected leap into the unknown. Aided by his loving parents and devoted friends, Clark's fights evil and inhumanity one day at a time and still manages to maintain a relatively normal life. 

Smallville Season 3

     For a good majority of the show, Clark's life is compromised by two people; beautiful, but broken Lana Lang and the enigmatic Lex Luthor. Time and again, Clark sacrifices himself over and over to prove his love for Lana and his loyalty to Lex, only to lose them to one another and then finds them again, but not how he had expected. Lana and Lex are two characters that push the limits of Clark's goodness and humanity; Lana is his strength, but his greatest weakness who he finally says goodbye to. Lex who was once his loyal friend becomes his most feared nemesis. 

Lois and Clark though the years

     In season 4, Clark meets beautiful, feisty Lois Lane. A 19 year old army brat and high school dropout who lives her life how she sees it. Lois and Clark don't hit it off when they first meet and spend most of their time bickering. Clark continues to pursue Lana, while Lois flies from one disastrous relationship to the the next. Finally, destiny puts them right across from one another while working as journalists for The Daily Planet. When Lana finally leaves Clark to pursue a greater destiny of her own, Clark finds himself in an unlikely love with the girl who harassed and annoyed him for so many years and fights for her heart with as much passion as he does for humanity's survival. 

Top: Jor-El and Lara El's last message for their son (Season 10)
Bottom: Jonathan Kent giving Clark his Superman suit (Season 10)

     In Season 3, Clark finds the Fortress of Solitude, as well as the presence of his biological father Jor-El, who may be physically dead, but is spiritually there in voice. Jor-El and Jonathan Kent become Clark's greatest mentors. but when Jonathan dies in Season 5, Clark finds himself pushed closer toward his father, who is cold, overbearing and never pleased with his son. As Clark grows and matures into the humanity's savior, Jor-El finds that his son is truly everything he had hoped and trained him to be. In the finale both father's return in the Fortress and present their beloved son with the the mantle of Earth's protection. Clark Kent finally becomes Superman, the greatest hero of Earth,  

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Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor: Money, Power, Fear

      Once a rich spoiled playboy of Metropolis, Lex's life becomes entangled with the life of Clark Kent. Lex's journey from a boy desperate for his father's love to a man planning the takeover of the world, consistently coincides with Clark's destiny. The first half of Smallville, Lex considers himself Clark's closest friend, but that doesn't deter him from prying into Clark's secret past. When Lex goes to far, Clark ends their friendship once and for all, and from Season 5 till the finale, Lex slowly becomes the enemy that he never thought he was born to be. 

Lex and Clark: Adversaries of lengend

     When Lex isn't dealing with Clark, he is fighting it out with his disapproving father, Lionel Luthor. Desperate to turn his son into himself, Lionel eventually ends up turning his son against him and when he realizes the power that Lex can wield, he can no longer control him. The best thing about Lex's character is the fact that he has the potential to do good, but overtime he feels overshadowed by Clark. His own father eventually chooses Clark over him and the girl he loves continues to harbors secret affections for Clark Kent. Overtime, the rejection and abandonment turns Lex completely away from any sense of good and he makes himself the monster he once tried so hard to fight. 

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Lana Lang

Lana Lang: Learn to be lonely

     So beautiful, but always so alone. Lana Lang came into the show as a sweet natured young girl trying to fill the emptiness of her heart. Time and again Lana tries to find a place to belong and a person to belong with. Always gifted with a generous personality, Lana tends to find love in all the wrong places or simply at the wrong time. When her boyfriend, Whitney, is killed in the Marines, Lana and Clark go into a never-ending on-again, off again relationship. Clark's secret, though, pushes Lana away every single time.

The Men of Lana's Life

    In Season 4, Lana finds a surprising look into her ancestors in France as well as embarking in a new relationship with handsome Jason Teague, who only uses her for his mother's selfish gain. In Season 5, Lana becomes closer to Lex Luthor, which overtimes turns into love; love never comes easy for a Luthor, and Lana finds herself in the Luthor world of lies and deceit. After escaping Lex and his father, Lana is safe in Clark's arms and a keeper of his secret.

     Except fate has other plans and beckons Lana forge her own destiny. In Season 8, Lana sacrifices herself for Clark and leaves him forever, but for the first time in her life, Lana finally knows that her purpose was not what her happy, but the happiness of the others around her, Lana Lang became a superhero.

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Lois Lane

Lois Lane: Destiny is closer than you think

     Lois Lane literally crashed into Smallville and was never the same again. The cousin of Clark's best friend, Chloe Sullivan, Lois finds Smallville to be boring and uneventful, and the residents even more so. Most especially, Clark Kent, whom she sees as annoying and aloof. No matter how many times Lois tries to leave Smallville, she is constantly brought back. Always searching for a purpose in her life, Lois believes she could never find it in Smallville, but the dinky town becomes her stepping stone to a greater purpose chosen for her.

       An army brat, who lost her mother at a young age and raised by a strict four star general, Lois Lane is hardly a shrinking violet. Her vibrant personality as well as her talents in self-defense, blackjack, and drinking makes her an unforgettable person. Where Lois has many talents, her most profound seems in finding herself in doomed relationships. All throughout the series, Lois Lane endures heartbreak after heartbreak, desperate to find someone who can understand her. With each heartbreak, Lois grows closer to Clark and their friendship ends up takes them from the fields of Smallville and to the streets of Metropolis. 

Lois and Clark in the series finale

     In a short amount of time, Lois becomes a star reporter at the Daily Planet and finds herself smack in the middle of the mysterious superheros that are coming out of the shadows. Especially, The Blur (Clark) whom Lois has growing feelings, but also finds herself falling in love with the once dorky, but now maturing Clark Kent, her partner. In Season 10, Clark reveals his secret to Lois that he has been the Blur the whole time and Lois herself can never be happier. Afterwards, Lois finds her purpose, not only as a journalist, but as a protector of Clark's identity and the woman meant to walk by his side. 

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     I'll have heroes and villians posted on sometime this week, but hopefully on Wednesday.

Downton Abbey Confession #18

Finally!!! 

"Poor" Edith got her moment of glory by standing up to Mary and then proceeds to do the one thing should have done 12 years ago.

Maybe her family will think twice before they say "poor Edith'" again.

LOTR Blog Party Day Five - Free Day

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     This is an all out fandom day where you can make graphics or a video, but I'm not able to do any of that right now (internet), so hopefully this Lindsey Stirling music video of her performing The Lord of The Rings medley might make up for it.

LOTR Blog Party Day Four - Favorite Character

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Hugo Weaving as Elrond

     Not having read the books, but have seen the movies numerous times, my favorite character (and I do have quite a few!) is Elrond. He was just the quintessential just and wise ruler; to put it simply, Elrond is to LOTR what King Edmund the Just is to The Chronicles of Narnia (after he was redeemed by Aslan, of course). When I read about him in "The Hobbit" I just got the picture of good and honorable leader who is desperate to change the world, but knows it's not his place to do so. Also, Elrond was the only elf who ever showed kindness to Thorin and his company of dwarves and was only elf that Thorin had any admiration for.

Hugo Weaving as Elrond and Liv Tyler as Arwen

    Like a said in the Favorite Movie/Book post, one of the reasons I loved The Two Towers was because of how it went into the the deep relationship between Elrond and Arwen. Elrond himself has been a victim of the fandom 'bad dad hate' (other fathers including John Winchester from Supernatural and Odin Allfather from the Thor). What I would like to know, is what is so undeniably evil about a father wanting to protect his daughter from absolute and certain death? Elrond (and this is from a movie-verse perspective) never disapproved of Aragorn (he did raise him), but like any good father, he wants to ensure his daughter's safety and happiness and that can only come about if Aragorn finally takes up his birthright and become a king and leader.

     All someone has to do to disprove the 'bad dad' arguments is watch the ending of Return of The King and be completely overwhelmed by Elrond's reaction of his daughter who is alive and beautiful and returning to the man she loves.

LOTR Blog Party Day Three - Favorite Dwelling of Middle Earth

 

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Hobbiton, The Shire

     My favorite Middle Earth dwelling is definitely Hobbiton! I'm am country girl through and through, and Hobbiton, the Shire and Bag-End would definitely be dream home. I just loved the peaceful, tranquility that Hobbiton had and even though it was small and out of the way, it was the primary reason that caused Frodo to carry the Ring in the first place. When I saw LOTR for the first time, I just fell in love with the Shire and its immense beauty. The color is what astounded me the most; the incredible green contrasting with the bright colors of the flowers and the very clear water under the bridge.

Hobbiton

      I love how Tolkien was able to incorporate his love of the English countryside into the books; even though LOTR and The Hobbit took place in a mythical world, Tolkien was able to bring to the readers mind a piece of his life that was very dear to him and share it with the world. I could very easily live in Hobbiton, the food alone would be good enough! In the movies, Peter Jackson brought to life a society, a community and a culture that seemed so authentic and real that you forget it's the land of hobbits and start believing that it could be your own home.

Bag End

      And now we get to Bag End! I LOVE Bag End! It would definitely be my dream home. My roomed is actually inspired by Bag End. I have paintings all over the walls, one bookshelf overflowing with books (the other with DVDs), candles everywhere on my dressers and shelves, and my own desk that's always covered with papers, as well as little nick-knacks that are just scattered though-out the room. I can definitely understand why Bilbo was so desperate to return home and why he was incensed that he saw everything being sold off when he returned.

 

LOTR Blog Party Day Two - Favorite Book/Movie

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     My favorite movie, without a doubt, was The Two Towers. I think that's when the story line really came into play and where several other story arcs were introduced. Even though there were so many plots running simultaneously, Peter Jackson did a great job at having every story running smoothly together. One aspect of the film that I did pick up on was the importance of family, whether elf, human or hobbit; the blood ties that hold us together, the loyalty the can never be broken and the unquestionable grief that comes from loss.

Hugo Weaving as Elrond and Liv Tyler as Arwen

     The main reason I loved The Two Towers was (and this is from movie-verse prospective) was the in depth look at Elrond and Arwen's relationship. I think that their father/daughter bond was completely pinnacle to the story, a father who loves his daughter and wants to keep her safe and an obedient daughter who loves her father dearly and is torn between the decisions of her heart.

     Having the relationship triangle between father, daughter and lover (Aragorn) whose fates are all wrapped up in the war of The Ring was an interesting and unique twist in the storyline and shows that not all battles are on the battlefield, sometimes they're right there at home. Also, the scenes between Arwen and her father gave the movie a break from the blood and the gore, and viewers were also able to see the very personal intimate lives of the elves and how they love deeply, but also fear that their love could be their own destruction.

David Wenham as Faramir

      Sticking to the topic of family, we are introduced to a family member from a former character in The Fellowship of The Ring. Lord Faramir, Boromir's younger brother, who is a forest ranger that protects the outerlands from invaders. Faramir is about as opposite from Boromir as one can get, but both brothers shared a tight bond. If Boromir was his father's pride and joy, then Faramir was the bane of his existence. For most of the story, Faramir is desperate to win his father's love and approval, but always falls up short in the shadow of his worthier older brother.

     When we first meet Faramir he comes off as bold and rash, with a hint of arrogance. Although he isn't cruel there is a coldness inside of him that comes from the private grieving of his brother's death. Movie-verse Faramir deters from book-verse in which the book portrays Faramir of having no desire for the Ring, the movie instead shows his desire for Ring, not for power, but for love and approval. Overtime, Sam and Frodo (and Gollum) begin to work an unlikely change in his heart and Faramir slowly begins to emerge from his grief, anger and guilt, and starts becoming the leader he was meant to become.

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn and Orlando Bloom as Legolas

      My absolute favorite part about The Two Towers was going deeper in Legolas' and Aragorn's strong friendship. When Aragorn is presumed to be dead, we see Legolas in a rare moment of rage when he threatens the orc that threw him over the cliff. When Aragorn plans to defend Helm's Deep, Legolas is less then thrilled and even challenges Aragorn's authority only to finally see reason and to trust in his plan. Both characters are as different as night and day, but the opposites of their personalities is what makes them such a great friendship.