Hostages (Bnei Aruba) 2013-2016

     I had never heard of this show before until I was scrolling around on Tumblr and it was brought up. Looking it up and seeing that it was on Netflix I was intrigued. As a fan of 24 this seemed to have the same vibe and I wasn't wrong. Within the first couple of episodes of season 1 I was hooked and finished the first season (all 10 episodes) in two days! The first season is entirely filmed in Hebrew with English subtitles, but that didn't bother me at all. And really it's what prohibited me from getting up and leaving the room, you have to stay and watch so you don't miss anything. 

     Season One: The Danon family are your typical, run-of-the-mill family living in the suburbs of Jerusalem. Dr. Yael Danon is a successful surgeon who has received the exciting news that she's going to perform surgery on the Prime Minster, much to the annoyance of her elderly mentor. Her husband, Eyal is the headmaster at the local high school where their teenage son, Assaf, seems to be hitting a run of trouble. Finally, their seventeen year old daughter, Noa, has come across some terrifying information of which she is unsure how to tell her family. While they may look the picture of regularity, the Danon's have secrets that will come to the surface when their own lives are at risk.

     The night before Yael has to perform the surgery, her family is attacked and held hostage by four masked intruders. Their demands are that Yael is to kill the prime minster. The reasons are withheld from Yael, but if she does not meet with their demands, her family will be killed. With her family's well being on the line, Yael must walk a dangerous tightrope that will challenge her morality as a doctor and her devotion as a mother. To save her family (and possibly her career), Yael begins to search for the identity of the group leader. And who she discovers is beyond anything she could have expected.

     Meanwhile, Adam Rubin, chief of the Special Police Unit in Jerusalem, is ready to have his final mission before he retires. Adam has spent his career working in intense hostage situations and has made a respectful name for himself in Jerusalem. He is well known for his calm and capable nature when dealing with threats and an extraordinary ability to negotiate to avoid violence. Needless to say, Adam is one of the few people who knows how to do his job well. After he successfully apprehends his final hostage threat, Adam is done with his police service.

     And later that night, it's Adam and a group of associates that hold the Danon family hostage and demand the Yael take the life of the prime minister. Why would this hometown hero become what he has spent his entire career fighting? There is more than one reason as to why the prime minster is wanted dead. Some for money and revenge, but for Adam it's deeper, personal and as he puts it to Yael, "Think of it as saving your family." However, Yael soon realizes that it's not her family that Adam is necessarily referring to. 

   

     Season Two: Picking up literally hours where season one ended. Adam Rubin is once again caught in a hostage crisis, this time one of his own making. For five days, Adam and his family and friends are held up in a run down synagogue, desperate to flee the country. Yet, Adam's actions from the week before have caught up with him. While this hostage situation outside of Jerusalem is making news, the 'death' of the prime minister has sent waves beyond Israel; and this event brings to the forefront unlikely people caught up in a web of political lies and coverups.

     A beautiful young lawyer who arrives in Jerusalem to make a business deal.

     A ruthless mercenary with no compassion, just a desire to get the job done.

    A rookie security agent who comes across startling information about the murder of a man close to Adam Rubin, but her bosses refuse to let her investigate.

    All of these people are caught up in Adam's life and the hostage threat that he has created. 

********

    Unfortunately that's all I can say without giving away the entire, very complex storyline of season two. However, I will warn you that the last episode may leave you emotionally distraught for the next several hours. Yet, it's absolutely worth the watch!

Handsome, wonderful Adam...

     I've tried really hard to review this series without giving too much away! I will say that Adam Rubin is seriously the primary reason I kept watching the show. Within five minutes of meeting him, I was absolutely in love with him! His ever calm demeanor when dealing with life threatening situations, unwavering compassion, devotion to his family and friends, a history of absolute good will and above all, immense courage that effects everyone around him. 

     He's kind of a mix of Jack Bauer-just without the emotional damage-and Captain America, only he's Israeli. Not to say that's he's perfect, he's far from that and he makes some terrible mistakes (including threatening to kill a fourteen year old boy), but it's his flawed nature and his desire to be better that the criminals he's hunted down that makes all the more admirable. 

     One other aspect that I enjoyed about Hostages (and other reviewers brought this up too) was being able to see Jerusalem in its absolute beauty. You get some stunning views of rural and urban landscapes and just being able to view another culture in their day to day life was intriguing. I didn't know that the city was so metropolitan and incredibly breathtaking. 

     I'm still recovering from the end of season two, but seriously this was a very good series. If you don't mind watching the show in English subtitles, while swooning over a very well written hero and at the same time trying piece together a story that makes no sense until the very end, definitely watch this show. 

Mirror, Don't Lie....

Original Instagram post: Here

In spite of losing 30 lbs. I look in the mirror and still tend to underestimate the progress I’ve made. My legs still aren’t thin enough, my stomach not flat enough, my arms not tone enough. I’ve spent so long accepting how I looked when I was at my highest weight that I’m finding it hard to to adjust my thinking to how far I’ve gotten and how much I've actually lost, and that my appearance has changed dramatically. 

Because I’ve been unable to adjust my mindset, I’ve become incapable of contentment with the weight I’ve lost and have continued to lose. My goal was 135 and then 130 now it’s almost 125. That’s the thinnest I’ve been since 2012.

It also doesn’t help--at times--that I’ve always compared myself to beautiful female celebrities that do inspire me to work out and eat healthy, but I can become too hard on myself to strive for a look my body type was not made for.

L-R: Vikings actresses Kathryn Winnick and Georgia Hirst,
 and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman)

Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with finding inspiration with public figures. 

Kathryn Winnick is just gorgeous and absolutely fit (at 41 years old)! And I found myself somewhat intimidated at how stunning she is and feeling my own insecurities come to the surface every time I saw a picture of her. 

Georgia Hirst may not be a well known name, but I saw her Instagram posts of her workouts and healthy eating and I would think to myself, "Why can't I do that? Why can't I take care of myself like that? She's so beautiful. I could be doing so much better."

Gal Gadot is almost 6 ft tall and is an iron railing, but she weighs in at 130 lbs. At my highest weight, I was 30 pounds heavier than her and I'm only 5'5". I'm smaller than her and so I needed to weight less than her.

My general ambitions was to care for myself the way these women did by working out and starting to eat better. And believe me it really has worked. However, I can't fall into the obsessive thinking of wanting my body to look like theirs.

So now the question is how far do I keep going before I become so overwhelmed with the number and the excitement of the weight loss? I was 157 in July of last year. Now I’m (as of this morning) 126.2. That number is nothing to balk at, but to get to the next number has almost become an adrenaline rush for me.

The scale is not my enemy, it’s tool for my development. The mirror shows me what’s there. I’m not writing this to have people feel bad for me. Rather just to come to the acceptance that I have to learn where my limits are and how to practice the hard art of contentment with my hard work

Aren't you on the ministry team? Not today!

 If you are a need of a good laugh, I highly recommend this painfully accurate video about church life. I watched it three times last night and each was funnier than the last. This guy has totally nailed the American southern church.

The Legend of Tarzan

Do I categorize this movie in history or adventure??

     Whichever category I choose, this is a fun movie to watch. While not being a big Tarzan fan (I do love the Disney film), I watched it primarily for Alexander Skarsgard...and it was totally worth it. Unlike most renditions of the Tarzan storyline, Legend works backwards. The English gentleman must return to his roots as the now famed ape man of Africa to rescue the woman he loves. I was glad they did the story that way and not feel like it was repeating the typical Tarzan trope. History is also mixed in with fiction as it deals with the corruption of colonialism of Africa in the 19th century and the heavy price that was paid by its people.

Background: 

     In 1885, King Leopold of Belgium has laid claim to the Congo Basin. While giving the appearance of being successful and prosperous, Leopold has run the country into bankruptcy. He has been borrowing money to pay off his expensive railroads, while using illegal slavery of the Congo people for labor and profit. However, his debts are mounting and he has one last solution. The famed diamonds of Opar (a fictional city in the Tarzan novels) that are in the possession of Chief Mbonga.  The King sends his top man, Leon Rom to discuss terms of obtaining these diamonds. Mbonga has only one request, to get the diamonds, Leon must bring to him the the legendary Tarzan; a man that Mbonga has a personal vendetta against. 

* * * * *

     For the last eight years, Tarzan has been living as Lord John Clayton of London. After he was found by Jane Porter and brought back to his rightful home in England, he has tried to adjust to the human world. While John wants to live a quiet life, he himself is a worldwide celebrity. Books and magazines tell of his 'wild and harrowing' adventures in the jungles. 

     When he gets an unexpected invitation to go to Congo as a special guest of of King Leopold, he rejects it. Knowing full well he cannot live in two worlds. However, George Washington Williams an American envoy with his own secret agenda, informs John that there is more going on in Congo than just the king's supposed prosperity and asks him to reconsider.  

     John's hesitancy to return to Conga isn't entirely unreasonable. He feels obligated to continue the legacy of his parents who were shipwrecked and died in the jungle. He wants to live as his father may have once live and have the family that he never had. John's wife, Jane, is a lively and headstrong American; she grew up in Africa as the daughter of an American professor who taught the native people English. Jane is delighted at John's invitation to go back to Africa and wastes no time in making plans. John is unsure about Jane inviting herself as she had just suffered a miscarriage earlier that year. An incident that is putting a strain on their marriage.

     Eventually, for his wife's sake, John agrees to return to Africa. They have an exciting reunion with the tribal people that Jane grew up with and both John and Jane find themselves more relaxed than they ever were in England. The sadness of their lost baby, the confusion of John's future, the politics, the unwanted fame all disappear as John and Jane spend a passionate, love filled night with each other. 

     When morning comes, Leon Rom's deceptive plan to turn John over to Chief Mbonga is put into action. He raids the village, murders the chief and captures John and Jane. John manages to escape, but his wife is being held prisoner and leverage for him to turn himself over. Together, he and George face the dangerous Congo jungles. To save Jane and the Congonese people, John must return to a life he has tried so hard to let go of.  

    A beautifully filmed movie that was a simple story of a man caught between two worlds, but the woman he loved was the only world he needed. Swedish actor, Alexander Skarsgard may have been an unlikely choice for Tarzan, a supposed wild and ferocious man-beast. Yet, he brought to the character deep compassion and understanding. While not ruled by his emotions, Tarzan/John can be romantic and endearing while at the same time can be just as fearsome and powerful as the apes who raised him.

     Margot Robbie was wonderful as the beautiful and uncompromising Jane Porter Clayton. Not content with being a Lady, Jane's love of Africa and the native people is as strong as the love she has for her husband. Hardly a damsel in distress, Jane knows how to carry her own, but has complete faith that John will always return to her. 

     Samuel L. Jackson provided a great deal of comic relief to the story. His own character, George, is haunted by the wrongs of his past and hopes that coming to Congo will help right those wrongs. While they don't see eye to eye at first, John and George's trek through the jungle, meeting John's 'adopted family,' and learning about each other, brings two very different men into a strong friendship. 

I love this so, so much!

     While I felt that the script could have been better in some areas (most specifically Jane and some of her dialogue), I found Legend to be fun, energetic, romantic and even comedic all at the same time. I loved John and Jane's relationship and how they were facing the realities of marriage, such as a miscarriage, trying to fit into a society that was completely foreign to the both of them and determining where their future was.

      So often in films you see the beginnings of the love story that lead up to marriage, but rarely do you get to see the marriage itself. Everyone knows how Tarzan and Jane met, so why would you continue to repeat that same storyline? Instead you saw a marriage that wasn't perfect, that was going through some hard times, but there was strength and beauty to be gained from separation and eventual reunion.  

It's So Classic Tag

Olivia at Meanwhile In Rivendell tagged me for this classics blog tag. Thanks Olivia!

My knowledge and history with classic literature is somewhat lacking, though. I've tried to get into reading classics and more often than not, I just give up. That doesn't necessarily mean I don't have favorites!

Rules:

1. Link your post to Rebellious Writing (www.rebelliouswriting.com)
2. Answer the questions
3. Tag at least 5 bloggers.

The Questions:

1. What is one classic that hasn’t been made into a movie yet, but really needs to? 

     -Ishmael by E.D.E.N. Southworth. While it may not be immensely popular, it is a great story that I would definitely consider a classic. Caddie Woodlawn would be another one. There was a made for tv movie that came out in the late 80s and it was good, but I don't think that had ever been a feature length film made.

2. What draws you to classics? 

   

     - The history usually. It's hard to pinpoint what makes a classic a classic. Whether it's the popularity or the general message of the story, but most classics deal with history.

3. What is an underrated classic? 

     - I would probably have to say Ishmael again, but also the narrative of Mary Rowlandson's kidnap and survival in The Sovereignty and Goodness of God: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. This is an excellent, but very heartbreaking story.

4. What is one classic that you didn’t expect to love, but ended up loving anyway? 

     - The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Pryne was such a heroine in her own right. 

5. What are your most favorite and least favorite classics? 

     - Caddie Woodlawn would be my all time favorite! I think I've read the book...three times. I also love The Wizard of Oz series as well. My least favorite is Frankenstein. I listened to it on audiobook and while it had its good moments, it just dragged. 

6. What is your favorite character from a classic? Or if that is too hard, what is your favorite classic character trope (e.g. strong and silent, quiet sidekick, etc.)?

     - Athos from The Three Musketeers. He was my favorite when I watched the Disney film and was certainly my favorite when I read the book years later. He was flawed inside and out, but he was dutiful to his king and loyal to his friends.  

7. What’s a popular classic that you felt wasn’t actually that great?

     - Probably Frankenstein again. The story had a lot of potential but the constant description of everything got very, very wearing. 

8. Who is your favorite classic author? 

     - C.S. Lewis. I haven't read a great deal of classics from the same authors to really garner an opinion of a favorite. Meaning I haven't read a lot of Jane Austen or F. Scott Fitzgerald to consider them favorites.

9. In your opinion, what makes a classic a classic? 

     - It's staying power and what the story does for the time. If the themes from s story that was written 200 years ago are as relevant now as they were back then, you definitely have a classic.

10. Relating to newer books, what attributes does a book need to have in order to be worthy of the title “classic”?

     - Reality. If you can take words on a page and apply them to your day to day life, if you can understand the characters and see the human side to them the mirrors the world, then that story will be a classic for ages to come. 

D.C. Trip 2019

     At the beginning of August my sister and I took a 3 day trip to Washington D.C. Even though I've lived only 4 hours away from the capitol my whole life, I've never been there. It was a wonderful trip! I visited Arlington, Smithsonian, including The National Air and Space Museum, The American Art Museum, The Museum of American History--The Library of Congress, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, The Korean War Memorial, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and The Holodomor Memorial.

Arlington is so vast that it's impossible to document everything, 

but I did get some great pictures of the Kennedy Memorial.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis 

President John F. Kennedy and

 his infant son Patrick Joseph

Arabella Kennedy 

John and Jackie's stillborn daughter

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy

 Edward Moore "Ted/Teddy" Kennedy

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. 

The oldest Kennedy child who was killed in WWII

 The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Smithsonian

The Capitol and The Library of Congress

The WWII Memorial

     Of course what I have here doesn't scratch the surface of my complete documentation of the trip, but most of it was also videos that I'm not able to post. Also, it was good to just put down the camera and enjoy the views.

    When we weren't visiting historical landmarks we were riding the metro station...constantly! We also went out to several interesting restaurants, Old Ebbit Grill which was near the White House and a wonderful dumpling joint in Chinatown. 

     The best and most unexpected of all was meeting my best friend! My friend, Celeste and I met online back in 2007 and for over ten years we have been trying to meet each other! She's originally from Maryland, but moved to Arlington several years ago. Due to our busy schedules, we aren't able to talk as much and so it never dawned on me to tell her that I was coming to D.C. When I started posting pictures and videos of my trip on my Instagram, she was floored that we were coming to D.C. and we were both finally able to meet! It was incredible!