Fall Premieres got me like...

'Tis the season.  The weather is changing, the children are all back in school, pumpkin spice is EVERYWHERE.  And the most important thing of the season is FALL PREMIERES.  Now, every fall I make a list and record all the shows I think show potential.  That list slowly grows shorter as the season progresses but it starts with optimism and promise.  This time 'round, it seems as though the networks are spicing it up a bit with new takes on old things and tapping into the overflowing, nerd trough.  I am excited about this potential season for both new and returning television shows despite the fact that most of my time is spent reading and studying these days.  But I will make time for my shows.  Below I have listed the potentials and returners in order of premiere date.

September 16th

New Girl
Our beloved gang returns and...attends a wedding!  This new season is starting off strong with some pretty great lines coming from all four corners.  The episode rang true to my own fridge-invitation life and I could empathize wholly with them.  This season is already starting to look better than the last.

The Mindy Project
Mindy and Danny.  Finally.  I don't think I really need to say anymore than that.  Those last five minutes.  Perfection.  Looking forward to this week's episode.  Thanks, Mindy.

September 17th

Red Band Society
I watched the pilot to this a couple weeks ago and was impressed with the issues it tackled.  Although I believe it's highly unlikely that these kids would be living in a hospital.  Didn't make sense to me but whatever.  It's kind of like Degrassi meets Scrubs.  We'll see how it continues.

The Mysteries of Laura
Wasn't too sure about this one but then I saw Debra Messing was in it so of course I had to try it.  Of course Debra Messing is pure gold, from her stress eating to her power over gay men.  She's fab and I think I'll continue to watch.

September 22nd

Gotham
A new potential and one of the most promising.  Considering every billboard in LA has ads for this show plastered across it, I would say I would be a dunce not to try and watch it.  Plus, nerd.

Sleepy Hollow
This show.  It is the perfect mixing of history, literature, fantasy, theology, and men with accents.  Abbie and Crane are one of my favorite duos on television right now.  And I am still reeling from that season finale blow to my head.  Like, woah.  I am anxious to see what's in store for this season.

September 23rd

Marvel's Agents of Shield
Well.  I began watching this show when it first premiered and I was unimpressed but continued to watch.  Eventually I stopped watching and have only recently, at my mother's behest, finally caught up.  I have to say, it was worth it.  Those last episodes were pretty awesome.  Unfortunate that it took the fallout of Captain America 2 to get the story rolling but I think it gave it that exciting, nail-biting drama and action that was so lacking in the beginning of last season.

September 24th

Black-ish
I don't know.  I'm white.  I feel like I should watch this show for like, education or something.  Plus, it looks like it will be funny.

Honorable mentions:
The Middle
Modern Family
The Goldbergs

September 25th

How to Get Away With Murder
Being a 1L, I feel obligated to watch this show to compare and contrast the actual experience with this tv version.  Plus, Viola Davis is in it and I think she'll be a ball-buster.  We shall see.

September 28th

Once Upon A Time
Holy moly ravioli.  One of my favorite shows for countless reasons.  It's returning people.  After that Hook/Swan kiss and the baby and the Elsa and the Marian and Outlaw Queen.  Gah!!!!  Throws me into a frenzy.  I'll just stop while I'm ahead.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Glad it's back.  One of the top comedies coming out of last year.  Eager to see Peralta working undercover.

September 30th

Selfie
I really want this show to succeed.  Not just because it's a take on Pygmalion/My Fair Lady (one of my favorite plays/musicals) but because Karen Gillan and John Cho!  Great pairing.  The pilot episode had me laughing and sympathizing and self-reflecting (it was a weird night).  But I am hopeful that this will take off and that people will love it and that it will maintain a good quality throughout.

Manhattan Love Story
I am still unsure of this one.  I haven't really seen any ads for this and I've only watched one trailer.  I'll watch the whole pilot before I make any further judgments.

October 2nd

Gracepoint
David Tennant and Anna Gunn.  Goodbye.

A to Z
Watched the pilot.  Has a little bit of a 500 Days of Summer vibe to it.  Looking forward to the letter 'B'.

October 5th

Bob's Burgers
If you don't watch this show, you need to because it is pure gold.

Mulaney
Not too sure about this show.  Looks like it's trying too hard to be Seinfeld.  I mean, I can just go watch Seinfeld.

October 7th

The Flash
Flash.  Ah ah!  Have to watch it.  For reasons.

October 12th

The Walking Dead
No explanation or intro needed.

October 14th

Marry Me
I hope this is my replacement for Happy Endings.  Please please please.

October 24th

Grimm
Okay.  I think the writers of this show know exactly what they're doing because every single season has ended on a cliffhanger.  So now I need to watch to find out what happens next!  It's so frustrating.  But a great show all the same.

Constantine
Also watching this for reasons.  Nerd reasons.


God bless my DVR.

"I think I'll go to law school today!"

The day approaches. In just under a month I will be returning to school to pursue a law degree.  Crazy, right?  People keep telling me I'm crazy and saying things like, "there are too many lawyers in this world" or "the job market's looking pretty slim for lawyers as of late."  All things I'm grateful to hear after spending countless hours studying for the LSAT and applying to schools.  Wasted effort, right?  Because I just woke up one day and decided I was going to go to law school...

Anywho, I will be making my way up the coastline and moving to the sunny and crowded Los Angeles.  I'm both excited and a bit nervous, as should be expected.  Law school is a pretty big deal and living in a big city and going to law school is a really big deal.  Making my way up the coast from San Diego, then to Orange County and now onto Los Angeles seems a bit backwards.  I feel as if I should be going the other way round.

I will definitely miss my undergraduate experience in San Diego but I'm glad to be going somewhere I've never lived before as to make new friends (hopefully) and have new experiences (that don't include Netflix).  And I'm getting all prepped for school by checking my schedule every day, harassing the financial aid office on a fairly regular basis, and looking for a place to live that hopefully isn't crime-ridden or sketchy.  Also, binge watching any shows I am currently watching as to not be distracted by them come fall.  All very important tasks.

I'm nervous and ready and scared and fearless.  A walking contradiction.  I guess the thought of law school can do that to a person.  Make them perhaps a little insane.

Well, see you in three years!

Hopefully.

Chicks and Flicks

WARNING: Extremely Girly

I am not going to deny that I love romantic movies.  I mean, I love action movies and thrillers and comedies, etc.  But there's something about these movies that is very comforting and familiar.  Behind this intimidating and headstrong exterior (words that have been so lovingly said of me) is a girl who loves love.  And I am in love with movies where love reigns supreme.  Given a Friday night alone, I would pick any one of these movies.  Here I have ranked my top 12 romantic movies.  Why I picked 12, I do not know (Buzzfeed is slowly infiltrating every aspect of my life).  Some may agree, some may disagree.  But this is my blog and my ranking... so there.

12. The Little Mermaid

I'm starting my list off with a little classic.  My favorite Disney movie and one of my favorite romances.  A mermaid, ginger no less, dreams of the world above.  Then along comes Prince Eric who just so happens to be a hot piece of dish and human.  Yeah, it's a kid's movie but it's also a kid's movie I grew up on and still obsess over.  Still can't get over the "Part of Your World (Reprise)" scene with Eric splayed out on the beach while Ariel sings to him as the sun shines directly over them.  Kills me.

11. Some Kind of Wonderful

Probably John Hughes' most underrated 80's flick.  Eric Stoltz and Mary Stuart Masterson.  Keith and Watts.  Blessed pairing.  It's a classic "I'm in love with my best friend" movie.  Keith fawns over and asks out Caroline in the City all the while Watts is on the sideline.  She even has to drive them around their little date!  But that last scene always gets me.  Marty McFly's mom needs time to be alone and Keith realizes he is actually in love with Watts and we have that wonderful scene where he chases after Watts and that awesome Celtic version of "Can't Help Falling in Love" plays and it's just amazing.  Plus, Eric Stoltz is a ging and totally attractive. "Well, you're stupid.  I always knew you were stupid."

10. Pretty in Pink

Another John Hughes makes the list.  Most people would go for Sixteen Candles or St. Elmo's Fire but nope.  I pick these two.  Molly Ringwald, another ginger, plays Andie, a girl who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.  Her best friend is Jon Cryer aka "Duckie" and she works in a record shop.  Pretty awesome.  Duckie's in love with Andie who's in love with Blane.  Another "I'm in love with my best friend" movie but this one is probably a tad more realistic since Duckie doesn't end up with the girl.  But he does end up with Buffy Summers which is pretty awesome.  And Duckie's rendition of "Try a Little Tenderness" is one of my favorite scenes in the movie.  Gotta love Duck.  He tried so hard and still didn't get the girl.  Stupid rewrites.

9. Little Women

Christian Bale as Laurie.  I die.  But whenever I'm in a 90's/period piece mood this one is always my choice. Laurie is in love with Jo but she isn't in love with him.  It seems I have a theme of unrequited love going on with this list but bear with me.  Despite the fact that Jo doesn't end up with Laurie, I do like that she ended up with Mr. Bhaer, the German professor.  A far better relationship, I believe.  And when he delivers her manuscript and Jo goes chasing after him, I can't help but smile like an idiot as they kiss in the rain under an umbrella.  Oh yeah! And Eric Stoltz is in this one too!

8. Notting Hill

"I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her."  I visited the store where this movie was filmed and, although it is now a shoe shop, I can totally imagine it as a site for romance.  Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant make a lovely pair.  I can't really choose one scene that I love because I love them all.  But the scene where those words are uttered have become iconic in my eyes.  And Hugh Grant's race to the press conference is pretty hysterical.  And when she changes her answer to the question of how long she will be staying in London I lose all control of my limbs.

7. Moulin Rouge!

Do I even need to explain?  Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman standing on top of an elephant while singing, quite possibly, the best love song mash-up ever.  Baz is a genius and I refuse to believe otherwise.  This movie is all about love and romance.  I can't help but feel happy inside whenever I watch it... despite the depressing ending.  It's silly and fun and wonderful.

6. Clueless

"I love Josh!"  A modern spin on my third favorite Jane Austen novel, Emma.  When I want a familiar and fun chick flick I choose this one.  Paul Rudd and Alicia Silverstone are a great onscreen couple and I can't help but love them.  I'm not going to lie, I always imagined finding a guy like Josh in college.  It never happened, mind you.  Obviously.  My favorite moment has to be at the very end where Cher catches the bouquet and her and Josh kiss and he plays with her curls while "Tenderness" plays in the background.  Adorable.

5. Bridget Jones's Diary

A modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice.  We can all relate to Bridget.  She's clumsy, awkward, and doesn't have her life together at all.  And then there's Colin Firth.  Homanuh homanuh homanuh.  Makes for a great kissing scene at the end.  Standing in the snow in her underwear.

"Nice boys don't kiss like that." "Oh, yes, they f-ing do."

4. Casablanca/Gone With the Wind/From Here to Eternity/Seven Brides for Seven Brothers/Breakfast at Tiffany's/Sabrina/Roman Holiday/My Fair Lady....etc.

I rank these altogether because when I'm in a classics mood, I could go for any one of these.  Whether it's the four-hour epic Gone With the Wind or the ridiculously fun Roman Holiday, I soak up the romance.  Oh and that kissing scene in From Here to Eternity...yum.

3. Ever After

"A bird may love a fish, signore, but where would they live?"

Considering I can quote every single line from this movie verbatim I would say I have an affinity for watching this movie repeatedly.  I am a sucker for fairytales in general.  Re-imagined fairytales?  I'm dead.  I could have picked any Drew Barrymore movie since I love her in all of them from Never Been Kissed to The Wedding Singer but I chose this one because it caters to my period-drama fancy.  There are so many romantic scenes in this movie it's hard to choose just one.  When they meet in court or when they get captured by gypsies or when they meet in the ruins or the ball!  Gah!!!  I can't get over it.  It all is just wonderful and magical and completely girly.

2. Say Anything

"Don't be a guy, be a man."

Lloyd Dobler in a trench coat holding a stereo playing "In Your Eyes" outside of Diane Court's window.  Probably one of the most iconic romantic scenes of all time.  If a boy ever wanted to win me over or win me back, this would be the way to do it.  I love how much Lloyd loves Diane.  A pair that seems completely wrong for each other ends up being the greatest couple ever.  And then they fly off to London together.  I have based my entire flight theory off that last scene.  Wait for the ding.

1. Pride and Prejudice (both 1995 & 2003 versions)

As I have said previously, I am a sucker for period dramas.  That being said, my love for Jane Austen novels knows no bounds. While the rest of my tour group was hanging out in a pub in Bath, I was visiting the Jane Austen museum with a bunch of older women.  I was so obsessed with the 2003 version that I watched and rewatched it after school every day for three weeks before my parents finally took the dvd away and hid it from me.  I've gone through three copies of this movie.  I can't get enough.  At one point I had all the lines memorized and could quote any scene on demand.  I have reread the book multiple times and when I say multiple, I mean A LOT.  It is my favorite coupling of all time and my favorite love story.  The sassy and vivacious Elizabeth and handsomely brooding Mr. Darcy set their differences aside to find they're more alike than they originally thought.  My favorite scene has to be the first proposal scene.  This scene varies between the 1995 and 2003 version but the 1995 version remains truest to the book.  But there's no denying that that almost-kiss in the 2003 version is pretty hot.  And all the scenes at Pemberley in both versions.

"Mrs. Darcy."

Disclaimer: I know I have excluded several movies but I found it really difficult to rank even these ones!


-Mossmonster

Wanderluster

In my recent years, my desire to travel has exponentially increased to the point that it stresses me out if I am not traveling somewhere within a six month period.  I simply love to travel.  My last greatest excursion was to the wonderful and illustrious French Riviera where the air is aromatic and the nudists run rampant.  Both beautiful and eye-gouging.  I am currently counting down to the end of May when I will be once again flying off to ye ol' Europe, specifically Scotland.  Probably one of my most favorite places mainly because I actually fit in as a ginger person.  It's also extremely beautiful and the people are simply amazing whether or not you're able to understand anything they are saying.  Now, as my departure time slowly approaches, I have already been thinking on my next travels.  I've had a list going for a while of places I want to visit before I die and if it seems completely scatter-brained, it's because it is.

1.  Peru.

I can't really grasp why I want to go to Peru.  I think it mainly has to do with my deep love for Paddington Bear and the role he played in my childhood with his cute little wellies and duffle coat.

But I also want to wear a poncho and scale the mountains to Machu Picchu whilst eating guinea pig.  Maybe not all at once.  That might not be such a good idea for digestion.

2.  Iceland.

Well, Bjork for one.  Ice hotels for another.  I think after Die Another Day I was pretty much sold on the idea because, you know, James Bond.  But seriously! A hotel.  Made of ice.  It's the dream.

Maybe not the dream, but it is one.  My Nordic and Gaelic bloodlines draw me in mainly.  But also James Bond.

3. Russia.

I think this dream travel spot stems from my wanting to reenact the St. Petersburg scene from the animated movie, Anastasia, with my teenage heartthrob, John Cusack.  But I think I'd rather have him reenact it as Lloyd Dobler rather than Demetri.  Another reason why I want to travel to Mother Russia is because one of my favorite books, Anna Karenina, is set here and I would love to just sit in the train station and watch people come and go.  And hopefully not get thrown under any trains.

4. Morocco.

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, I would most definitely walk into this one.

5.  Greece.

Not saying that I want to sing "Mamma Mia" while running through a hillside island city, but I do.  I definitely want to jump off a huge rock into the clear blue sea and ride a donkey to the top of Santorini.  It's ridiculous how much I want to do this.  And Shipwreck Cove!!!

Goodness.  Athens.  Olympia.  I would love to explore Ancient Greek landmarks such as the Parthenon and brush up on my Greek mythology.  Thanks, Percy Jackson.

6.  Egypt/Jordan

I just want to ride out of Petra with Harrison Ford on a horse having just found and lost a holy relic.

But for reals.  Cairo.  Alexandria.  The pyramids.  The Sphynx.  The Nile.  Khan el-Khalili.  You have chosen... wisely.

I regret that most of the places I want to travel mainly have to do with movies or tv shows but I guess that's how we're exposed to many things we come to love and long for.  My Pinterest board is evidence of that.  I'm just not content with staying stagnant.  I desire motion.  I want to be a world wanderer.  I want to see things and experience things outside of the dome that is Southern California.  I concur that not all who wander are lost.  I believe that those who are wander are made richer and fuller for venturing to step out their front door.

-Mossmonster

Ms. Optimist

In my senior year of high school I was voted "Most Optimistic" and if you knew me my senior year, this was rather hilarious. That last year of high school... well, let's just say that it made college all that more appealing to me. I'm not one to dwell on the past but I am most definitely obsessive (boys be warned). I don't regret my decisions or life choices; I think they have very much made me who I am today and I kind of like me. But, I obsess over the most asinine things like the fact that I didn't tip that server enough money that one time at Johnny Rocket's in LA in 2009 (if that man has fallen on hard times, I blame myself). Getting back on track, for all I know two people voted me for that superlative just to fill in the space and no one actually thought I was that optimistic.  This was high school after all; superficial was pretty much all you got. But for whatever reason, this was something that has definitely resonated with me through college and beyond. I am a fairly optimistic person. Maybe it's my religion, maybe it's just my personality, but I tend to think on the bright side of things and take a half-glass-full stance on most situations. Positivity is key to a long and healthy life after all.*

I'm always the one cheering people up and making them laugh. And I love to do that. I might have done really well in clown college if not for my fear of clowns. I sometimes don't know how to maneuver certain emotional situations because I am awkward but I do my best. And I realize that I have no idea where I was going with this. So I will just say, stay positive and everything will be okay in the end, if it's not okay, it's not the end or some crap like that.**









*Disclaimer: I actually have no idea if this is true.
**I am also a realist and know that if you jump off a cliff and hope everything will be okay you will die. So stay safe and practice safe optimism.