Puerto Rico 3: Wisconsin. Sort of.

I feel like a terrible blogger. Been thinking a lot about the one post I managed to upload so far, and I think it came off more like crazyinsaneangrybitterwriter.

Not quite what I was going for. No.

I just meant that I don’t like it when people treat writing like it’s super easy, like anyone can do it. Crap, I’ve been at this “writing books” thing for years now, and I don’t even know if I can do it.

It’s kind of like on Scrubs (LOVE that show. NU love, right?), where Zach (What’s his name in the show? I’m talking about the main character) is always having his inner monologue. It’s not always nice, and it’s not always smart. In fact, it’s rarely coherent. That’s what that blog post was. My inner monologue, one that’s been pent up for a long time.

But enough of this. Onwards!

Many things have happened since the last post I wrote. I have a whole week to write about, so if you want, feel free to skip to the pictures. I like them more anyways.

On Sunday we went to the beach with Janet’s cousin and her family. They’re all really nice, and we had a lot of alcohol and snacks.

Jorge, Janet’s son, made what NU students call “jungle juice” out of water, tang, and a whole handle of vodka. Shake it up in the gallon of water, serve on ice with a shot of rum. Magic. I don’t know what he thinks of me (language barrier and all), but he instantly won me over with that concoction.



The beach itself was marvelous, even though it was more crowded than Michigan Avenue on Black Friday. A line of rocks blocked the current, so it was mostly calm. There was nothing, however, that could block the sun. I got burned. Bad.

What’s that, you say?

Yes, I used sunblock. I forgot to reapply after going in the water, so my sweat proof, water proof, long lasting sunblock clocked out after a half hour of beach time. Super fail.

It was miraculous, however painful it was, that the sun even shone at all. It’s been raining the whole few weeks I’ve been here, only letting up about three times: Once for Old San Juan, once for the light house, and once for the beach.

After the beach, there was no escaping the rain, so we drove down to Lares, a town closer to the center of the island. It’s up in the mountains, and quite frankly, it’s beautiful.



Yeah. We hung out there, and it didn’t rain. When I say we “hung out” I definitely mean that we got ice cream, looked around for twenty minutes, and left.



Because Ice cream is definitely worth the drive, and I say that without sarcasm. This particular ice cream shop is renowned for its quality as well as its variety.

Hem hem.

Variety.

I’m not kidding about that word at all. They had the normal flavors, like chocolate and vanilla. They even had the island flavors, like quenepa, parcha (passionfruit), and coconut. Then they had… well… weird flavors. Like garlic flavor, and bacalau (a fish dish… no joke). They also had corn, carrot, and rice flavored. Check it:



I didn’t go for the path less taken. I stuck with passionfruit and coconut, because it seems logical to make something sweet out of… something sweet. But something sweet out of something savory? Not too sure about that.



After we abandoned the town, we drove around for a while and got wonderfully lost. It was a pretty fun adventure.



LOOK! A MOO!



Basically, Lares is famous for its ice cream, and its cows. Highest dairy production of Puerto Rico, or something like that. In other words, it's like the Wisconsin of the island. Hehe. I know my fellow Wisconsinites will appreciate that one.

Alright, I’m going to end this post here because there will be a lot of pictures, but get pumped because PONCE is next, and it’s basically made of awesome.

Listening to: Incubus. Seriously, ANYTHING by Incubus.
Eating: Quenepas. So. Many. Quenepas. Oh, and cremitas de coco.

The Lighthouse, Pirates, and Endless Rain (July 17)

I remember reading the first entry of Kate’s Blog and thinking how much it would suck if it rained through my vacation. Yeah. About that.

It’s been raining for the past week, on and off, but very hard. Lightning storms kept me up one night. It sounded like the lightning was going to hit the house. And don’t even get me started on the wind. I was listening for tornado sirens for a solid hour before I realized that here in the Caribbean tornadoes are nothing. Hurricanes are where it’s at. At least there’s more of a warning for them, right?

We visited my great aunt Elba the other day, and she made us really yummy smoothies:



I know there's pineapple juice in them, but beyond that, I've no idea. Made of goodness, though.

I also got to see her son, Pedro (who we call Tai… I don't know where he got the nickname, so don't ask):



The rain poured down, but we sat on her porch and talked a lot. With them, at least, I feel comfortable breaking through the language barrier and making mistakes with my Spanish. I don’t know how I didn’t realize how cool Elba was last time, but I really enjoyed visiting her and Tai.

The rain did stop twice for us so far. Once, when Dad and I went to Old San Juan (see the last blog post). It was so sunny and beautiful. The second time was yesterday, when we went to go see the lighthouse. Again, very sunny, and very beautiful.

I was excited to go, even though I was confused. After all, how much is there to see in a lighthouse, other than… the light? Turns out they have a whole park around the historical monument, complete with food, a playground, and a cave (SO COOL!). Our trip coincided with the trip of a local school, but the kids mostly stayed on the playground, so we mostly had the park to ourselves.

All together there were four of us; Dad, my great aunt Elba, Janet’s niece Ivonne (who we picked up the day before from the airport), and me. Ivonne is a sweetheart. She’s seventeen, and knows a hell of a lot of Spanish, even though she lives in Connecticut. She comes to Puerto Rico every summer, a fact I am insanely jealous of. I think my Spanish, and the connection to the Hispanic part of me, would be more solid, more intact, if only I tuned into it more often by coming here.

Anyways, we made our way to the dock type thing, and this is what we saw:



Yes. A BOAT playground! Confession: I thought they were real boats for .5 seconds. Then I came back to reality.



Then we walked up the hill to the lighthouse itself. On the way, we saw a huge iguana!



Can you see it? I swear, it was posing.

Up at the lighthouse, the view was incredible:






Also, there was cool guitar music playing at a nice volume from speakers. It seriously put me in a good mood, like my life at that moment had a soundtrack. I now firmly believe that every tourist attraction should have a soundtrack. Amazingness.

Another fun thing about this park? The bathrooms were made of mini lighthouses:



Epic win, right?


The stairs were cool, but precarious:



Inside, the lighthouse had been turned to a museum of historical boat-themed stuff:







TREASURE CHEST:



MINI SHIP:



Unfortunately, my camera died shortly after this, so I didn’t get the super cool pirate cave that Ivonne and I braved. The adults (no, I’m not an adult yet. Don’t say it) waited outside, thinking that it would be a stupid kid thing. But in the end, they missed out on the superior air conditioning. Among other things.

Just like in the lighthouse, there was a soundtrack. This time, it was from Pirates of the Caribbean, which made me a very happy camper. At the beginning of the cave, there was a bunch of pirates in silly poses. Cliché stuff. There were some funny lines, but over all, it felt kind of like a cheap version of the Disneyworld ride. I was fine with it, because of the music and the air conditioning. Then there was this really dark hall, and red eyes lit up, and Ivonne and I got really freaked out.

But right after that, there was a sort of mini aquarium. Since I’ve never been to one, it was really cool. There were baby sharks, and eels, and all kinds of shiny fish. It was so cool! There were a few more tanks like that, and then we saw a baby alligator, and (in a separate tank, of course) turtles (sea turtles, mate).

We walked into the next chamber and there was a small pool with a wooden bridge over it. Guess what was in the pool? Go ahead, guess.

Sting rays!!!!

SO DAMN AWESOME!!!!

I was so angry my camera died, but it was still a lot of fun.

After that, we got food (really good food), and Elba bought a coconut. She got the top sliced off and we drank the coconut water inside. Ok, so it was mostly me drinking the coconut water, but in my defense, no one else really wanted any. It was so good!

Later that day, Dad, Janet, and I went to visit my aunt Maggie and her husband, Pedro. In case you’re wondering, most men in my Grandma’s family are named Pedro, haha. We went to the country club, where a party was being hosted by the basketball champions of Puerto Rico (Los Capitanes de Arecibo). Basically it was a party to cater to the rich sponsors so they still cough up money next season.

Maggie and Pedro are members of the country club, so we went through the party and hung out at the bar. I got my second drink in a public place; a rum and coke (or as they call it here, Cuba Libre).

Aunt Maggie and Uncle Pedro:


I wish I could have talked more to Maggie, but she was across from me and because of the basketball party, it was so loud.

Today I spent my first day at home, since Dad and Janet have some wedding business to take care of. I’ve been getting a lot of writing done, mostly in the mornings before we leave and at night after everyone is asleep. I’m really happy, because I think my latest project is turning into a real book. Right now I have 10k words, and I’m still going strong. I got a lot of writing done earlier, but now I’m hungry and there’s almost no food in the house, except for cereal and Oreos.

Womp womp.

Hopefully later I’ll get out of the house, but if not, tomorrow we’re going to the beach!

Well, as long as it doesn’t rain.

Puerto Rico 1 (Days 1-3): The Monsoon Begins

Note: There are at least 7 Puerto Rico logs total. I'll try to put writing related posts in between these, but I make no guarantees.

The first night I got here, it was raining. Dad and I grabbed our bags and we searched for Janet (his fiancé) in the parking lot. Once we got past the white lights, there were palm trees everywhere. We found Janet after a short walk, and began the hour drive home.

Puerto Rico is tricky, in that if you’re not paying attention, it can fool you into thinking it’s just another part of the USA. Walgreens is rampant, along with Walmart, Kmart, and CVS. All the major fast food chains are here, too. But then there’s the hills and mountains. And if you open the window at night (which is impossible not to do at home… more on that later), you can hear the coquis (small frogs that make big noises) chirping merrily away. Especially when it rains.

We stopped for food on our way home, and I got a Cubano sandwich (a whole lot of pork, mustard, and pickles on thick white bread) and a Malta India (like beer and coke, without the alcohol). So good.

I crashed once we got to Janet’s, right after a long awaited shower and the promise of a VERY early morning (six am… five am CST).

Ok, that’s a lie. I finished SHIVER before falling asleep, and it was SO GOOD. I loved it. The ending was beautiful. This merits its own blog post, so I’ll stop ranting. But if you haven’t read it, read it. I especially recommend it to people who don’t like YA, because it’ll prove any negative presumptions you have about it to be false.

Back to Puerto Rico:

In order to use the good car, dad and I would go with Janet to work, then pick her up later. Six am came, and I woke up after a night of loud storms, cackling dogs, and yard work (the neighbor is crazy, I promise).

We drove an hour and a half to San Juan, which I found out isn’t the same vicinity as Old San Juan. It’s like Chicago, in that you can really be in Evanston but tell people you go to school in Chicago. Oh. Is that just me?

After we dropped off Janet, dad and I got breakfast at a diner. Eggs (juevos), ham (jamon), and toast (pan… frita?) made for an amazing breakfast. Let me just point out the toast in Puerto Rico is NOT the same as toast in the states. If the toast here were the standard for toast in the states, the Atkins diet wouldn’t exist. No one would be able to refuse the buttery flaky bread.

Also, I found out that despite the vast differences between the states and Puerto Rico, there will always be old men in diners arguing pointlessly about politics. Good to know some things never change.

Soon we were off to Bayamon, where my great aunt Marta and dad’s friend Abel live. We stopped at Kmart to grab me a bathing suit (which I love, AND only paid 11 dollars for! Score!), and then we went to visit Marta. It was nice to see her again, but the language barrier freaked both of us out enough that we didn’t talk much. Dad couldn’t get a hold of Abel until we were about to leave, only to find that Abel will be in Ponce until August 1.

Bummer. Abel is a lot of fun, and from what I remember from my last visit, he and his family were super nice to dad and I. Apparently they’re like brothers. I heard a lot of great embarrassing stories about dad from Abel. I hope we can meet up at some point.

As we drove back to San Juan, dad decided that we should go check out El Morro, the fortress surrounding San Juan. So we got a parking space and strolled down Old San Juan. We had a quick lunch of what I like to call “Plantain Lasagna,” (god it’s so much better than it sounds, or looks:



Then we made our way to El Morro, but it was so beautiful, so we took our time:





Finally we made it to El Morro:





We went inside the fortress, which was really cool:









The major problem was dad’s foot. Janet got sick of crocs (just like the rest of the world) and got dad some tasteful shoes. He wore them without socks, and soon they started cutting into his heel. Ouch. We had to stop and get him some different ones. Check out the fat cat hangin' in the store:



The other problem was the sun. It was beautiful outside, but I think if I stayed much longer I would have baked through and through. Once I had my fill of El Morro, we walked down this really cool street that has a lot of cute tourist shops. At the end of it there’s a church with a very cool story.

Apparently, in the old days they used to have horse races down that street, and a man lost control and went over the cliff. Miraculously, he lived. In honor of what they believed was a miracle, the town built a church on that spot.

But enough about churches. Let’s talk about booze:



Dad took me to the bar where the piña colada originated (supposedly) and bought me my first alcoholic drink! Ok. My first alcoholic drink in public. See?



The bartender was making fun of a few Americans. “Where are you from?” he asked them, “and don’t say Texas. It’s too predictable.”

Sure enough, he asked us. “TEXAS,” my dad said, sure to use an accent. Sigh.

We also met this nice couple celebrating their 18th anniversary. They were on a cruise through the islands, and they could throw back rum like nobody’s business. As dad and I left, they started on their third drink. And the bartender was NOT stingy with the rum.

Note: It is super tasty to dip a maraschino cherry in rum and then eat it.

I’m proud to say that despite that long outing in the sun, I am not burned. We picked up Janet and grabbed some mofongo before going home:



I also had another Malta India:



It’s getting really addictive at this point.

Today wasn’t nearly as interesting, though we did get to visit my great aunt Elba. We also stopped at this cool bakery place for lunch. I got another Cubano, and then dad picked out some amazingly tasty pastries that are like the cheese Danish’s superior cousin.

My only regrets so far? Quenepas seem to be out of season, and I haven’t been in the Ocean yet.

Reading:
1) Pride and Prejudice
2) Good Omens
3) Women Who Run with the Wolves

Listening to:
1) Werewolf by Cat Power
2) Coquis
3) Crickets
4) Rain

Spanish Lesson of the day:

Casa means “house.” Casar means “to get married.” To get married, according to Spanish language, is literally the verb of “home.” To get married is to make a home. Do not miss spell Casar. If you miss one letter (replace the S with a Z), you may say “to hunt.” Which may or may not be the word you were looking for originally.

***

I’m going to go partake in what I’m sure will be a wonderful dinner, and hope that I still fit into my bridesmaid dress.

Feels like heaven, peeps.

Hasta Luego!

Writing Spaces

My short stint as an NBN writer revealed one thing: I love Kafein. I really, really love it. Besides the fact that it’s a homonym of one of a writer’s greatest allies, it creates a great writing space for most writers.

Right now I’m sitting on a rickety bed next to a painting of Jesus playing basket ball (I shit you not), and I’d give my pinky toes to sit in an upright chair, crazy music blasting, next to my writerly friends, sipping on a large cup of green tea.

It got me thinking about writing spaces in general, and what kinds of colors, sounds, and moods make for the best writing. Just like music, I think writing spaces are a very personal choice, so I thought I’d share mine with you for this blog post.

Note: This is in Dreamy McDreamland, so my writing space might get a little… carried away.

It all starts with the chair. It’ll be one of those swiveling office ones, with plush leather, and an adjustable height. Also, the back will be high, so when I’m at a loss for words I can lean back and rest my head while I stare at the ceiling.

As for the desk, it’ll be relatively simple. A long table would do, but a cool heavy wooden one would be a plus. On MTV Cribs (don’t judge me), the Hansons (ok, I just judged me) had this cool antique French table. It’s beautiful, and everything I could ever want in a table/desk thing. The tables at Kafein really tickle my fancy, what with the ornate colors and bohemian designs. Love them. So much.





I’d like a window, one with a spectacular view of nature; maybe a field, or the ocean. No, the best view would be the edge of a forest. I’d also need a set of thick, deep, dark curtains to drown out the light every so often. No roads or highways should be visible from this window, as when I get to writing I start to despise technology and the modern era in general (even though I couldn’t live without a laptop and/or music device). The distant hum of cars is ok, as I’d probably drown out any and all white noise with music.

On my wall, I’d like a corkboard, to put pictures, quotes, ideas, and anything else inspirational. It’d seriously help the creative process, I think. Worst case scenario, it’d look pretty. Note to self: Buy corkboard for apartment next year.

Next is the tea area, which is why I’d like a long table. I’ll have a water heater upper thing (compliments of Dan Shin), so that needs to sit on the table, along with my favorite mug, and a box of green tea. A small container of honey and a lemon or two would also sit here. Perfection.

Oh yeah. My laptop. I’d need that, too. And surround sound speakers!

Sigh. Just thinking about it makes me happy. I want to be there right now, even though I’m loving it in Puerto Rico.

What about you? What is your perfect writing space? Are there people, and music? Or are you alone, with silence as your only company? Would you want your cat and your book collection nearby? An espresso machine and hot barista within earshot (and eyeshot) at all times?

We all have to suck it up and write in places that can seem less than ideal, but I think every writer needs at least one or two things to really get in the zone. Me? I need noise. Most of the time I won’t settle for anything less than my favorite song, but thunderstorms make for a great writing ambience.

What is something you absolutely cannot write without? A favorite scarf? A fluffy pillow? A picture of Ryan Reynolds at hand?

YES.

Reading: Good Omens

Listening to: OneRepublic “Good Life”

Just Watched: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Really good movie. Mixes traditional magic with a bit of science and a lot of humor. This role, next to Kick Ass, was made for Nicholas Cage. Perfect casting, cute story, if a little predictable.

Word Count: 12k… still

Vacation Time!!

Yep. I found out today that the internet where I'll be staying in Puerto Rico is sketchy, at best, so I won't be seeing many blogs, or twitter, or facebook, or gmail.

I'm hyperventilating.

As much as most are in my generation, I'm addicted to the internet. Having so much information, being connected to a community of people, it's a curious state of being. You never realize how curious it is until you're cut off from it all. And then chaos ensues.

Not that I anticipated spending my vacation in front of the computer, but I like to be connected, and especially now, in the midst of a very huge batch of queries, I NEED to be connected. Luckily, the crisis has been averted thanks to the good deeds of Katie Spanish Dessert, and now I'm just mourning the loss of a constant twitter feed. Seriously. It's like an IV of goodness and humor from the writing community.

But this has an upside. I'll have my computer, my brain, and microsoft word. In the words of Ron Weasley from A Very Potter Musical, "This can only lead to chaos and hilarity. Let's do it!"

Yes.

Let's.

Anyways, since I've nothing clever to say, here are the pictures in the 24 hours leading up to now. Just to show how productive I am.

I know. I'm not packing. I'm writing with a beautiful cup of green tea. We all know it's more important anyways. Besides, I have a whole day to pack.


Check the shirt. Dance Marathon. See, this is my packing process. I try on every piece of clothing to make sure it's worthy of the trip.


I'm Exercising! I'm a BEAST! What? No. I know this isn't packing. But it's only 8pm. Relax.


What? I still have to pack? WHAT? No Internet? Unacceptable.


I'm tired. But I'm blogging. I hope you know all the sacrifices I make for you, blog.


Never fear, my good friends! I'll have my cell phone and my camera. If you really need to call me, call. And when I come back there will be ridiculous picture-filled posts on the amazingness that is Puerto Rico!

Productivity

Days Until Puerto Rico: 2
Days Until Orlando: 23
Days Until Key Largo: 34

To Do Before Puerto Rico:
Pack
Write
Send out Financial Aid information
Figure out what the hell happened to my bridesmaid dress
Yell at hospital for cashing check and claiming it "disappeared"
Use Elliptical once more for good measure
Curse Dillo Day tan lines. I'm going to look like an idiot on the beach
Try to con dad into one more breakfast at Jalisco's
Beg grandma to help pay for hotel in Florida
Sleep (optional)
Laundry
Update blog
Write bar scene of current WIP
Wash new quilt and sheets

To Pack:
Camera
Dress
Shirts
Shoes
Skirts
Ripped jeans that my grandma has repeatedly tried to destroy
Capris
Delicates (& toiletries)
Books (3)
Computer
Carry on Bag (with extra outfit in case of catastrophe)
Aloe (preemptively)
iPod
Alcohol (for plane ride there. gulp)

To Buy in Puerto Rico:
Bathing suit
More books (maybe)
Sunscreen (SPF 50)
More Aloe (because the sunscreen probably won't suffice)
Headphones (mine are about to die)

What am I about to do? Take a nap and find some food. So much for productivity...

AIRBENDER: Meh.

I've finally joined the rest of the world and watched AIRBENDER. I've seen one or two episodes, TOPS, so I'm coming to this as an outsider. I reserve the right to judge this as a movie, and NOT as an anime to movie adaptation. Be warned.

My initial reaction? Meh. It's strange; there are so many beautifully executed things in this movie, but it felt like the director tried to force puzzle pieces together that just didn't fit right.

I know. That's quite an ambiguous comment, isn't it? But don't worry. I've got a few pages worth to work out exactly what I meant when I said "meh." Here we go:

The Good:

Where to start?

The special effects were wonderful, and from what my AIRBENDER fan friends have told me, the bending is quite true to the cartoon. I didn't get a chance to see it in 3D, which is probably a shame, considering how mind-blowing the effects already were on the terrible small town Texas screen (sorry Stephenville, but it had to be said). On the other hand, I think movies are already taking a turn for the mediocre. Too much dependence on 3D can lead to poor plot and character development, but that's another rant for another post...

My absolute favorite thing about Avatar? That adorable flying furry creature. ADORABLE. I want it. It shall be mine and I shall call it fluffy. No. In all seriousness, it won me over. IF they do the rest of these movies (and that seems to be a BIG if), I insist there be more fluffy creature screen time.

Best character in the movie: It's a three way tie, in my opinion. The princess, the water bending teacher, and Aang's air bending teacher. I cared most about them, which is strange considering how little screen time they had compared to, I dunno, the MAIN characters.

Although thinking about it, the prince and his uncle were pretty damn cool too. They weren't perfect, but they wouldn't qualify as "villains" in my mind either. Their characters were very fleshed out.

Stunts were awesome. As someone who took Tai Chi (for a VERY short period of time), it was cool to see a lot of familiar moves. It looked like dancing. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Badass.

Then there was the less beautiful, more kick ass martial arts that took up quite a lot of screen time. I loved it just as much as the slow graceful stuff, but it seems like the director waited till the last ten minutes of the film to really let Aang bust out and do his thang (haha, get it? Aang... Thang?? No??). I understand the value of not going too fast too soon, of unloading your arsenal before the battle begins, but the hour plus build up to get to what the trailers advertised most was a bit frustrating.

It seemed that the quiet bits had the most power in the movie. Aang and the prince had many flashbacks, and they were really intense compared to the present story. I loved them.

As for the climax of the movie? Without ruining it (I might have done that with the rest of this post... sorry), I thought it was brilliant. Brilliant. I teared up a little. Maybe it's a problem that I only started to care about the story and the main characters (ok, so I liked Aang a little bit before hand) at that point? Still not sure about that. But yes. This part was well done.

The cliffhanger: Yes, there is one. No, I'm not telling you what it is. If you've seen the movie, I think you'll know what I mean when I say that it gave me chills. I really, really hope they make another one (and make Shyamalan go away... I blame the mediocrity on him).


The Bad:

Alright, writers, get with me on this: Do not (and I repeat, DO NOT) treat your audience like a bunch of idiots. One thing that irked me more than ever was when Zhao mentioned the Ancient Scrolls from the Library he Raided. The first time he told us in depth how he got said scrolls I was totally ok with it. Then he took every chance to say (in his booming Daily Show voice) "I have THE SCROLLS I STOLE from the GREAT LIBRARY."

Repeat this four times. Really? Really? I heard you the first time, and so did the rest of the world. Shut up about it already and move along with the plot! I think I laughed the third or fourth time he said it, just because it started to get ridiculous. I can't blame him though. I blame the screen writer. And the director.

Narration: Remember STARDUST (the movie, not the book)? Gandalf (I'm aware he has a real name, I'm just not inspired to look it up right now) narrated it, third person, and it worked. I bought into it, completely. Airbender? Katara (main girl character... probably Avatar's love interest later in series) narrated a lot of the time, much to my dismay. Her acting was only so-so, and without facial expressions? Fuggetaboutit. I wish they could have slipped all of her lines into REAL DIALOGUE so I didn't have to hear her ramble with awkward inflections of slightly important information.

Which leads me to my next point: Acting. Three main actors were ok, but they could have been better. They didn't breathe enough life into the characters, which really do make or break a movie. It's getting terrible reviews, and I'm pretty sure this is why. Shyamalan created a beautiful world with great effects, but setting is nothing without characters.

The Ugly:

I KNOW this has been mentioned EVERYWHERE, but I have to say it here. Racebending. It's wrong, it's awkward, and downright stupid. Really, they kept the story. They kept the culture. They kept the language. They kept the martial arts. They kept everything, in fact, except for the race.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those anal retentive people who NEEDS everyone to be Their Proper Race in a film (although I may have reacted negatively to Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Othello. You know, the MOOR?), but of the three (brother, sister, Avatar) main characters, there wasn't ONE that was Asian. Not. One. They were all white. Lame.

Sigh. I think the casting peeps will regret that particular move. I hope they feel ashamed.


The Surprising:

Um, let me just say that I was WAY distracted when I saw Jasper Hale in the first scene. Then I thought no, it couldn't possibly be. My Twilight obsession must be making me insane. Then I googled it. Totally him. I was making Twilight jokes in my head the whole. damn. film. I know, Kira Fails. Miserably so. But it kept me entertained when the movie didn't.

Also? My favorite Daily Show correspondent, Aasif Mandvi, tried to break out into the film industry through the role as Commander Zhao (yes, I totally had to look up his name). Poor choice, Mr. Mandvi. I kept waiting for him to break out of character, turn to the camera and say, "Well Jon, I think we both agree that I'm not serious enough to play the main villain in this or any other movie. I'll see YOU in New York after I'm done wallowing in my failure of a move towards a better career. Back to you, Jon."

**

Overall, after writing about this? I have to borrow from my English TA's comments on my final paper: This felt like the first try of what could be an amazing piece of work. Lots of great insights, but it went in too many different directions.

I haven't gotten over the grade she gave me, but I thank her now for the proper words to describe AIRBENDER. I hope they try again with the sequel. As the actors grow (just like Radcliff and Watson from Harry Potter), they're sure to portray their characters more faithfully. The effects and the world are already up to par. All the sequel needs is a new director.

Sorry, Shyamalan. Maybe you could go back to THE SIXTH SENSE and do a sequel. But stay away from AIRBENDER if you value your career.