Movie Review: 9

I loved 9. Just as I suspected, it was epic AND adorable. So, here are my 9 reasons for loving 9:

1. I really liked the story line (except for the end which got to be a little too sentimental for my tastes). It was interesting, and although it was another post-apocalyptic-world-story, it was kind of different and cool.

2. It was a little bit creepy at times. There was a little kid with his dad in our theatre and I felt kinda bad for the kid because a few parts really creeped me out. There was a dead body or two (which wasn't really scary but if I was a little kid I would probably be freaked out) , and some scary monster-robot thingies.

3. I liked the animation. I had read before seeing the movie that the director wanted it to be an animated movie that wasn't just for kids, and he certainly succeeded with that. At times, the animation was really beautiful (especially the scenery/ lanscapes, etc.).

4. The characters were compelling and lovable. They succeeded in personifying several distinct aspects of humanity/human nature. I especially loved 1, 3 & 4 (who, as shown above, were sort of a pair), and 6.

5. There were some (read: a very few) funny parts. The magnet was very funny (I think it was about the only time that the whole theatre was laughing). In case you haven't seen it yet, magnets pretty much seem to be "drugs" for the little robot characters. There were a few other funny parts, but for the most part, the movie was pretty serious.

6. The voice acting was, for the most part, excellent. Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, and Crispin Glover were great, and Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, and John C. Reilly were very good too.

7. Believe it or not, I really liked the action sequences! They were a lot of fun and I especially liked how whenever they were really starting to get beaten up by one of the monster-things, another little sock-puppet-robot would pop out and come to the rescue!

8. It left me with things to think about. Whenever I read a text or watch a film, one of the biggest things that I like to examine is the relationships between characters, and this film gave me lots of opportunities to do that. I think that the relationship between 7 and 2 (remember the awkward hug?), 7 and 1 (remember the flashback?) or even the friendship between 2 and 5 or 8's loyalty to 1 could be examined and analyzed (sorry, I guess it's the English teacher in me).

9. It was awesome! 'Nuff said. (Actually, I can't really think of a ninth reason). It was cute and thought-provoking and action-packed and really just an excellent movie. It really wasn't just one of those animated movies made just for kids. I loved it. So go watch it. Now.

What's Coming Soon

Since school started last week, my life has been full of exciting things such as crazy physics graphs, metaphysical English class discussions, mathematical confusion, and lots of running around. I also need to prepare for teaching a CCD class at my church and start trying to get a job again.

So, until I get into the swing of things again, my life is going to be a little bit crazy and I will have a little bit less time for posts (my life has been so consumed by school that I can't even think of a topic for a post). I can, however, tell you all about the exciting new things to come:

• Halloween makeup tutorials! Because I love doing crazy makeup and want to try out some crazy new things.
• Move Reviews! I am hopefully going to see "9" this weekend.
• I'm also planning on featuring some of my favorite blogs! (I just have to get around to it.)
• ...And much much more!

So really, I need your help with this. I need some new ideas/topics for posts. I promise that if I have time this weekend I'll try to bang out at least one halloween makeup tutorial (hopefully 2 or 3 though). So let me know what else you'd like to see!

Finally, the Weekend.

I don't think I've ever looked forward to a weekend as much as I did this week. And we only had a three-day week! But it was pretty brutal. Mostly becuase I was so conflicted about my school schedule and what to do about my insane courseload. In the end, I dropped one of my electives (dropped Creative Writing, kept Humanities) in favor of a free period. I really think this is going to help with all the extra IB/AP work I'm going to have this year. Still not sure what to do about history, whether I should stay in IB/AP US History or switch down a level. But I'm gonna give it a few days.

In other news, I really want to see 9. It looks so adorable and epic at the same time. I'm also beginning to plan a holiday party. Not really sure on the details yet. Ideas welcome!

I've also decided that I really do want to be more crafty. I wish I had some DIY things to do. As if I even have time for any of this, haha.

So my posts may be slightly less frequent because it's the beginning of the school year, and I've kind of been running all over the place. But please let me know what you'd like to see more of on this blog. And, of course, have a happy weekend!

My Trip to DC

Here's a long-overdue post about my trip to Washington DC.

DC was lovely. Extremely hot, but lovely. Washington DC is full of such beautiful sights. I'd visited before, but I think I was too young to appreciate it last time.

The Lincoln Memorial was so intense at night with everything lit up. It was soooo hot that night that I think I was a little delirious, but it was still very pretty.

Me at the Folger Shakespeare Library. (my kind of place!) It was really cool there. I bought this amazing awesome notebook. And, you know, the Folger Shakespeare Library publishes the Shakespeare plays my high school uses!

My main man Thomas Jefferson! His memorial was pretty awesome too. Very very pretty area around there.

There was a lot more to my trip but I really don't want to ramble on forever. I had a lot of fun and got to see all kinds of beautiful things and places!

What I Wore: 9/9/09

Here is my lovely first day of school outfit!

Occasion: First day of school

Shirt: Macy's

Cami: Areopostale

Capris: Kohl's

Flats: Payless
Jewelry: I have no idea

End-of-Summer Craziness!

These past few days have been so crazy for me - I apologize for my absense! On Friday and Saturday I went down to Point Pleasant, which was nice, but I had to write essays on the beach. :( For the past few days I've been working my butt off (and dealing with the consequences of procrastination) to finish all my summer work, and today I finally finished! (On the day before the first day of school, haha.)

So I'm excited for this year because I get three doses of English a day! I'm taking Creative Writing and Humanities as well as English. It's gonna be soooo fun!

Tomorrow should be interesting. I will be sure to post a picture of my first day outfit. :) It's cute but it's not super flamboyant (like teal skinny jeans and boots, which I was planning to wear, haha).

Unfortunately there's not much for me to say. I'm going to try to feature some blogs soon, as well as some more bands or other stuff. Let me know what you'd like to see!

Bargain Beauty: Eye Lips Face (ELF)

I love to save money on makeup (because I buy so much of it), so I'm always looking for good quality makeup at great prices. Well, now I must look no further than Eye Lips Face.

Eyes Lips Face makes quality makeup that mostly costs just one dollar. Aside from the regular $1 line, their excellent mineral line is mostly $3 to $5, with a few large $8 items, I think. And the studio line (which I have yet to try but can't wait to do so) is also $3 to $5. They also have a few insanely amazing $1 makeup brushes (I have yet to try them all but I love the Total Face Brush and the Eyeliner Brush).

How can ELF makeup be so cheap, you may ask? Well, they don't really advertise, and their packaging is cheap as heck. This is the only area in which I've run into problems - sometimes their packaging breaks or isn't quite right, but that's very rare and doesn't prevent me from using the makeup (for example, the clear caps on the eyeliner pencils are often too lose to stay on properly).

Here are my three current favorite products:

• Brightening Eye Color: They are quads of well-pigmented shadows. I currently own Drama, which consists of a black, two greys, and a white (great for a smokey eye), Luxe, which is a dark brown, coppery lighter brown, gold, and pinkish maroon, and Blue Moon, which is a dark and a light blue grey, a medium brown shimmer, and a creamy off-white shimmer. I absolutely LOVE these shadows and recommend them to everyone. There are so many more that I still have to buy (and at $1, I don't feel guilty about collecting them all!).
• Brightening Eye Liner: I love this liner. If you are used to very expensive liner, you may not like this, but for one dollar, how can you go wrong? I have Black, Navy, Coffee, Ash, and Gilded. All for just one dollar each! As for the quality of the liner, I really do like it. It's a pencil liner. It glides on smoothly and doesn't scratch you as long as you keep it sharpened. It's a very nice liner. Not as much staying power as liquid liner, but that can be expected with most pencil liners.
• Mineral Eyeshadow: From the mineral line (these shadows are just three dollars!). They are highly pigmented, loose shadows. I have Seductive (a very dark, very saturated black), Wild (dark brown with shimmer), and Partier (matte greyish navy). They leave a little bit of fallout, like any loose shadow, but I don't mind. Just do your eyes before the rest of your makeup (duh :P). Really excellent shadows, and a little bit goes a long way. Can't wait to buy some of the newer colors.

I can't wait to buy more of ELF's amazing makeup! I own quite a few more of there products, but I don't want to start rambling. I plan on doing some tutorials with some of their makeup very soon, which will include pictures of the products (sorry for the lack of pictures in this post!).

So, my dears, have you stumbled upon any great beauty bargains? Or have you found Eyes Lips Face and love it as much as I do?

Dealing with the Consequences of Procrastination

So I've been putting off my summer work for quite some time. I have a bit of reading, some essay writing, a few short answer questions, and a bunch of math problems left to do. And just a little more than a week left. So, here's MY way of dealing with procrastination and catching up on work on which I'm seriously behind.

• STOP procrastinating. Now that you've realized how far behind you are, STOP putting off all your work. You're going to have to buckle down and do it now.
• Make a list and a rough plan of action. Figure out all that you have to do, and try to plan out how to finish it in what little time you have left. If you have a book to read, divide the number of pages you need to read by the number of days you have left. The result is how many pages you must read per day.
• If you're really behind, pull an almost-all-nighter. I wouldn't recommend pulling an all-nighter, because you'll be useless the next day. But stay up extra super late and shut yourself off from the outside world. Eat yummy healthy non-junk foods and lock yourself in your room. Read for hours, or write your essay non-stop, or keep working on that problem until you finally get it. If you're more of a morning person, try going to sleep early and waking up very very VERY early in the morning, so that you can get work done without any distractions from other people.
• Speaking of essays, STOP EDITING AS YOU GO. Just keep writing. Seriously, don't stop. If you revise and edit as you write, you'll never finish. Wait until you’re done.
• Another way to finish essays faster is to outline first. Make an outline of the points you want to make (and include the sub-points within each paragraph) so that you don't deviate from your thesis statement. This will also help because you won’t be sitting there forever trying to think of what to write next.
• Try to devote a full day to catching up on your work. If you can find a day where you have little or nothing to do, take advantage of it and devote several hours to reading or writing. This has saved me countless times.

So, what about you, my dears? How do you catch up when you're behind on work? Let me know quickly; I need all the help I can get! Wish me luck!

Makeup Review: CoverGirl Eye Enhancers 4-Kit (Tropical Fusion)

So I bought this quad recently, and I have to say I was impressed CoverGirl's eye shadows. They are very well-pigmented, and, as you can see, they have some very pretty colors. This quad is called Tropical Fusion. It contains a lovely blue, a turquoise-teal-green kinda color, a vibrant orange, and a lime green-yellow. Here are some swatches:

No base or primer was used. The top row is applied wet and the bottom dry. They all show up pretty well except for the yellow-green, which is not quite so pigmented. What I really like is that they look slightly metallic when applied wet (you may not be able to see it in that picture though, sorry).

Now I want more of these! Some of my favorites (which I may be getting soon) are Firecracker, Blazing Blues, and Dazzling Metallics (you can see them here).

I might do a rainbow-themed makeup tutorial with these in the future. What do you think? Do you have any favorite drugstore brands like CoverGirl? If so, tell me! I need to start spending less money on makeup.

Artist of the Moment: The Coffin Daggers

I saw The Coffin Daggers (not to be confused with Coffin Draggers) at Musikfest this past summer, and they were great. From what I can remember, the Musikfest booklet said that they were "surf rock with punk and sci-fi influences" (not a direct quote). A few of my friends have said that this sounds "weird", but they are WRONG WRONG WRONG. This music is AMAZING, and I play it super loudly whenever I'm getting ready for a night out, a big event, etc. because it pumps me up and energizes me!

Some of my favorite songs are Breaking Tide, The Rumble, and Hornet's Nest. It's all instrumental, and it seriously just makes you wanna dance! Run along and go listen on iTunes now!

Makeup Review - L'Oréal HiP (Riotous and Platinum)

Hi there! I recently purchased some HiP (High-intensity Pigments) shadows from L'Oréal Paris. I got Riotous and Platinum.

Riotous is a lime green and a lovely khaki green. Platinum is a fabulous, very metallic silver (even though it looks kinda white here) and a black with tiny silver sparkles. Here are some swatches...

The top row is applied wet and the bottom row is dry. Riotous is on the left and Platinum on the right.

Note: The silver is very reflective whether it is wet or dry, but in this picture the light hit the wet row and not the dry row quite so much.

The pigments are very nice. I've only used the shadows a few times so far, but as far as first impressions go...

• The silver really has to be used sparingly, except in very special occasions. I tried it all over the lid and it was a bit much! I simply couldn't pull it off with the outfit I was wearing. Maybe at a different occasion, if I were wearing a little black dress or my silver ruffle-y dress, but not for a casual party.
• The black seems as if it would be very nice for a smokey eye with a slightly different touch (because of the teeny tiny silver sparkles).
• The khaki goes very well with brown shadow, and surprisingly, it looks great with shimmery peach shadow!
• The silver looks great on the top inner corners of eyes - it really opens them up!

I might do a tutorial with one of these shadow duos soon. What do you think?

Name Change

Just a quick post: I've changed the name of the blog. The previous name referred to a blog I had a while ago, but I think we needed a name change, don't you? So we are now officially called "I Love..." and are located at iloveblogazine.blogspot.com (extra note: I had to call it a 'blogazine' rather than a 'blog' because so many domain names were already taken).

Hopefully you all like the new name! More posts later today. (Most likely about some of my favorite blogs, musicians, and more!)

Movie Review: District 9

I saw District 9 last week, and I LOVED it. I even cried a little at a few parts, and you know I don't cry. If you're thinking that this movie isn't for you because you don't like science fiction, you're WRONG. This is not your typical sci-fi movie!

District 9 is a very intense movie. I'm not going to give anything away because it's best to see this movie without knowing what's going to happen, but I will say that there is some character development for the aliens, which I didn't expect. District 9 is a thrilling movie with themes pertaining to prejudice and Apartheid.

There are some pretty gross parts, but you're just gonna have to get over it. You really shouldn't miss this movie! And the best part: it's an in independent film, so Hollywood didn't mess it up (if it had, Christian Bale probably would have been the lead).

And a quick question

What are your favorite healthy foods (particularly produce)? Is there anything out of the ordinary that you love, which is also good for you?

I personally LOVE:

• Pomegranite juice
• Raspberries and Blackberries
• Strawberries
• Brocolli
• Dried fruit, walnuts, carob chips

I need ideas for new healthy foods to eat. Especially fruits and veggies. Tell me what YOU like! :D

Back-to-School!

Okay folks, we're getting to the final countdown here! I've got a little less than two weeks until school starts for me, and I'm definitely starting to feel a little rushed with all the work I have left to do (250 pages left to read, an essay to finish, questions to answer, and 24 math problems to do, not to mention clothes and supplies to buy). So, in the spirit of procrastination, here's a playlist to pump you up for the new school year...

• Big Time - Peter Gabriel
• Going for the One - Yes (could not find the studio version of this ANYWHERE)
• How Far We've Come - Matchbox Twenty
• I Want It All - Queen
• Life is Looking Up - Forgive Durden
• That Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed) - Panic At The Disco
• Baba O'Riley - The Who

Want Want Want Wednesdays 8/26

It's Wednesday, so here is what I am currently wanting (now if only I could get a job...):

• Lime Crime makeup: So bright, it's illegal!
• Coffee, tea, chocolate, soda.... in other words, caffeine! I'm not really allowed anymore due to insomnia and headaches, but I'm seriously going through withdrawal.
• Tights! Especially blue, purple, and brown.
• Some shiny new school supplies for the new school year! :D (particularly a zillion different colored highlighters for annotating passages in English class!)
• And finally, the ability to read faster.... still have 300 pages in The Fountainhead!

So, what are the things you just GOTTA have right now? Makeup? A pony? Sugar? A new mattress?! :P Tell me!

I'm baaaaaaack!

Hey there! I got bored and wanted to start a blog again. So I'm back with double the sporkiness!

Today I bought (actually my mommy got it for me as a "reward" cuz I had to get bloodwork and have a bit of a phobia of needles :D) some amazingly bright and pretty eyeshadow by Cover Girl called Eye Enhancers in the color Tropical Fusion. It's so pretty! I can't wait to try it out!

Just look at it! It's GORGEOUS!

Ooooookay, so that's it for now. Tomorrow I'm going to DC and will tell you all about it. :DDDDD