Sirius Black

Okay so I'm just gonna be completely honest in these blog posts--and I am a diehard Harry Potter fan. I mean can I help it? I've grown up with him, read every book multiple times and own every movie (not to mention have watched them straight through in one sitting before) so you could say its been an ongoing thing.

But instead of just ranting endlessly about the magical world of Harry Potter for hours on end (there's so much stuff how could I get through it all in one entry?) I will just focus on one thing each time I do write within this wondrous category. And today I decided I would write about my all time favorite character--Sirius Black.

I remember when I first read book 3, The Prisoner of Azkaban, I was in 6th grade. I opened the book to see the little illustration on one of the first pages that depicted a dark mysterious picture of a person's face looking down sadly behind bars. That of course made me curious. (I love that illustration) And so after starting the book, I learned about the infamous evil Black who had escaped from Azkaban--and you knew he was bad--but he was such an interesting character, that you wanted to know more about him. He couldn't just be another death eater, there was something else. And of course, after being blown away by the ultimate twist at the end, the book fulfilled all of my expectations and Sirius Black became, one of my favorite characters.

Now I believe everyone pictures black differently but to an extent, Rowling gives him a certain quality that I think they failed to present in the movie--I certainly didn't and still don't picture him anything like how they depicted him in Prisoner of Azkaban. (Not trashing the movie--it was great. Love the movies) But I do think they should have really thought about their choice for who played him. It was a huge decision in the fans eyes, and personally I don't think they really realized the essence of Black. He was almost too 'nice'? I'm not sure if that's exactly the word I'm looking for, but I feel like even though he has been in Azkaban locked away for a number of years, (the fact that he knew he was innocent kept him from going insane) I feel like he should have kept the same sort of charm and 'marauder' quality that we all imagine him having in the books. Now a lot of people probably won't agree with me here, but I always wanted Johnny Depp to play Black. Not because he's obviously attractive--or that he's a great actor, but because he seems to have that same essence of being mischievous and up to no good, but at the same time he's lovable and loyal to his friends. Get what I'm saying? And a lot of people will disagree with this saying that it would draw too much attention to the character of Sirius making him more of a sex symbol than the heroic character that he is. And that would probably be true. But is that more of a sacrifice than choosing someone who just simply doesn't fit the character? Just an opinion. Not that the guy who played Sirius wasn't good--he was--he just wasn't what I wanted!

Anyways enough about that, on to book 5, The Order of the Phoenix. My personal least favorite book (I still love it and have read it multiple times) but it's just sad--ultimately because of Sirius's death (and of course Harry's teenage angst). When Sirius dies it's just so hard to read! I honestly couldn't believe it when it happened. But seriously!--I thought that there was no way he was gone forever. I knew she would bring him back--there was no way she could do that to me! ha. She did. But I learned to cope with my loss in the next book, The Half Blood Prince, which just so happens to be my favorite book! Love every part of it. Somehow though, my favorite movie so far, might have to be the 5th movie! I don't understand how my least favorite book turns out to be my favorite movie--probably because when Sirius died I wasn't half as effected by it as I was during the read. I just never got as attached I guess. And also, the woman who plays the terrible Dolores Umbridge is absolutely perfect. Spot on performance. She is just so evil it's entertaining. And of course, they didn't really go into very much depth with the occlumency with Snape, which was the cause of much of Harry's angst, so it lightened the mood of the movie immensely.

Sirius Black though, is just such an interesting character. And so much of his early life goes unexplained it makes him mysterious. We know he was best friends with James Potter, Remus Lupin, and the cowardly Peter Pettigrew. We know they all raised hell at hogwarts and were quite the trouble makers. And we know they all formed the infamous Marauders. I would love to know all of their stories. I hope one day J. K. Rowling decides to enlighten us by writing a book of Marauder's tales--or just another set of works focusing on that period of Hogwart's history. Or she could just leave it a mystery--and leave fans like me wondering.

                        A picture of the Marauders from the movie--a bit pathetic haha
                                                   I picture them much cooler.

Thanks, Rockwell.

Sri Lanka

So today I remembered a country that for some reason is somehow strangely linked to me. The small island off the coast of India called Sri Lanka, is a place that for some unknown reason popped into my head when I was in 3rd grade. I had never really heard of the country but in my 9 year old mind, the words just came into my head. After I found out what Sri Lanka actually was, I became obsessed with researching it learning more about it. I know that someday I will go to Sri Lanka and see the tropical rolling hills and beautiful beaches--and of course, get to know it's fascinating culture.

Some quick facts about Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is made up of mainly two different ethnic groups--the Sinhalese People, who live mainly in the southern and western parts of the island, and the Tamil People who live in the upper east. The Sinhalese people are the majority of the people in Sri Lanka making a good majority and the Tamils are a smaller percentage. The dominant religion there is Buddhism, but there are many Hindus and a small percentage of Christians.

Being one of the most beautiful places on earth, Sri Lanka was known as the "Pearl of the Sea" and has many native resources that are exported all over the world--one of which is cinnamon.

I know this whole entry is a bit scattered, I just got off work and decided Sri Lanka would be a good topic to write about as it randomly popped into my head again today and I thought about how much I would love to travel there someday. I picture it being a beautiful place for hiking--they have herds of wild elephants there too. I think it would be so cool to be on an island knowing that somewhere there were herds of wild elephants running around--possibly nearby! (ha) But it really is beautiful. I will put pictures so you can see for yourself. I might possibly in a few years volunteer in an orphanage or a school system over the summer--I think that would be really amazing. Then I could really blog about Sri Lanka and actually know what I was talking about first hand!

Capital City of Colombo!

Adam's Peak! Gorgeous! 

Thanks everyone!- Rockwell

Gene Clark

I am currently in deep love with a man named Gene Clark. Yes deep love. I know I know--he died the year I was born--unfortunately. But his legacy lives on.

Who is Gene Clark you might ask? Well, personally I hope you do not ask this question. I hope that you already know that Gene Clark was one of the founding member of the infamous and amazing band The Byrds. That he wrote many songs in their early days, and along with David Crosby and Roger McGuinn, created the sound that we all know and love--or at least you should know and love. But Gene Clark is often forgotten as he is the only original member deceased--but as he wrote the majority of their songs that they didn't cover (Bob Dylan wrote the other half) I think he deserves much credit to this amazing band--and I intend to give him just that.

My favorite songs by Gene Clark

I would have to begin with one of the Byrd's most famous songs "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better"--this song is just all around a great, fun song with some crazy vocal harmonies and a strong vocal lead by none other than Clark himself. This video is a rare gem from a live tv dance show in 1965. Gene is front and center! Great Version. Crazy dancing.

The next song I want to talk about would be a more unknown song called "If You're Gone." For some reason when I first heard this song, I was just struck by the vocals--they are sung so passionately and so believably. It is one of those songs that I just keep listening to and keep putting it on all of my ipod playlists. Beautiful. Follow the link to hear an sample mp3--unfortunately I couldn't find a full version online. But it's worth the download!

http://ilike.myspacecdn.com/play#The+Byrds:If+You%27re+Gone:257405:s28219803.8083252.14006272.0.1.78%2Cstd_63426c8bc0a917301255bf92d119d9e4

Lastly--and this is hard pick--I will talk about a Byrd's song that Clark sings with Crosby called "Here Without You." This is honestly one of my all time favorite Byrd's songs. It is just absolutely perfect in my opinion. The version that I prefer, is the one off of their preflyte album which is earlier than the one they released on Mr. Tambourine Man. Just because I am that obsessive, I am going to put both versions so you can decide for yourself which one you prefer. They're both great. The first is from Mr. Tambourine Man, and just happens to be a collage of who? Gene Clark? How fitting. And the second is from Preflyte--with a weird palate of colors. So enjoy!

The last thing I want to touch on pertaining to Gene Clark, because this cannot go unsaid considering it is the truth, is just how amazingly attractive he is? Can we all agree on this? I think we can.

                                  Yes. I think we can all strongly agree on this point.

There is so much more to be said about this talented musician--go check him out for yourself. I am sure that I will at some point in the future cover more ground on this man as well--so keep checking.

Thanks- Rockwell

Farewell Angelina

Farewell Angelina (Bob Dylan) (Sung by Joan Baez)



Farewell Angelina
the bells on the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
The triangle tingles
And the music plays slow
But farewell Angelina
The night is on fire
And I must go

There is no use in talking
And there's no need for blame
There is nothing to prove
Everything still is the same
A table stands empty
By the edge of the stream
But farewell Angelina
The sky is changing colors
And I must leave

The jacks and the queens
They foresake the courtyard
Fifty-two gypsies
Now file past the guard
In the space where the deuce
And the ace once ran wild
Farewell Angelina
The sky is folding
I'll see you after a while

See the crosseyed pirates
Sit perched in the sun
Shooting tin cans
With a sawed off shot gun
And the corporals and the neighbors
Clap and cheer with each blast
But farewell Angelina
The sky is trembling
And I must leave fast

King Kong, little elves
And the roof-tops they dance
Valentino-type tangos
While the heroes clean hands
Shut the eyes of the dead
Not to embarass anyone
Farewell Angelina
The sky is flooding over and I must be gone

The camoflaged parrot
He flutters from fear
When something he doesn't know about
Suddenly appears
What cannot be imitated
Perfect must die
Farewell Angelina
The sky is flooding over
And I must go where it is dry

Machine guns are roaring
The puppets heave rocks
At misunderstood visions
And at the faces of clocks
Call me any name you like
I will never deny it
But farewell Angelina
The sky is errupting
And I must go where it is quiet

STAR WARS!

Yes this post is exactly how it sounds. All about star wars! One of my larger obsessions.

How to begin? I have loved Star Wars most of my entire life. The obsession never fully leaves, it only hibernates temporarily then releases itself monstrously once again. Recently I have been re watching them. And this time in order! (I can do this owing to the fact that I own them all.)

I sat down the other day to watch one that I hadn't seen in quite some time. "Revenge of the Sith." Now of course I know the old ones by heart-- as those are obviously my favorites considering they are just all around in a different league than the new ones. But personally I am not one to say "Ugh I hate the new star wars. The old ones are the only ones worth watching." In a way this is true, but I think I would consider the new star wars to be well above par (storywise) than much of other action movies that are released in this decade. Of course Hayden Christensen would not have been my choice to play the epitome of evil itself--the great beginnings of Darth Vader, but he doesn't do a terrible job. In my opinion he improves greatly in Revenge of the Sith and does a fairly good portrayal of the prideful fear ridden Jedi curious about the dark side and wooed by Senator Palpatine's smooth talk about saving loved ones from death. Although I will admit in Attack of the Clones, some of his acting makes you cringe a little bit--especially in the overly sappy love scenes between himself and Padme. What we all wanted was another love/hate relationship like Han and Leia but we can't always get everything.

Actually I had forgotten how much I really did enjoy Revenge of the Sith. As I sat down to watch it I found myself completely sucked into the storyline and after it was over, immediately began A New Hope. One thing that really struck me from Revenge of the Sith to A New Hope, was how great of a job Ewan McGregor does as Obi Wan. I really believed he and Alec Guinness were the same person amazingly enough! I'm convinced that when Ewan was chosen for the part, he studied the way the original Obi Wan talked and what his mannerisms were. He was spot on--from the first time he played the young Obi Wan in The Phantom Menace, to the older more wise Jedi Master in Revenge of the Sith.

I could honestly go on for hours about everything that I love in star wars--but I will just comment on one thing that I noticed that I loved from the new to the old movies. George Lucas--in The Empire Strikes Back (which I happened to watch last night)--had Luke sitting in Yoda's cave trying to convince him that he was ready to train. Luke says a few things then finally--"I'm not afraid." After this comment Yoda's ears perk up and you realize that is the moment when Yoda decides he must teach Luke. What I found interesting was that in the Phantom Menace, when Qui-Gon (don't even get me started on how good Liam Neeson plays him) brings Anakin to the Jedi council, Yoda notices he is shaking. He realizes that young Anakin is very afraid (understandably but for the sake of the story he shouldn't be) he then says "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to  hate, hate leads to sufferrrring." This whole turn of evens is the perfect segway into Luke being the chosen one to bring balance to the force--not Anakin as they thought. Even though Anakin was more powerful, he chose wrong and at the end of the day, it's the choice that made Luke the chosen one. Gotta love it!

                                             Just thought I'd put this in here cause--he's sexy.


Thanks!- Rockwell

Places I Shall Go!

Hello everyone! This is my very first blog post. I hope I can keep this up. I'm not exactly sure who would actually read this but I figure it's something I would enjoy. Especially because I am a rambler. Not really out loud--more so in my head. What I'm trying to say is I tend to obsess. What I obsess over varies day to day or week to week--or even if it's a large obsession it could take months for me to even remotely get over it. I believe that one of the problems is that I need to have someone to vent to. And so, a blog is the perfect outlet--I don't ramble to people about things they don't care about--and then you, whoever you are, will choose to read or disregard the things I say. Since I don't know what you're actually reading and what you're (probably) scoffing at, I will assume for my benefit that you are reading every single word I write and being enlightened by the amazing things that I have to say. Sound good to you? Sounds alright to me. Of course it does help if you want to leave thoughtful comments or agreements to any of my posts--I would love that.

And now to get to what's really important. Why is my blog called Beauty, Culture & Travel if all I am going to do is ramble about my obsessions? Well, that is a good question, (insert name), and I will tell you. As I have thought long and hard about these things that so press upon my brain I have realized that most can be fit into these three categories. I adore beautiful things--beautiful movies, stories, music, places--you name it. I enjoy rambling about beautiful things that catch my interest. I love culture. I started out being an Anthropology major at East Tennessee State University in order to devote my life to the study of other cultures. Being the wishy washy person that I am, I soon after changed my major to International affairs..then to History..then back to Anthropology and now currently Education. This is subject to change. But nevertheless I love Culture and a large portion of my ramblings will pertain to it. And finally Travel. Travel is one of my many constant obsessions in life and one thing that I will probably never get enough of. And so this blog is devoted to these three categories and hopefully will be entertaining to not only me but you as well.

As I have been lately researching where I want to study abroad junior year, I have currently begun a large obsession with England. I have been to London once and this summer when I take a European Camping trip I will be reunited with it once again! I found these charming pictures while googling Canterbury, England--a small town about an hour southeast of London. I would love to study abroad here!

Don't you think this is Lovely?

                                                        I can picture myself right there.

Thank you!- Rockwell