A Few Things on Friday

*First things first! My mom is giving away a copy of Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World over at her blog and you should go check it out and enter!

*The new Civil Wars album came out this week. It's...okay? I like it mostly I think, but my favorite song is still Dust to Dust which is just so...pretty and full of so much something. Yearning? I think I got teary listening to it the first 25 times or so. My favorite lyric is the last part "You're like a mirror/reflecting me/takes one to know one/so take it from me/you've been lonely too long/we've been lonely too long." Anyway, how do the rest of you feel about it? I feel like the cover of "Disarm" is kind of weird, too.

*So they've "manned Peeta up" for Catching Fire. I had to admit to feeling a flash of rage when I read this. It was part of an interview with the new director about how the movie stays loyal to the text or something. But guess what? By saying you've manned Peeta up...I don't know this just loses so much of my confidence that they get the books. Yes, there's a reversal of traditional gender roles with Peeta and Katniss in the books. (for crying out loud, Mockingjay ends with Katniss saying she hunts and Peeta bakes!) And that's part of their story. Also, like one of my friends said, why is there always an assumption that a male character becoming more traditionally masculine is automatically a positive thing? I guess they just don't think movie goers want to see a love story where hey the guy has to rely on the girl in physically dangerous situations. But it changes everything, gah. I guess I never realized that Peeta was going to be such a hard character to get right. This makes me crave a reread of the books something fierce, but time is a thing that is limited. It's just...I really really loved these books and sometimes I forget how much now that we're living in the movie aftermath where I have to endure people saying the movies are better than the books and also the overexposure of Jennifer Lawrence.

*On the bright side, I enjoyed this discussion of The Walking Dead vs. Downton Abbey. To be honest, The Walking Dead is probably my favorite American show but when the Emmy nominations were announced I was more dismayed over the lack of nominations for The Americans. I guess I'm just conditioned to think that they will never accept a zombie show as serious work. Anyway, I liked the point that both shows are about times of social change. Anyway, I get so used to hearing about how The Walking Dead is actually not a very good show, that this was a breath of fresh air! (for the record I do think it's good, I just think its strengths are different from the kind that awards/critical acclaim usually favor. i.e. the characterization is broader and the writing can be really thematic...personally I enjoy it...I don't think the show suffers for it, but to each their own)

*omg I'm so ready for R.I.P. or creepy reading!

Have a good weekend, everyone!