Oh, Canada!

After Palmyra, we spent the night in Niagara Falls. My only knowledge of NF comes from my favorite tv show and a Marilyn Monroe movie, I was surprised to find that it is so full of douchebags and casinos. They (the nefarious Canadian government, I assume) shine lights on the falls at night, which, if there wasn't so much Niagaramist might be beautiful.

Two decades too late for a Stephen King thriller (and, yes, I know it's a different kind of mist-- don't be such a literalist)

The view from our room was uh-mazing. 

The next morning we drove to Toronto. Josh kept saying things like, "Wow! They have Home Depot in Canada?!" I thought he was kidding, but apparently his mind was truly blown. On our way to the temple we got extra-special lost because our cellphones roam outside of the country and we didn't want to pay more for the GPS. But once we found ourselves at the CN tower we knew we had gone too far. 

The Toronto temple is surprisingly plain. I got lost (of course) and almost ended up in someone's office before a temple worker stopped me. We also almost headed toward the baptistry, which is in the basement, before someone said, "Are you really going to the baptistry?" 

This temple is not one of my favorites, but I like that the writing on the temple is also in French.

Later that night we got to have dinner with our BNAT friend Heidi. She took us on a walking tour and showed us all the things we missed about Toronto by only staying less than 24 hours.

Although we drove past it, and although Josh talked about it nearly non-stop before our trip, we did not go to the CN Tower. Oh well. Next time....

30 Books Before I'm 30: Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility 

by Jane Austen

"Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition."

It turns out that I have read this book, hated it, and repressed the memory. This is definitely not one of Austen's better works. Her characters are not exceptionally believable (or likable), and I didn't care whether the sisters ultimately ended up with their rich-but-humble love interests. They do, of course, but    is there a less likable character than Marianne Dashwood? Blech. How could anyone, let alone two handsome bachelors, want to marry her? So, thank you Jane Austen, for perpetuating the myth that you can have a crummy personality and yet still get married as long as you're attractive.

Things I Liked: Austen novels are generally feel-good and uncomplicated. Bad people get comeuppanced and good people get married.

Things I Didn't Like: I hated the characters. Also, everyone has the same name because they are all related, and, yes, it was confusing.

This Book Would be Best If Read: In an airplane, on a long car-ride, NOT in the gym (once again).

If you Liked This Book, You May Also Like: Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Jane Eyre (pretty much all the books that make for teary-eyed, Friday night PBS/BBC-watching)

This Book Wins My Award For: Resulting in the most boring 30BBI30 review so far. (Super sorry. This book was just as boring to read as it was to review).

Up Next: Women of Covenant (for reals this time) 

14 down, 16 to go!

Oh How Lovely Was the Morning

For Spring Break, Josh and I took a Church History Tour, starting in Palmyra and ending in St. Louis. We took the red-eye from Portland and ended in Rochester, then immediately(!) drove to Peter Whitmer's farm in Fayette, NY.

For those who don't know, my religion was officially organized on this spot in 1830. The real building is no longer standing, but this recreated cabin is on the spot of the original foundation. The first church meeting took place in front of this fireplace:

They now have a meeting house on the farm grounds. Can you imagine your ward meeting on the site where the church was organized? Craziness!

The visiting center and chapel

We got a little shock driving through town when someone was driving ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD! Apparently that's the way they do it in upstate NY. 

We then went to the Hill Cumorah, where we saw this christus in the visitor's center:

And we hiked to the top of the hill:

The cool thing about being there was seeing that this hill is super narrow and a great vantage point. Josh said he could imagine watching a battle because you can see forever on both sides.

There was also a statue of what is supposed to be Moroni:

(Even though he has a beard)

Also, the Hill Cumorah is A LOT steeper than you would think. 

Then we went to the E.B. Grandin printing shop, where the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon were published:

I have to say that there were some really lovely sister missionaries at all of these sites, but the girl at the the E.B. Grandin store was pretty awesome. She even lifted up the cloth on the fake plates so Josh could take a picture:

She was my favorite, and I especially loved her owl earrings

Then we went to the site of the Smith family farm, where there is the reconstructed log cabin:

And the reconstructed room where Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith (again):

The Palmyra temple overlooks the farm:

We also went to the Sacred Grove:

Where Josh took these creepy, stalkery pictures:

We then did a session at the Palmyra temple (#38!). It's a smaller temple, similar to Reno, Medford, Kona, etc., so I didn't get lost. The session was ridiculously full and they had to bring in folding chairs for pretty much every possible space.

The major defining feature of this temple is the stained glass of the grove:

It also has a window in the lobby where you can look out onto the grove:

from the outside (we do NOT take pictures inside the temple)

We were pretty severely jet-lagged so, despite wanting to be awake and attentive, Josh and I both fell asleep during the session. It was pretty embarrassing when the woman next to me had to shake me awake. 

After the session, we drove to Niagara Falls, where we stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking the falls. We're definitely going back there again.

Acupunctured

In my (seemingly) neverending quest to decrease stress and headaches, I started going to an acupuncturist about a month ago. Usually it feels really good, but this last time it hurt a little.

And it resulted in this weird bruise.

Pity me. I need pity today.

ShepAlder Oscar Picks!

Anyone who knows us will attest that the ShepAlders are pretty big film geeks. We own literally hundreds of movies on DVD, and look forward all year to the Academy Awards ceremony.

When I (Josh) was in college, I started making an effort to see all five of the films nominated for Best Picture. This usually wasn't too hard, as I'd generally seen at least 2-3 of them when the nominations were announced. But, last year, the Academy decided to re-introduce a long-dormant practice of nominating 10 films. Surprisingly, we had seen almost all of them the past two years, so catching up was a breeze. This year, I've seen all 10 films, while Emily has seen 9 of the 10. Emily has not seen Toy Story 3 because she is one of perhaps a handful of people on Earth who do not enjoy that series. I, on the other hand, watched the 3D re-issues of the first two films in the theater last year, and then openly cried at the ending of the final installment (I *kind of* have a soft spot for toys. And by "soft spot," I mean that I still have a lot of toys. A lot. As in ones that I don't allow any kids to play with, lest they mess them up. Mine, mine, mine.).

So, here are our picks for the 83rd annual Academy Awards (at least for the major categories):

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
• Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”
• Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
• Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
• Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

Josh - The Academy has a history of giving this to fresh performances by young and/or first-time actresses (see Tatum O'Neal in "Paper Moon," Anna Paquin in "The Pianist," and Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls."). Fourteen-year-old Hailee Steinfeld was incredible in "True Grit," and I think the Academy will recognize that.

Emily - Although she did an awfully strange Oscar campaign, I think Melissa Leo is a lock for this category. She was nearly unrecognizable as the momager of her sons' boxing careers.

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
• John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
• Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”

Josh - Having seen all five of these performances, I can tell you that only two nominees have a chance at winning: Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush. Both were amazing playing real-life individuals, but Geoffrey Rush already has an Oscar for his role in the 1996 film "Shine." Christian Bale is only 37, but he's already proved to be one of the most versatile, talented actors around. He deserves this award, and I'm pretty certain he will win.

Emily - There's no possible way it won't be Christian Bale. Of course, we all know that I'm seldom correct about anything, so who knows?

Animated Feature Film

• “How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• “The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
• “Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

Josh - I meant to watch "How to Train Your Dragon," because I hear it's excellent. I'll get to it. I keep hearing lovely things about "The Illusionist," and I do love all things French cinema. But, "Toy Story 3" got the nod for Best Picture... and it's a brilliant film and a fitting end to a wonderful series.

Emily - Everybody says that "Toy Story 3" can't lose. But, I'm going with "The Illusionist."

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
• “The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
• “Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
• “True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Winter's Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Josh - Before the nominations were announced, "The Social Network" was the favorite to win Best Picture. I think this will end up being it's only major award, unless David Fincher can also win Best Director.

Emily - Probably "The Social Network." I'm pretty "meh" about this movie.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
• “The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
  Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
• “Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
• “The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
• “The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

Josh - I think "The Fighter" is a good choice here. It's an incredible film with great performances and hilarious dialogue, especially from all those crazy "Bah-Ston" sisters of Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale (including Conan O'Brien's sister!!). That said, I think "The King's Speech" will ultimately win.

Emily - I would like to think "Inception" would win this. I loved the artistry of that movie. (And it probably won't win much else. Maybe art direction).

Documentary (Feature)

• “Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
• “Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• “Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• “Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• “Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Josh - I've only seen "Exit Through the Gift Shop," thus far, but I hear Restrepo and Gasland are fantastic. I'll go with "Exit Through the Gift Shop," because I think the Academy wants to see what elusive British graffiti artist Banksy will do if he wins, as they told him he cannot accept the award in disguise in an attempt to conceal his unknown identity.

Emily - Probably "Restrepo," but only because it's on Netflix streaming right now so I recognize the title. I saw some of "Exit Through the Gift Shop" and it was good, but I don't think it's the kind of movie that will win the Academy Award.

Actress in a Leading Role

• Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
• Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”
• Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
• Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Josh - Natalie Portman will win this. Sorry, Annette Bening... one day you'll win an Oscar. But, Natalie Portman's performance in "Black Swan" STILL haunts my dreams. Seriously. Plus, she's pregnant. The Academy cannot resist giving Oscars to pregnant ladies. But... even if she weren't with child... she'd win anyway. This was, hands down, the best performance this year.

Emily - Natalie Portman. Yup.

Actor in a Leading Role

• Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
• Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
• Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
• Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
• James Franco in “127 Hours”

Josh - This one isn't even a contest. Colin Firth received his first Oscar nomination last year for the intriguing, depressing film "The Single Man." He lost that race to Jeff Bridges. This year, Jeff Bridges, who was fantastic in "True Grit," will lose to Colin Firth. His performance as King George VI in "The King's Speech" was funny, inspiring and sensational. He's going to win this. Count on it.

Emily - Colin Firth. I don't think I've read any articles where this is even a debate. He is excellent in this movie and everyone should go see it. And Josh should probably see it again since he fell asleep halfway through (Note: Only for a few minutes! I'll watch it again on DVD -- Josh).

Directing

• “Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
• “The Fighter” David O. Russell
• “The King's Speech” Tom Hooper
• “The Social Network” David Fincher
• “True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Josh - It's somewhat rare that a film wins Best Picture without netting this award for the person at its helm. BUT... it does happen (see Steven Spielberg for "Saving Private Ryan," Ang Lee for "Brokeback Mountain" and Roman Polanski for "The Pianist" in the past 10 years). However, what almost ALWAYS happens is the winner of the Directors Guild of America award for Best Director also wins the Oscar for Best Director (it's only NOT happened six times since the DGA award was instituted in 1948). I think David Fincher could still win, but my money is on Tom Hooper, who already won the DGA award.

Emily - I would like Tom Hooper to win. I really loved this movie (can't you tell?)

Best Picture

• “Black Swan” Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
• “The Fighter” David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
• “Inception” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
• “The Kids Are All Right” Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
• “The King's Speech” Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
• “127 Hours” Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• “The Social Network” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• “Toy Story 3” Darla K. Anderson, Producer
• “True Grit” Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
• “Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Josh - Since I've seen all 10 of these films, I'll give you a quick recap on each one in reverse order of which films I think have the best chance at winning Best Picture.

10. "The Kids Are All Right" -- This is a good movie with some really good performances. But, rest assured, this is the #10 film on the list and could have easily been substituted with favorites like "The Town" and "Rabbit Hole." I like this film, but it has no chance of winning.

9. "Winter's Bone" -- Sadly, this film reminded me a lot of my hometown in Eastern Oregon. A lot of apathy about life... a lot of really young mothers married to disinterested men. A lot of generational poverty. And meth users (which really wasn't like my hometown growing up, but might be now). It's not a particularly enjoyable film, but it's well done. Jennifer Lawrence was great in the film, hence her nod in the Best Actress category. But, "Winter's Bone" is not a viable contender.

8. "Inception" -- I absolutely loved "Inception." I saw it on my birthday in the amazing Cinetopia theater, hands down the best theater in the Portland-metro area. This is the only one of these ten films that I own on Blu-ray and I think it's a downright shame that Christopher Nolan was snubbed AGAIN for a Best Director nod. But, as cool and crazy amazing this film is, "Inception" is not the Best Picture of the year.

7. "127 Hours" -- When I first heard about the story of Aron Ralson, I was pretty happy that I'd never become a rock climber (in fact, it's one of those things, like skydiving, that'd I will never do, unless I'm someday on "The Amazing Race."). My first thought upon hearing about this movie was, "Well, how can you root for that guy? He's an idiot who should have known better." And, bless director Danny Boyle (who won an Oscar for "Slumdog Millionaire")... he allows the audience to preserve those feelings while still having empathy for Ralston's situation. I really enjoyed this movie, even though the money shot/scene is one of the most difficult things I have ever seen on film. I left feeling that we humans are pretty amazing at getting ourselves out of crappy situtations (and probably even more amazing at getting into those situations).

6. "Toy Story 3" -- I'm a man who was once a boy who loved toys. I really like toys. As Emily will confirm, I love action figures, models, figurines... anything poseable that can be displayed, as evidenced by this picture of my computer desk where I'm currently writing this post. "Toy Story 3" deserves to be in this category, though it won't win. I'm not sure an animated film will ever be able to win Best Picture, especially since there is a separate animated feature category. But, if "Toy Story 3" didn't warm your heart even a little... you might be a bit dead inside. It's that good... even if it doesn't make you cry little boy tears like me.

5. "The Fighter" -- This is a really good film and it's going to win Christian Bale an Oscar. But, there's not enough to propel it to win Best Picture. The other films are just too good. Still, the Academy loves boxing films (see Best Picture winners "Rocky" and "Million Dollar Baby," plus Best Picture nominee "Raging Bull" which netted Robert De Niro his second Oscar), and "The Fighter" rightfully belongs amongst the traditional top five nominees.

4. "Black Swan" --If I were picking what I think should win Best Picture, I'd pick Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan." No other film had the same effect on me as this insane story about a ballerina obsessed with her goal of playing both the White Swan and Black Swan in Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake." The film is dark, yet vivid... frightening, yet beautiful. If the other three films didn't exist, or had Natalie Portman previously won an Oscar, I think this could have been the frontrunner.

3. "True Grit" -- The Coen Brothers are great filmmakers, and "True Grit" is their first Western ("No Country for Old Men" may seem like a Western, but it's set in modern times). I loved this movie. It had great performances by Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon... and Hailee Steinfeld was fantastic. But, I think the Academy is so used to the Coen Brothers constantly churning out good stuff (they've had three films nominated for Best Picture in the past four years), that expectations are really high. Those expectations are generally met... but it makes it easier for other films to slip in ahead, which is the case this year.

2. "The Social Network" -- I was one of the first people I knew to join The Facebook when it came to my college, the University of Oregon (and yep, it was called "The Facebook" back then, as was the corresponding URL), and I've been a fan ever since. Before I even knew this film was being made, I read the book on which it's based, "The Accidental Billionaires." And, last year, I even went to visit Harvard, where an old roommate is attending law school. From the stories he's told me about fellow Harvard students literally RIPPING pages out of reserved library texts so that no one else can finish an assignment, I can sense that Ivy League students can be rather terrible to each other. I have no doubt that Mark Zuckerberg really did burn many bridges on his way to becoming the youngest billionaire on Earth, and the story is pretty much better than anything someone could have made up. Jesse Eisenberg is excellent, even if not a spot-on carbon copy of Zuckerberg. Two months ago, THIS was a shoo-in to win Best Picture. But, as always happens with the Oscars, it's not JUST about quality; it's about timing.

1. "The King's Speech" -- First of all, I must comment that, yes, when Emily and I saw this movie, I did doze off a bit. But... not because it wasn't interesting. We had gone to the gym and then had lunch where I had some fairly yummy, but very filling lasagna. My body was just too comfy and I dozed off. But, I honestly only missed a few minutes. It happens. I'm only human.

That said... this film is really, really good. No, it would not be my choice for Best Picture, only because my choice would be based more on the film that had me LOVING cinema all over again this year. And... that was, hands down, Black Swan. If you haven't seen it, GO NOW. It's amazing!!

But... this post isn't about the films I think SHOULD win... it's about the films I think WILL win. And, this year, it's going to be The King's Speech. I'm sad to hear that money-grubbing producer Harvey Weinstein plans to censor this down to a PG-13 rating, but, really, when a film like this gets slapped with an "R" rating, not for vulgarity, sex, or violence -- of which there is absolutely none --, but specifically language that is integral to the story, it just further proves that the ratings system is a joke. Do yourself a favor: See this film. It's fascinating and cool, inspiring and sensational. And when it wins tonight, I will applaud its victory.

Emily - I won't do a recap. "The King's Speech" is going to win. I suppose "The Social Network" could do an upset, but I think this is pretty much the most confident I have felt about my picks. Of course, I have a horrible habit of being wrong about pretty much everything all of the time.

30 Books Before I'm 30: Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights 
by Emily Bronte
"It was a strange way of killing: not by inches, but by fractions of hairbreadths, to beguile me with the spectre of hope through eighteen years!"

For some reason, I always thought Wuthering Heights was a gothic romance; I figured it would be similar to Jane Eyre or Sense and Sensibility. I thought Heathcliff was supposed to be a tragic, yet romantic man who pulls himself up by his bootstraps to make something of himself in society.

Um. Not quite. The entire time I was reading it, I kept asking myself, "Where is the part where people are not crazy?" Because everyone in this book is absolutely nuts. The story follows the course of the Earnshaw and Linton families, who lives across the moors from each other. The Earnshaw pater familias dies after bringing home an orphan boy (Heathcliff) who may or may not have Antisocial Personality Disorder. The other Earnshaw kids-- older son Hindley and daughter Catherine-- have a spectrum of feelings for Heathcliff-- mostly negative, though Catherine apparently falls in love with him (because they were close during childhood), even though she treats him like a jerk and marries another man for his money. Heathcliff takes revenge by being a general a-hole. The narrator is Mr. Lockwood, who rents Thrushcross Grange (the Linton home), and may or may not be gay, but he is told the story of the Earnshaw and Linton families by the head housekeeper, Ellen Dean. Lots of people die, but no one is murdered. There may have been a ghost or two.

What I Liked: I prefer this book to Jane Eyre because, though all of the characters are awful, they stay awful. Heathcliff is only redeemed (spoiler alert!) when he dies, and Catherine Jr. and Hareton are able to love each other because they were never actually terrible people themselves but were only raised by terrible people. There is more depth to this book than I gave it credit in the beginning, and I probably shouldn't have read half of it on a treadmill because I would have gotten more out of it.

What I Didn't Like: I can't decide whether I liked or hated the narrative device. I realize that it was a stylistic choice that reflected the time period, but it felt removed to be getting the story from the housekeeper.

I wish I had known from the beginning that the story wasn't really a romance (in the way I conceptualize romances) and that Heathcliff wasn't going to be a likable character. I kept waiting for him to get nicer (and was a bit shocked when he hanged a puppy), but he didn't. 

This Book Would Be Best When Read: On a sunny Sunday in your favorite reading chair, or wherever you read when you're comfortable (NOT THE GYM!)

I Would Recommend this Book to: Anyone feeling slightly morbid (as the characters are all pretty awful and abusive).

In my Psychological Opinion*: I would diagnose Catherine Earnshaw with Borderline Personality Disorder due to the following criteria: pervasive pattern of interpersonal instability (I mean, come on, she marries one guy, has an affair with her adopted brother, and hardly reacts when her father dies while stroking her hair), frantic efforts to avoid abandonment (locking herself in her room and wailing that she's dying until someone notices), pattern of unstable relationships characterized by vacillation between idealization and devaluation (her entire relationship with Heathcliff), impulsivity, affective instability, and inappropriate and intense anger. 


Examples from the book: "There she (Catherine Earnshaw) lay dashing her head against the arm of the sofa, and grinding her teeth, so that you might fancy she would crash them to splinters! Mr. Linton stood looking at her in sudden compunction and fear" (inappropriate anger and self-harm behaviors?) and "A minute previously she (Catherine Earnshaw) was violent; now, supported on one arm, and not noticing my refusal to obey her, she seemed to find childish diversion in pulling feathers from the rents she had just made, and ranging them on the sheet according to their different species: her mind had strayed to other associations" (possible dissociation?)

This Book Wins my Award for: Most intolerably incomprehensible colloquial language used by the servants (except, thankfully for Ellen Dean who tells most of the story). For example: "They's nowt norther dry nor mensful abaht t' place: nowt there isn't!" 

Up Next: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, though I'm currently reading a non-30BBI30 (see what I did there?), At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie. I needed a palate-cleanser.


*Note: This section is intended as a joke only; I would never diagnose someone, real or imagined, without an appropriate clinical interview.