Would You Rather

Hiiii, everyone.  I'm back.  Well, actually, I've been back for a while... I just sort of haven't gotten around to posting.

And even this is... just a tag. ;)  But could I resist a Jane Austen tag? I think not.  This one is from Write On, Cordy!

Who would you rather have act as your matchmaker, Lady Russell (from Persuasion) or Mrs. Jennings?

Mrs. Jennings... she would at least be funny.  Lady Russell is just materialistic. :P  Less prone to say embarrassing things, but...  well, hopefully whomever she's matchmaking me with can join me in joking about it instead of being embarrassed. :)

Another Elevensies Tag

So, I have done this tag before, but as I'm always looking for things to post and it looked rather fun, I figured I'd do it again. ;-)

We're supposed to list eleven random facts about ourselves, answer the eleven the person who tagged us came up with, come up with eleven of our own for the people we tag, and then tag eleven people.

Phew.

Okay, so I'm very bad at coming up with random facts about myself... so I decided to let funny pictures and Pinterest help me. :D Just click on the links to learn eleven useless facts about me. (I didn't want to bother saving and then uploading them. :P) Some of them won't surprise you, but hey, it didn't say that it has to be things nobody knew yet. :P

One

Two

Three

Four
Five

Six

Seven

Eight

9. This describes my cat very well.

10. I am tempted to do this far too often...
11. I want a typewriter like this. (The teacup would be nice too. Also the desk or dresser or whatever it is.)

Now for Amy's questions...

1.  Have you ever eaten caviar?  If so, what was it like?  If not, would you be willing to try it someday?

Haha, no. And no. :P

2.  When did you first learn to ride a bike?

You mean without training wheels? Probably when I was six. Apparently I used to frighten my mother and sister when I'd ride it because they thought I was "accident prone" and would fall and hurt myself. So I would ride back and forth in front of the house chanting "I'm accident prone! I'm accident prone!" 

;D

3.  Elizabeth Gaskell or Charles Dickens? (I leave Jane Austen out of it, we all KNOW she's the best...)

Haha yes, we all know that. And anybody who doesn't is wrong. :P (And if you try to argue with me... I will just say this. Heeheehee.)

Ummm... um... well, I like them both, but I guess I'll go with Charles Dickens. If I had to live without one or the other, there is less of Elizabeth Gaskell to live without.

4.  What's your favorite long/interesting/complex word?

I hate this answer, but I don't know. Heh. Well, see, it's not that words don't delight me, but they're not usually long or complex ones, and probably not generally interesting. I just like random words that make me smile or giggle, and I don't have a particular favorite. "Skulk" was one that made me smile t'other day. Especially when put in a phrase like "skulking about". Heeheehee.

Yes, I'm a nut.

5.  Put your music playing device on shuffle and tell us the names of the first three songs that come up, no skipping.

Heh... okay. I hardly ever listen to the whole thing shuffled, though. I don't even listen to half of the stuff. :P

1~ "The Proposal" from Miss Austen Regrets

2~ "Emma Insults Miss Bates" from Emma (1996). (Ha, I never even listen to most of that soundtrack... probably I should take it off.)

3~ A random song I recorded off a movie (just from the TV) once with my MP3 player. Only it was actually for my sister. And then it didn't work to put on her computer...

6.  What's the funniest dream you ever had?

     I'm not sure... but the one I tend to tell the most was one that wasn't at all funny to me at the time. I was about three or four when I had it, but I still remember it a little. 

     So, for some reason I was sitting (by myself, of all things) in an audience at some sort of exhibition or museum or field-trip-ish-thing, where at the front of the room there was a roped-off area with a dinosaur inside. There was somebody at the front of the room telling us about it. Then suddenly some random lady in the audience took out a measuring tape (this sort) and pushed a button on it that made it whisk out and hit the dinosaur. Then after that happened, I was being pulled by some invisible force up to the front of the room and under the ropes with the dinosaur, where said dinosaur proceeded to take my foot up as if to eat it.

     So I shrieked "No, NO! DON'T eat my FOOT!"

     And then the dinosaur said in this kind of spooky voice,  "Doooon't worry, it's ooooonly a dreeeeam."

     And then I woke up. :P  Very random, that dream. It's not as if I even thought about dinosaurs very often. Hahahaha.

7.  How many plays have you seen performed live? (School plays and amateur productions totally count.)

Well, the problem is, I've been in a lot of them. But then, I usually watched the parts that weren't my age group when it was the church/homeschool plays, so if I'm including those... uhhh... ten? I think? (I'm also including a random opera. Hope it counts.) A local college was doing "The Importance of Being Earnest" last year and I really really wanted to go to it but I didn't geeet toooo... *sniffle*

8.  Mexican food, Chinese food or neither?  Why?

Chinese. Hands-down, no questions asked. And... because I like it. (I'm not sure about the super authentic kind, though, haha.) And I'm not overly fond of Mexican food. (My family insists I must not belong to them after all.)

9.  Is there a name that you consistently mispronounced for years and then finally heard someone say it out loud and felt completely mortified for saying it wrong all that time? 

Oh, I'm sure there are several. I just can't think of any right now... not a name, anyways. When I was younger I said "Phoebe" like "fobe" in my mind, but I never actually said it out loud. And then I heard it finally, with the context of its spelling, I was like... ohhhhh. :P I didn't think my way sounded like a name, but I still don't know how they get "fee-bee" out of that. ;D

10.  Which Les Mis character are you?

Oh, you make me take that quiz, do you? Okayyyy... Cosette, apparently. Whatever. *shrugs* 

11.  What's your favorite board game?  (it doesn't have to be an actual BOARD game... technically Bananagrams isn't a board game, but you know the genre I'm talking about)

But... I have LOTS of favorites. O_O Uhh... Balderdash is what I usually say, but it depends on my mood. And the company. :) I generally like word games the most.

Beyond Balderdash is probably even more fun. :D

Okay, and here are my eleven questions.

1) What email server is your favorite? (You know, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) 

2) Which place in your own country do you most long to visit?

3) Who was the last person you emailed?

4) Who was the last person you talked on the phone with?

5) What is your favorite candy, chocolate excluded? 

6) Within the next...oh, say, six months, what are you looking forward to the most? (As in, general life event)

7) Hardcover or softcover books? 

What's your favorite quote about...

8) Friendship?

9) Music?

10) Books?

11) So, you're standing in a group of three people (this includes you) where one person is a friend-ish acquaintance and the other person you don't know so well. You're not really adding that much to the conversation, but then the person you don't know so well criticizes one of your favorite books/movies/characters, etc. What do you do? Scowl and shut up, jump into defense, or other? ;)

And I tag...

Miss Laurie

Miss Elizabeth Bennet

Payton

Emma Jane

Lizzie

Miss Evelyn

Analiese

Maria Elisabeth

Kiri Liz

Lily of the Valley 

(Who does not have a blog, so I hereby command her to answer my tag questions in a comment. 

Er, that is, I suggest that she do so. :D)

Mousie

(I hereby command you to answer my tag questions in AND answer your own questions too. ;) )

And though some of you are already tagged, keep in mind that answering my questions and those of whoever else tagged you might give you an excuse not to come up with random ones, if you want to be tricky. ;)

P.S. If you do fill it out, I'd love it if you wouldn't mind letting me know just in case I miss the post. :)

The Infamous Tag

I don't usually "do" tags  but occasionally I find them fun... and besides, I need a post. I mean, I'm not exactly a prolific, bursting-with-ideas blogger, am I? (Well... none that you are aware of yet. Heh, heh, heh. >:D)

So. I was tagged by both Hayden from Story Girl and Amy Dashwood from Yet Another Period Drama Blog. (I love that title so much I never mind the long-ness of it. And I do not mean that at all facetiously.) Thank you, girls!

And now for the rules that everyone, including myself, simply uses to bend to one's own liking. 

1. You must post eleven facts about yourself. 

2. You must also answer the eleven questions the awarder has given you and make up eleven questions for your awardees to answer in turn. 

3. Tag eleven fellow bloggers 

4. Notify them that you've awarded them 

5. No tagging back 

6. And the eleven blogs you tag must have less than 200 followers.

For instance, I am about to bend rule number one to my own liking. Oh, yes, the very first. Because I do not like posting eleven facts about myself, and I am not good at it. Therefore I shall simply answer both Hayden's and Amy's questions, and you will still know 22 facts about me, so you can't complain. Right? 

Furthermore, I don't like rule number six, which several people have already violated... and I might be tempted to do the same.

So, here are Hayden's questions....

1. If you could choose any superpower, what would it be?
In point of actual factual fact, I do not think I would want a superpower even if I could have one. Maybe for a little while, just to see what it was like... but I'm not well enough acquainted with my options to choose one.

2. Bows and Arrows, Swords, or Guns?
Swords, I suppose... they'd be the best to display. Rather old-castle-ish, you know. Catherine Morland would be proud.

3. What’s your favorite black and white film?
Hmmm... probably It's a Wonderful Life. It's definitely the one I've seen the most, anyhow. Oh, but I also really like The Shop Around the Corner. Have you ever heard of You've Got Mail (which, for the record, I haven't seen)? Well, Shop Around the Corner came FIRST. :D (Similar plot, I've heard.)

4. What is something random that freaked you out as a child, even if it wasn’t supposed to be scary?
Oooh, that's a good question. The first one that occurs to me is the Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Don't ask me why, but it absolutely terrified me, even though it has a good ending, so to speak, and is supposed to be encouraging or whatever. But that is not how it affected my 3-or-4-year-old self. Haha, I hadn't thought about that for a while....

5. Did you read Dr. Seuss books as a kid? Which one is your favorite?
I did read them, but I'm afraid I don't remember my favorite. Isn't that sad?

6. What is your favorite musical?
Haha... well, if you know me, you'll know that I am not a fan of musicals in general. However, you will find me much more knowledgeable about them now than I was a year ago, and probably more appreciative, too. In comparison, you know.
But that does not answer the question. Well... at the moment, as far as musicals I actually watch, I'd probably say My Fair Lady, but this might just be because it's rather new to me. I didn't see it until earlier this year, and never even knew it was anything I might possibly want to watch until December of last year I believe, when someone explained the general plot, and I was like "Hey... that actually sounds interesting." I'm not sure what my misconception was, but when I'd hear the name before that point, what popped into my head was very different from what it really is.
As far as just listening goes, my present favorite is probably the Jane Eyre musical...

7. What is your least favorite book by your favorite author?
Good grief! Must I answer this, indeed? Well. Probably the novella Lady Susan by Jane Austen. (I'm not trying to steal your answer, Amy... really I'm not.) I'm glad JA has minor works, because trying to pick a least favorite of her main six would be horrid! Anyways, I've never actually finished Lady Susan... and you know, Jane Austen never attempted to have it published, so I think it's safe to assume that it wasn't her favorite, either. ;-)

8. If you could steal any movie/television character’s wardrobe, who would it be?
Nooooo. I cannot choose, I simply cannot! Maybe Emma Woodhouse in the 2009 version... or maybe one of the sisters in He Knew He Was Right, because I seem to recall there being lovely, modest dresses worn by them... or maybe Felicity King from Road to Avonlea (especially in the seventh season)...

9. What is your opinion on clowns?
I do not have one. An opinion, that is. Of course I don't have a clown. Unless you count one of my family members.

10. What is one obscure book, movie, or television show that you recommend?
Obscure... obscure... hmm. Perhaps Wind At My Back, which is a TV series by the makers of Road to Avonlea, and if you have not heard of that, by the same makers of Anne of Green Gables... and if you don't know THAT, I very sincerely pity you. Anyway, it's not as good as Avonlea, but I like most of it. And I mention it because I know of hardly anyone else who has ever seen it.

11. Oh no! You’re stuck in an elevator when the power goes out. It’s going to be several hours before help comes. Who would you rather be stuck in there with- Mr. Collins or Hyacinth Clare Gibson? 
Haaahaaaahaaaaaa. Wow. Well, Mrs. Gibson, I guess. She's a female so it wouldn't be as awkward. :P 

Now for Amy's questions.

1. Who's your least favorite literary heroine?
Scarlett O'Hara. Actually I'm not completely sure about that, but she was the first one to pop into my head. I could take that girl out back and strangle her, I could. *makes ferocious scowl*

2. Did you read the American Girl books when you were younger?  Which series was your favorite?  Which book?
I did indeed!! Favorite series is sort of a toss-up between Samantha and Kit... but I guess I'll go with Samantha, in which case my favorite is (errr... was?) Samantha Saves the Day. Sighhh. I loved that book ever so much.

3. You're having a friend over who has never seen a single period drama in her life.  Which one do you choose for her indoctrination?
A friend who has never seen a single period drama in her life... interesting. Well, let's see. It's quite horrid for someone to have never seen a Jane Austen adaptation, but if they've never seen any period drama, it may be easier to start them on Anne of Green Gables, which I think is very capable of determining someone's capabilities in appreciating old-fashioned movies. :) Our family has employed that technique before, actually.

4. Raspberries or strawberries?  Why?
STRAWBERRIEEEEEES. And why? Because they're amazing, of course. Raspberries are tolerable, but I usually only eat them in things and not by themselves, whereas strawberries are swellissimus either way. And I love them. And the seeds aren't mean to your teeth. They are just better all around. And strawberries make me feel happy inside, for... certain reasons which only one other person would understand. :D And to top off all THAT, they're mentioned in a Jane Austen novel. Heehee.
Oh, but that question reminded me of taking fiddle lessons when I was really young, learning a bowing sequence my teacher called "Raspberry Strawberry", because you go "long-short-short-long-short-short", like the syllables in "rasp-ber-ry, straw-ber-ry." There, an extra random fact about me. Can I skip the next question?

5. What's your favorite cartoon movie?
Define "cartoon". Does this mean actual cartoon-ish or does animated count? And... I really do not know.What a sad, boring creature I am. It's not that I don't like any, because I do. It's just hard to pin down a favorite.

6. Who is your favorite singer? 
Nemo. (That is, nobody.) Yes, you heard right... I do not have a favorite singer.

7. When do you start listening to Christmas music? 
Ha. Well, the rule in our house is not until the day after Thanksgiving or when it snows. (Because when it snows, we want to listen to Christmas music. :D) I usually feel the urge in August or September, though, and last month I let myself listen to one CD (with earphones, you know). One. Just to tide me over. Because last year I was a little too much into Christmas music in October, and then when it was finally Christmastime it wasn't as exciting anymore, and that's very sad.

8. Which was the best birthday of your life so far and why?
O_O I don't know! I've had too many good birthdays! Maybe my 6th? That was when I had a Winnie the Pooh party, heehee. Also my family (including cousins and grandparents and such) used to get together about once a season and celebrate everyone's birthday who fell into that category, so we did that too. I do have a lot of fond memories of that one... also 6 was just a nice age. But I liked my 10th birthday a lot, too... I had a costume party that year and I think I actually got to have the party on my real birth date which is fun, and I remember the rest of the day being nice, too. And my Jane Austen party a couple years ago was very delightful. (If you are observant you will notice I don't divulge how old I was turning then. Heh, heh.)
And then of course there are others. I CAN'T DECIDE.

9. Why did Mr. Gibson marry Hyacinth Horror Kirkpatrick?  Explain your answer in 200 words or less and don't forget footnotes.  If you haven't read/seen Wives and Daughters, write a two-paragraph essay on why lobsters don't wear socks.
Because... because... he's stupid. (I'm sorry, it just popt out!) Look before you leap, fellow. Ascertain your daughter's feelings before you decide it will be a wonderful thing for her. And for pity's sake, get to know the woman you marry! It's better to want what you don't have than to have what you don't want.
But in all actuality, I think Mr. Gibson married her because it sets most of the plot for W&D. Heh, heh, heh.

10. Who would you rather have tea with, Miss Bates or Mrs. Bennet? 
You know what's crazy is that either of those actually sounds desirable to me? Haha. But... probably Miss Bates. Just because she's actually nice, and wouldn't really be embarrassing like Mrs. Bennet can. Unless Mrs. Bennet brought Elizabeth along to tea, in which case I would want her.

11. What is the ugliest/most unflattering dress or outfit you've ever seen on a period drama? How would you have dressed the character who was so unfortunate as to wear it?
Ooh, that's a good question, but rather hard to answer. I remember disliking many of Fanny Dorrit's dresses... also Estella in the 2011 Great Expectations had some rather unflattering dresses, I thought. They looked as if they didn't fit right. Especially this one:

In my opinion, it looks like it's falling off. I don't think that would be a very flattering style (even if it wasn't immodest) for anyone, but... this especially. And how would I have dressed her? Well, for one thing I think she should pin a bit of her cumbersome skirt 'round her neck where it can be useful.

And the eleven people I'm tagging--
Miss Laurie
Miss Elizabeth Bennet
Charity U
Abby
Maria Elisabeth
Stephanie
Jane
Abilaine

...and for the last three, I appoint Hayden, Amy and Alexandra (unless she hasn't done this tag before in which case she's tagged, but I think she has) to answer my eleven questions in a comment just for fun. If they want to. I also decided to forego rule number six. So put that in your pipe and smoke it. :D

Now for my questions....

1. What's your favorite hair-and-eye color combination?
2. Who is an unpopular character you rather like but would find difficult to defend?
3. What is your second-favorite version of Pride and Prejudice? (It might be assumed that those who like P&P95 would have P&P05 as their second-favorite and vice versa, but this is not always the case.) And if you haven't seen at least two versions of P&P... why haven't you? :D
4. What is the book you're most embarrassed to tell people you haven't read when they ask? (Not that I want to embarrass you or anything. Haha.)
5. What is your favorite game? (As in, card and board games.)
6. Do you typically write in cursive or printing?
7. What is something you promised yourself when you were younger that you would never do, but ended up doing later on?
8. How do you say "era"--"air-uh" or "ear-uh"?
9. Do you keep a journal/diary, and if so, do you write in it often?
10. If you could suddenly have the ability to play an instrument that you've never even tried before, which would you choose?
11. Which fellow blogger are you the most curious to know the looks of? (I mean, admit it. We're all curious, are we not?)

Jane Austen Birthday Week questions

1 - What was the first JA novel you ever read, and who introduced you to it?

Pride and Prejudice, and I introduced myself to it after watching a few Jane Austen films, which my older sister originally introduced. I knew that, of course, the books must be even better than the movies!

2 - Which is your least favorite JA novel, and why?  (Everybody posts about their favorites... I want to know what's at the bottom of your list!)

My least favorite?! Oh no, you cannot ask me that, I protest! I love them all so dearly, that to pick a least favorite is a near impossibility! But….*sigh*…on the bottom of my favorites list (as far as the main 6 novels go), is probably Mansfield Park at the moment, even though I really love it (and especially dear Fanny Price), just because I like lighter stories better.

Shows you how much I like Jane Austen, when I like my least favorite so well!

3 - Who do you think is the funniest character JA ever created?

Do you know, that is an immensely hard question to answer. Mr Bennet comes to mind as one of my favorites though; he can be extremely amusing at the same time as likeable, unlike some of the other funny characters.

4 - Which JA villain[ess] do you love to hate?

Henry Crawford. Mind, I don’t like him one little bit, I quite despise him. But it is rather interesting to talk about how much I despise him. Sometimes I just spontaneously burst out with “Ooh, I hate Henry Crawford!”

5 - What's your favorite JA quote?

Probably this one:

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

(~Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey)

6 - If you were to "start" someone on JA, which book would you recommend to them first and why?

Actually, it depends entirely on the person. Some, I might actually recommend a movie if they’re not the bookish type; also it depends on what sort of thing they usually like.

In general, though, probably Pride and Prejudice. It’s the best-loved, and I think, the lightest and most eventful story; also the easiest to read, in my opinion.

7 - What is your absolute favorite JA film adaptation and why?

Pride and Prejudice 1995, BBC/A&E (followed very closely by Emma 2009, BBC).

P&P is my favorite movie! Unlike some people, I celebrate the fact that it is 5 hours long, because then it can begin to do justice to the story, and provides all the more to enjoy! It has very good acting, and feels nice and old-fashioned, not that modern feeling some have, and very close to the book. My favorite part of the movie is the visit to Pemberley; and my favorite scene is the one that starts with Lizzy playing the piano and singing, at Pemberley. That scene makes me feel happy; so does the ending. When the movie is over I usually sit there with a silly smile on my face for a few moments. I like the soundtrack, too.

8 - If you could authorize a new film adaptation of one of JA's novels, which would it be and why?

Mansfield Park. There are simply no movies that do it justice, which is why I think it’s one of the lesser-loved. Furthermore, I would write the script with Miss Laurie, and play Fanny myself. ;-)

However, I should also dearly love to see a movie of Sanditon or The Watsons (Jane Austen’s unfinished novels – finished, of course).

9 - Which JA character do you most identify with?
Marianne Dashwood. I also sometimes identify with Fanny Price and Catherine Morland, and I took on Elizabeth Bennet’s way of being amused by things. It can be quite useful in an uncomfortable situation.

10 - If you could have lunch with JA today, what question would you most like to ask her?

One question?! This is cruel! Well, undoubtedly, I would ask her about her mysterious seaside romance; if it was true that this gentleman was the ‘only man she really loved’, what his name was, and the story in general. Then I’d write a book about it.

There are lots of other things I would dearly like to ask her, though. For one thing, I would love to ask about the original versions of Sense and Sensibility {Elinor and Marianne} (was it epistolary?), Pride and Prejudice {First Impressions}, and Northanger Abbey {Susan}.

11 - Is there any one thing that you think could have been improved upon in one (or all) of JA's books?  What is it and why?

Yes, sadly, I do think so. I think there should have been proposal scenes included in Sense and Sensibility (and more conversations between the heroines and heroes in general), Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park.

12 - If you could have lunch with one of JA's characters today, who would it be and why?

This is incredibly difficult, but perhaps Henry Tilney. Hopefully I could find out all about his sister and her romance which was very vague in the book, and he would amuse me greatly at the same time.

13 - (optional) Why is Miss Dashwood so fond of asking "why"?

Either because she doesn’t want little two-word answers or because she just wants to know.