On Friday, I made my first attempt at the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge. Today, I give yesterday’s Daily Prompt a try. The Prompt is simply to write a list. You can see the prompt here.

I love lists and debated which list I wanted to present to you. I started a “List of Why I Like Lists,” but then thought this would be more fun. Here’s a list of some of my favorite movie quotes from my favorite movies. I didn’t name the movies in case you wanted to play along.

(1) “Look Kids– Big Ben, the Parliament.”

(2) “Dear God. Make me a bird. So I can fly far. Far, far, away from here.”

(3) “I can’t believe I gave my panties to a geek.”

(4) “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

(5) “Tell me about it, stud.”

(6) “Nine million terrorists in the world, and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister.”

(7) “You think I’m hostile now, wait til you see me tonight.”

(8) “You jump, I jump, right?”

(9) “Hey, Trav. Don’t knock her up!”

(10) Challenge quote: “You ever seen a duck that couldn’t swim?”

Thanks for indulging my List Love so early in the morning! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming . . .

Challenge 68: List time! I’m taking pity on you since you struggled with the advertisement challenge… so, give me a list of your top 10 movie quotes! I’m allowing television quotes as well… because… yea. Sherlock. Do I really need to continue to explain myself in that area? Right, so one rule: you can only use one quote from the AFI list of movie quotes – you don’t have to, of course, but the point is to hear some original and creative choices.

Cheers,

CM

Alexa’s response is due Sunday, April 21

5. Superbad

The semen scene I always found to be shocking to see in a script. Unsurprisingly enough it was entirely improvised by Seth on the spot for about 4 minutes but then edited down to a minute. I guess this didn’t entertain the MPAA since I mean who says things like this? It is kind of weird but definitely original.

This I’m guessing was a natural reaction instead of an intentional improvisation.

4. Terminator 2 Judgement Day

This is after the T-1000 had just been shot and fell into the lava. After that Arnold is helped to his feet by John and after John says “Holy S***” Arnold then, unscripted, says “I need a vacation”. This might be perceived as comic relief after an intense moment. Some people miss this since they are recovering from the awesome special effects of the T-1000 death scene. This line was also used in Kindergarten Cop by Arnold.

3. X-Men First Class

The funny cameo that by Hugh Jackman as Wolverine was scripted. But what it told him to say was “F*** off” and after doing 7 takes of it he improvised it. I laughed my ass off after I saw that scene in theaters. It definitely was one of the most memorable scenes from the movie.

2. Men in Black

You gotta love Will Smith for just throwing himself into the role as this young energetic arrogant cop. Can you believe he declined this role at first but was convinced by his wife to do it? I guess we all owe a debt of gratitude to her. In this scene Smith wasn’t scripted to say anything but on the spot he improvised this one line. That’s Will Smith for you all!

1. The Dark Knight

It all comes down to the Joker. Heath Ledger is a beast in this role and he certainly knows how to mix grim and terror with dark humor and menacing facial expression. But these two scenes both added to the incredibly frightening atmosphere that is Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

This one you probably have already known but the Joker was supposed to just stop for a second and enter the bus as the building explodes. But Ledger, seeing a great opportunity to incorporate some more dark humor, looked back and decided to play with the detonator till the explosion went off. It fit perfectly into the scenario and totally left an impression.

Here after the Joker is captured and Gordan is promoted to Commissioner everyone starts clapping. The Joker then unscriptedly starts clapping while keeping the same intimidating expression on his face the entire time. That is freaking creepy! Who wouldn’t feel a little disturbed after witnessing that?

What do you think?

←◊→

Perched on glass tables: /
psychotic hovercats that /
might dominate world. //

←◊→

We’re in a tight spot! /
The rum!  Why is the rum gone? /
Inconceivable! //

←◊→

Nothing says “wake up!” /
like the juicy promise of /
worms in the morning. //

←◊→

Own a newspaper? /
Never leave the editing /
to summer intern. //

←◊→

Movie quotes:

1.  O Brother, Where Art Thou;
2.  Pirates of the Caribbean;
3.   The Princess Bride.

←◊→

Princess Merida: There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.

Brave (2012)

This was when snow was rare of course and not a dreaded feature of Spring as it seems to be now. Even though he was such a sweet guy, I was a 16 year old girl, I couldn’t see myself stick to the same person for the foreseeable future so of course it didn’t last.

Then in contrast- this conversation last week with Fantastically Awesome French Boyfriend.

Me: Putting on lipstick “Ugh no my lips are too chapped and the pink is way too freaking pale. I just look like a cheap hooker.
FAFB: *pause* Why cheap?
Me: What??
FAFB: Well if you were going to be a hooker, I’m sure you would be a veeery expensive one.
Me: (Absolutely speechless I was too busy smiling and trying not to laugh.)

God Courtney you are my IDOL…..

See he only dared to say it because he gets my sense of humour.

After that I seemed to involve myself with an incredible array of idiots and guys who I mistook for misunderstood sweethearts but who were in fact- total assholes. I continued in this way until I came to Paris and met FAFB of course. And it’s so different to everything before, I don’t equate it to the fact that he’s French, I think he’s just a genuinely, amazing guy regardless.

BUT, I was watching some movie where the guy was doing the usual wooing thing and I turned to FAFB and said “You never wooed me! Why didn’t you woo me? I demand to be wooed dammit!” He just simply replied that he didn’t have to and that it obviously hadn’t worked with guys who flirted with me before. Then he made his Robert DeNiro Smug Face ®.  Dammit he had a point.

Aaaand here’s Paul Rudd’s impression….

This got me talking to Andrea about what romantic things FAUB did for her, then thinking about what we both actually consider romantic and how it must differ for everyone- hence the idea for this post.

So for me I suppose it’s the simple or weird things I appreciate the most. I consider High Fidelity and not The Notebook to be one of the most romantic films I’ve ever seen. Also films like 500 Days of Summer and Grosse Pointe Blank. (Thankfully Bex shares this inexplicable love of John Cusack with me and is always happy to indulge in a movie marathon!)

I love the realistic stuff, not the huge, sweeping gestures. I think that’s what makes it work overall. For example Matthew Gray Gubler’s character in 500 Days of Summer saying:

“I think technically ‘The Girl Of My Dreams’ would probably have like a really bodacious rack, you know, maybe different hair, she’d probably be a little more into sports, But truthfully, Robyn is better than the girl of my dreams. She’s real.”

I know it was written by screenwriters etc but it was a complete Awwwwh moment for me.

When FAFB made me dinner for the first time, I was completely taken aback, he couldn’t understand it. Telling me it’s just easy student food. But he MADE ME DINNER. Didn’t buy it or take me to a restaurant, actually made the effort himself. And he listened to me bitch about how I couldn’t afford chicken in Paris that didn’t look diseased. And he made that too! He buys white or rose wine because he knows I never really drink red. He kept checking up on how my back was all last week while he was away and he eventually lets me download the subtitles for a French film when I really should be trying to just listen instead. And he actually met me on the Charles de Gaulle bridge at half 2 in the morning because I missed the last metro and he’s just in general, the epitome of a total gent.

I know I’m only 23 but I still think I’m 19. And stuff like that makes me realise how I have grown up a bit to recognise a good thing when I see it. That the thought really does count and isn’t just something someone says to make you feel better for giving them a crappy present cause you’re broke again. It’s the same when I get a handwritten letter from a friend at home or abroad. I know from trying to send ones in return the sheer effort that goes into finding the time to actually find a pen and give yourself hand cramp because you haven’t written properly since your last exam, then the time to go buy a stamp and actually remember to post it. (Mine also go through a 3 day process of being doused in perfume, lipstick, all my hopes and aspirations and lie under my pillow for 3 nights so you can share my dreams…of course…that’s why they’re always late.) It sounds small but can you remember the last time you actually wrote a personal letter and not a work related one? That’s total friend romance right there.

I have the attention span of a gnat too and really appreciate when friends or FAFB put up with my conversation tangents (I NEVER finish a story) or internet ADD or random obsessions that I have to inform them of at the speed of light. Maybe I’ve drifted off the idea of traditional romance, but isn’t every great friendship you have like one big romance in a way?

This reciprocating romance stuff is new to me too, like I said, I was pretty selfish when I was younger with guys so this hit me last week when I was buying food and remembered to get wine to celebrate FAFB’s last week of exams, but I didn’t just grab any bottle, I actually found myself looking for the one he got for our first dinner together, I actually ended up late for the train and forgetting to bring it BUT ITS THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS. And we had it the next time anyway so no harm done! But it hit me-Holy crap I actually considered him first. Why hello Emotional Maturity! Didn’t see you sneaking up on me there..

I also bought him the lifesize Angry Birds game for his birthday. And a book on how to swear in Irish. Now if that’s not True Romance, I really don’t know what is..

Gillian xx

The rules are simple:  I post a movie quote.  If you know it (without aid of Google, Bing, or any other search engine), just post the movie title in the comments.  You’re welcome to post other info, too (character who said it, actor who played him/her, year the film was made, etc.).  If you guess correctly, you get….well, nothing, really, except the esteem of your peers

Today’s quote is:  “There’s been a homicide on Indian land.”

Best of luck!

To be her,

what an enticing desire.

Waking in your arms,

serenaded by the electricity of your touch.

She holds a diamond,

piercingly beautiful; the envy of long forgotten admirers.

-K

Glass

I am made entirely of glass;

a thousand pieces begging to be broken.

Unleash me from my fragility;

break me of my fears.

Discover me behind the shadows,

the dark alleys of secret translations.

Murder my sense of despair;

rob me of my vulnerability.

-K

Nikolai Luzhin: Forget any of this happened. Stay away from people like me.

To say I was shocked was an understatement i sat there for ages staring at it loads of messages popped up “are you ok ” “babe ” my only reply was ill be back in a minute to which I secretly scrambled putting clothes on hair a mess grabbed my keys and did the first thing that came to mind , ran all the way to Tesco right in middle of his work and siad yes ,right back to where our love story began …to say he kept to his word of if he ever asked me it would be when I was least expecting it Is right he sure do .I couldn’t be happier .In the worlds of carrie B “there was no cliched getting down on one knee ,just two adults agreeing to spending there lives together ” and that’s what it was ..

So here I am an engaged woman it’s all been a wirlwind of a journey but its amazing .

Ps We’ve been busy moving into our first home together and I’m here siting watching first sex and city movie for hundredth time on a projector size wall .

Happy happy happy

Kari

Xoxox

From the Godfather III

Well, we’ve tested the guest author system — it does! Any takers?

Explanation of the movie quotes: receiving a favour from the don is much like obtaining a loan. You “owe him a favour”, and he’ll ask for it back “maybe never”. Serious background: private banks create money and put it into circulation, but they NEVER create the money needed to make up the interest. So the system is and will always be skewed towards those with capital to spare…UNTIL WE CHANGE IT!
Note: the original version of the bnb (banks need boundaries) petition does not include an attack on the interest system. It’s simply too unpopular, we decided to focus on money creation instead, which more or less circumvents the problem.

Quote number two “not personal – only business” is self-explanatory, but it’s worth pointing out the issue of corporations assuming the status of “legal persons” (see our vaccination against Corporabies or the excellent movie The Corporation).

And, finally, “control very much with very little” (hints at minimum reserves and netting – see the Banking 101 course from Positive Money, soon to be released in an “abridged international edition”).

That last quote is from The Godfather III, which also has one of the most memorable money-movie quotes of all times:

Young Mafioso: “I don’t understand finance”

Don Lucchesi: “You understand guns, don’t you?”

Young Mafioso: “Yes.”

Don Lucchesi: “Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger.”

Dress: Forever 21, Sweater: H&M, and my Louis Vuitton with an Hermes scarf that belonged to my grandmother.

It wasn’t glamorous or full of deep life-changing conversation. We exchanged a few words, but not much. After a little time passes, she might not even remember I was the one there with her. And all that’s ok. She is beginning her time of restoration, and it’s a slow process. She needs to take baby steps, and if that means sleeping in and getting up to a movie, that’s totally fine. It sounds a lot like my Saturday mornings, in fact, so I highly recommend. For her, it’s a move toward normalcy and there’s a lot to be said for that, especially coming out of prostitution.

As we were sitting there, a scene from the movie Lars and the Real Girl came to mind. If you’ve never seen it, you must do so immediately. It’s a darling of a movie, and more people should know about it. There are probably easily 100 lessons that could be learned from that film, but this one has popped into my head on a number of occasions.

In the scene, it’s a time of mourning for Lars. A few women from his church come over to bring him some food and be of comfort to him. To be honest, it’s not a big part of the movie. Most people probably wouldn’t remember it. It’s this tiny, little conversation before and after bigger incidents. but it’s the one that stuck with me the most for some reason.

Sally: We brought casseroles.

Lars: Thank you.

Lars: [Lars looks around the sewing circle. The three ladies are knitting and doing needlepoint] Um, is there something I should be doing right now?

Mrs. Gruner: No, dear. You eat.

Sally: We came over to sit.

Hazel: That’s what people do when tragedy strikes.

Sally: They come over, and sit.

On the way over to the house this morning, I prayed that God would give me the words to speak that would encourage and comfort her. It turns out, all I needed to do was sit. I wasn’t at a loss for words, they just weren’t needed. I only needed to be present. She’s been lonely, and needs to know people care about her and believe she can make it through this difficult transition. I think sometimes we try too hard to come up with the right things to say when people are hurting, but mostly, the best thing we can do is be there for them. Sometimes our intentions can make the most difference.

Other women will be visiting her throughout the upcoming week. I imagine every visit will be a little different. Some of those may very well be the deep, life-changing conversations. They may be encounters that she remembers for the rest of her life. They may be done by women who will stay in her life for years to come. But this morning she wanted to watch a movie, so that’s what I did.

I was there. I was present. I was there if she wanted to talk, and I was there if she didn’t. And I’m really looking forward to going back and doing it all over again. If needed, I’ll sit again.

(By the way, if you care to donate to Solomon House, the items most needed at the moment are: PJs, bras, Celebrate Recovery Bibles, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, His Princess by Sheri Rose Shepherd, and gift cards to things like grocery stores, movies, restaurants, etc.)

The Old Hand of Oakdale:

“Many of my favorite movie quotes come from the Coen brothers’ movies. For instance, in ‘The Big Lebowski,’ just about every time John Goodman opens his mouth, he spouts a quotable line. The problem is they can’t be printed in a family newspaper. However, Jeff Bridges has many that can be printed, like ‘The rug really held the room together’ and, of course, the theme of the movie, ‘The Dude abides.’

“In ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ so many of the lines are quotable just by the simple fact they use archaic terms such as paterfamilias, or pseudo-archaic sayings like ‘The treasure you seek shall not be the treasure you find.’ But my favorite line in the movie is the excuse used for deserting a friend — not only the words, but also in the delivery: ‘We thought you were a toad.’

“One of my favorite movie quotes wasn’t spoken; it was printed on a mirror. In ‘JurassicPark,’ there is a shot of an angry dinosaur, seen in a car’s side mirror, coming up fast behind the characters fleeing in the car. On the mirror is the warning: ‘OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR.’

“And, in light of the death of Roger Ebert, there is this TV quote: ‘The balcony is closed.’ ” [Bulletin Board says: Two thumbs up, Old Hand.]

Maybe that’s why I love the Princess Bride so much.  Buttercup and Wesley…quirky and imperfect is their love.  There is a hard road to the end–Wesley has to fight for her.  Did she deceive him and give up loving him?  Never!  And then there are the quotes…

As you wish…

Anybody want a peanut?

   “You seem a decent fellow,” Inigo said. “I hate to kill you.  “You seem a decent fellow,” answered the man in black. “I hate to die.”

Inconceivable!

Have fun stormin’ the castle!

“I’ve been saying it so long to you, you just wouldn’t listen. Every time you said ‘Farm Boy do this’ you thought I was answering ‘As you wish’ but that’s only because you were hearing wrong. ‘I love you’ was what it was, but you never heard.”  (from the book)

Why do we like the  Princess Bride?  After all, it’s not your predictable love story.

  It’s quirky and funny, and the plot is not…normal.  Just like our lives with a lot of dirt in it.  What we think is normal is not, and the abnormal we fight.

Adam…alone but even he did not know what he needed.  God did…and Eve was born of Adam’s rib.  He loved and protected…but protected from what?  They lived in a perfect garden…for a bit.

Eve gave love back … looked up to her protector.  Love briefly showed as God’s perfect love.  The unique place…lush garden…easy living…no need for a protector but God.  Then they blew it.

Separation took place dividing the Man and Woman from God and from each other.   The “God spark” became a faint and wistful thing; something hard to find, and easy to ignore, almost hidden.

They became obsessed with themselves and their own needs. He was never enough; and she was lacking and the battle began.  It churned and churned out fights, always demanding change in the other.

Where was the sacrifice for each other? Where did that perfect love go?  The Son made up for it.  The perfect God who loved perfectly gave it all to bridge the gap.

We must go on looking for the perfect love…and He will draw us into His great and perfect story.

(All photos from Google)

India Stoker: What do you want from me?

Charles Stoker: To be a friend.

India Stoker: We don’t need to be friends… We’re family.

Charlie: Right now we are alive and in this moment I swear we are infinite.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

I write romance!”

I write romances that are so sugary sweet that there’s a chance of slipping into a diabetic coma by the end. I love love and happy endings.  Most people are in that boat with me. In fact it’s not a boat, it’s a ship. A huge cruise liner full of romance readers.

You wouldn’t know this because very few admit to being on the romance reading ship, but they are.  Almost everyone (well almost every woman) is on board. If no one reads romances, how is it a billion dollar industry? People read it and that’s why it is the largest market share of the book market- selling more than mysteries, literary fiction, or thrillers.

Romances often get a bad rep for being cliche. Often they are, and that’s why I love them. Yes, from page one it’s known what’s going to happen on the last page. They will meet, usually not liking each other for some reason. Then they’ll fall in love, but not want to admit it. Of course someone or something will happen that pulls them apart. Of course, love conquers all in the end and they live happily ever after. Romance isn’t about the destination, it’s about the journey. It’s not about what’s going to happen, but how it happens.