I've Seen "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)

But I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I can't actually talk about it in this post.  Sorry. 

Instead of a review or a reaction or my initial thoughts, here's a picture of me before the movie, being all annoyed with my phone because the camera kept switching to video instead of photo.

My Thor shirt is still all awesome, though, even if my phone was being dumb.

And this is a picture of the cool Avengers IMAX thing they had in the theater.

Seriously, that's all you're getting from me.

I mean it, I'm not spreading spoilage.  Lips are sealed.

Oh fine, here's a picture of my Thor-scented candle.  I swear that's not a spoiler.  There aren't any Thor-scented candles in the movie.  It's just something my brother and his wife gave me for Christmas a couple years ago.

If YOU have seen Avengers: Infinity War and want to discuss it in the comments, I'm all for that.  If you haven't seen it yet, prolly just avoid the comments here until you have.  Or be really smart and stay off the internet until you've seen it.  That would be best.  There are jerks out there who like to spoil stuff.

The Get to Know Me Tag: Writer's Edition

I snurched this from Mary Liz.  She snurched it from Savannah Grace, who created it.  Now you know.

Thank you for letting me borrow/steal this, Mary Liz :-)

(Yes, I'm doing a lot of tags here right now.  That is because my attention span has devolved into absolute trash, and any time I have to sit at the computer and manage to concentrate is devoted to revising Dancing and Doughnuts because revising a book while not concentrating on it is a terrible idea.  But it leaves little brain power for writing nifty movie reviews and such.  I blame the weirdo weather.  If Virginia can just pick a season, I will be able to settle down, I'm sure of it.)

The Rules

• link back to the person who created the tag 
• thank the person who tagged you 
• share the tag graphic 
• tag eleven bloggers 

Well, 3 outta 4 ain't bad, eh?


❈❈ VITAL STATS and APPEARANCE ❈❈

Name(s):  Real name:  Rachel Kovaciny.  Blogging name:  Hamlette.  Because.

Nicknames:  Hamlette.  Cutie.  Ray.  Mommy.   Mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyy.  WQ.

Birthday:  The same as William Shakespeare's.  Probably.  (We're sure about mine, but not his, if you're wondering.)

Hair color & length: Naturally brown, currently brown for the top 10 inches and then sorta red for the rest.  Long enough to sit on, so about 4 feet by now.

Braces/piercings/tattoos:  Had braces when I was a kid.  One hole in each ear.  No actual tattoos, but I like doing temporary ones sometimes.

(Litographs "tattoo" I had for going to see Hamlet this winter.)

Righty or lefty:  Righty mostly, but I can type with only my right or only my left hand, and I do some things better with my left.  I'm not actually ambidextrous, but my grandma was.

Ethnicity:  Half German, Half Dutch, and a little touched with snapping turtle.  (Fist bump if you get that allusion.)


❈❈ FIRSTS ❈❈

First novel written:  To Stand There and Die  (I was in my early 20s; it took me 3 years to finish.)

First novel completed:  To Stand There and Die  (No one must ever read it.  Total nonsense.)

Award for writing:  I won the Five Magic Spindles contest in 2016.

First publication:  I had a poem published in Highlights magazine when I was about 7.

Conference:  Never been to one, actually.  Not sure I'd like them.  Too many people.  I've been on some writing retreats, though.

Query/pitch:  (For Dancing and Doughnuts) In 1860s Kansas, a drifting ex-cavalryman tries to figure out who's been spiking the apple cider at a dance hall owned by a family with twelve daughters.


❈❈ FAVORITES ❈❈

Novel (that you wrote):  Dancing and Doughnuts -- which is not finished yet, but I adore it.

Genre:  Western and Mystery

Author:  Raymond Chandler

Writing music:  Bobby Darin and movie soundtracks

(This is Bobby Darin, in case you didn't know/guess.)

Time to write:  Morning, before my head gets gunked up by the day's needs

Writing snack/drink:  Something warm, like coffee or hot chocolate or tea

Movie:  The Man from Snowy River (1982)

Writing memory:  That time I went on a writing retreat in college and hid in the closet to write out a scene about someone hiding in a closet.

Childhood book:  The Black Stallion by Walter Farley


❈❈ CURRENTLY ❈❈

Reading: The Choir Immortal by Katie Schuermann and A Pioneer Woman's Memoir: Based on the Journal of Arabella Clemens Fulton

Writing:  The revision of Dancing and Doughnuts

Listening to:  The soundtracks for The Greatest Showman and The Commancheros

("From Now On" is my favorite song, but "The Other Side" is my favorite scene.)

Watching:  Nothing at the moment -- I'm typing on my computer.

Learning:  How to create a website because I need a better author website.


❈❈ FUTURE ❈❈

Want to be published:  Of course.

Indie or traditional:  I've published in both, actually.  I'm pursuing indie publication for my western fairy tale re-imaginings right now, but I'm open to traditional publication in the future.

Wildest goal:  Getting something I wrote made into a movie.


That's all, folks!  If you want to snurch this yourself, go right ahead :-)  I wasn't tagged with it, so I'm not tagging anyone myself.

The Little Women Blog Party Tag

Um... so you know how I kind of fell off the blogging wagon for a while there and just never got around to reading any blogs for like two months?

That was bad.

Especially because I missed out on the Little Women Blog Party hosted by Lavender Spring and A Ramble Through the Woods!  Ooooooooops.

Anyway, Abby P. said I could fill out the party tag even though I'm weeks late, so here goes :-)

(Yes, I'm loving being a bookstagrammer.)

1.  Is there anything from the book that you wish were in the movie?

More of Amy's growth and change would have been nice.

2.  If you could change one point of the plot, which would it be?

I wish there had been some way for Alcott to make it perfectly clear to every single reader that Jo and Laurie were an unsuitable match so that I wouldn't have to keep reading people "shipping" them. 

3.  In Chapter 13, the March sisters and Laurie talk about "Castles in the Air," basically their unrealistic but lovely hopes and dreams. What is your castle in the air?

To have a movie made of one of my stories some day.

4.  What would you most like to see in a new adaptation of Little Women, whether in book or film?

More of Aunt March!

5.  What is your favorite dress from the movie?

I'm assuming we're talking the 1994 movie here.  Probably Jo's red party dress.  I would wear it. 

From the 1978 version, I like this one:

6.  Which March sister(s) do you relate to the most?

Definitely Jo, as she's a tomboy and a writer.  So am I.

7.  Do you have a favorite film adaptation of Little Women?

I do love the 1994, as I kind of grew up with it -- it came out when I was 14.  But I really enjoy the 1978 one too.  I haven't seen the 1949 or 1933 versions yet, but I want to!

8.  What is your favorite quote from Little Women?(movie quotes count!)

I have two!

(I have a fridge magnet that says one of those, and a coffee mug that says the other.  These images are both from Pinterest, though, not my magnet or mug.)

9.  Do you have a favorite scene/chapter from Little Women?

Whether it's in the book or on the screen, Jo and Professor Bhaer finally coming to an understanding gets me every time.

10.  Aside from the March sisters, who is your favorite character from the story?

It's a toss-up between Professor Bhaer and Marmee. 

The Four Things Tag

Eva did this on Coffee, Classics, and Craziness and tagged anyone who enjoys rewatching movies.  I ADORE rewatching movies, as you undoubtedly know, so... I consider myself tagged and am filling this out accordingly (with some asides to narrow down the categories a bit).

Four Jobs I’ve Had

Face-painter
Waitress
Cashier
Columnist

Four Things I Don’t (like to) Eat

Boiled potatoes
Baked potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Stewed potatoes

(My reaction to 'taters.)

Four Places I’ve Lived (since I was an adult)

Minnesota
Wisconsin
Connecticut
Virginia

Four of my Favorite Foods

Chocolate
Peanut butter
Pears
Asparagus

(From Pinterest)

Four Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once (with my best friend)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Slow West (2015)
Hamlet (2011)


Four TV Shows I (am currently) Watch(ing)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D
Leverage
Castle
F Troop

Four Things I’m Looking Forward to This Year (2018)

Publishing my next book, Dancing and Doughnuts
Visiting the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum (I hope)
Seeing my best friend again (someway, somehow)
Cleaning up the giant mess that my bedroom has become


Four Things I Can’t Live Without (besides the obvious things like water and air and food)(and not counting people or God, cuz they're not things)

Books
Movies
Yarn
Cameras


Four Places I’ve Visited (over and over)

Colonial Williamsburg, VA
Mackinac Island, MI
Charleston, SC
The Wisconsin Dells, WI

(A pic I took in Colonial Williamsburg last year.)

Four Pet Peeves (or things that annoy me, anyway)

The number of people who don't differentiate between an opinion and a fact
Lots of Alan Ladd's movies aren't available on DVD
The phrase "try and" -- it's bad grammar and ought to be "try to"
The way the big toenail on my left foot just won't go back to normal after getting ripped off like 2 years ago


Four Things I Wish I Could Do

Fence (with swords, I mean, not put up fences)
Enjoy housecleaning
Eat as much bacon as I want
Decorate really pretty cakes

(From Pinterest)

Four Subjects I Studied at School College

English
History
Literature
Creative Writing


Four Things Near Me Right Now

My Wolverine coffee mug
The Sons of Katie Elder soundtrack on CD
A box of my daughters' nail polishes
My red camera, Francis

There, I finally finished this tag!  Yay!  I hereby tag anyone who loves bacon :-9

#MiddleEarthMarch 2018 Results

I didn't participate in every single prompt for #MiddleEarthMarch on Instagram, but I did the vast majority of them.  It was really fun!  I've loved photography since I was about seven, and got my first point-and-shoot camera when I was eight.  So I am totally loving Instagram and the ways it lets me get creative with my photography.

I made this collage of my #MiddleEarthMarch photos, and I hope you like it!

Do you like any of these shots particularly well?  I've got several favorites.  You can see them all much better individually on my Instagram feed, @RachelKovaciny :-)