Happy Birthday Lynda Carter

We all know her as Wonder Woman. The television show ran in the late-1970s, and it was one of my favorites! I mean, this woman could kick some serious ass!

Of course, even at that age, I questioned why she had to wear her Amazonian swim suit to catch the baddies. Superman at least got a full-body suit and a cape, in case he got cold, right?

After the show ended, she sorta fell off my radar until I saw her in a television ad for contacts or something. But, as it turns out, she hasn't been sitting at home polishing her tiara (oh, and what a tiara it was!). No, she's been acting in various television and movie roles. And voice acting. Did you know she did some voices for Skyrim? Huh.

But most surprising to me is her singing! I mean, I recall she did some duets with other singers on those celebrity variety shows back in the day, but it just seemed like something everyone did. But she's still performing with her own band!

Happy Birthday Lynda Carter!

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SRPS Movie Night - Mirror Mirror

I saw Mirror Mirror this weekend. Here's where I admit that I didn't do my usual research before agreeing to see it. Sadly, because I haven't really been paying much attention to new movies coming out, I think I mixed this up with Snow White and the Huntsman. (Why is it that there are so often two very similar movies out at the same time?) Of course, within 30 seconds, upon the first few notes of this movie, I was aware of the mistake. My expectations dropped precipitously with the opening credits, but decided to stay and see it through. And, frankly, the idea of seeing Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen (does she even have a real name in the story?) was intriguing.

While I can't honestly say I like the movie, there are entertaining scenes, and the re-telling is interesting. The cute jokes here and there, and the stunningly beautiful costumes, go a fair way to making the film watchable. And, as expected, Julia Roberts is great. I can tell she really relished her role as the evil step-mother. And she plays it perfectly.

Nathan Lane is the consummate sycophant. He's charming and obsequious, and yet a little devious. I'm sad that they couldn't find more opportunities for him to adlib and show off his awesomeness. He gets some funny lines, and has plenty of screen time. But it also feels like they have a leash on him.

Lily Collins is adorable as Snow White. And Armie Hammer (Is that a real name? Really?) is super cute as Prince What's-his-name. Honestly, I didn't have a problem with any of the actors. They were all well-cast and did their best considering what they were given to work with.

I didn't have terribly high hopes for the story. I knew the caliber of this movie in the first few minutes, or at least what it as aiming for, and I revised my expectations accordingly. The art style of the introduction was interesting. It certainly set the artistic tone for the movie, which I kinda enjoyed. Very colorful and stylized, with puppets (or, more accurately, marionettes) telling the story leading up to where we enter. A nice touch, and appropriate since similar puppets make an appearance later in the story.

I was instantly enthralled by the mirror imagery -- how she is not just looking into the mirror, but transported to the place where her magic resides. Brilliant! What is this place? Is it her subconscious? The place where her true power lies? Or some other being to whom she is somehow connected?

But they left the parts of the story I truly dislike -- the worst parts of the story in the first place, in my opinion. Why is the Evil Queen so intent on remaining in power? Why is it important for her to remain the "fairest of them all?"Why go through all the trouble of creating a new telling and not modernizing the motives? How is this any different from Tangled? Or pretty much any other fairy tale, for that matter? Why can't we move past this trope of the evil witch/woman/queen who feeds on youth and beauty? Are we still so hung up on being beautiful as our only source of female power? What a terrible missed opportunity for bringing new life to an old tale.

I mean, the dwarfs (dwarves?) get a total and complete make-over. No longer are they Happy-go-Lucky (see what I did there?) miners who sing on their way to work. No, now they're rough and tough bandits, with new names. And a back story that explains how they came to be who they are, doing what they do. Why couldn't they come up with a decent back story for the queen? Or is she just evil? Is it all about beauty vs. ugly? The dwarfs' backstory indicated that they were ostracized because they were "uglies."

Plus, there were a whole litany of highly problematic jokes in the script, so many I can't even remember them all. The jokes that stand out in my memory include a rape joke by Nathan Lane's character, who had been turned into a cockroach and then "taken advantage of" by a grasshopper. Yuck. It wasn't even a funny joke. Just a one-liner stuck in to illustrate his further humiliation after having been turned into a roach as a form of punishment. And a dwarf crawling under a lady's skirts and snickering at her butt. Sigh.

While I have to admit I appreciate the self-rescuing princess line in the film, and the scenes of the princess training to join the dwarfs as a bandit, by that point it wasn't enough to redeem the film in my mind. While she's fighting with the prince, he spanks her with his sword. Several times. That just doesn't even... I don't... what? Is that supposed to be cute? It feels creepy.

It feels like they tried to take the original Snow White tale and turn it into a story about a princess who finds her own power, which would have been grat. But they never sold me on the fact that she actually found it. Sure, she fights some, and stages a rescue of the prince. And even rescues her father and beats the queen. But it never really feels like she is truly powerful. She's just no longer the caged up weakling she was before.

And, of course, in the end she marries the prince and they live happily ever after. Which, I guess, is what she wanted all along -- to be married to the prince. And to have her father back. I'm not saying it's a terrible movie, just that it left me feeling more disappointed than entertained. If they were trying for a movie about a princess who escapes the clutches of the evil witch and helps the prince to save the kingdom, they should have done that, although I think Tangled did it better. If they wanted a movie that showed the evil witch in all her glory... well, I suspect that might be what we see a bit more of later this summer.

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SRPS History - Empress Matilda

Speaking of English queens, 910 years ago today, Empress Matilda was born.

There are plenty of history sites telling of her life. What I've always been impressed with was her audacity to fight for her rule.

The inscription on Matilda's tomb at Rouen, France, read: "Here lies Henry's daughter, wife and mother; great by birth, greater by marriage, but greatest in motherhood." The tomb inscription does not tell the whole story, however. The Empress Matilda (or Empress Maud) is best known in history for the civil war sparked by her fight against her cousin, Stephen, to win the throne of England for herself and her descendants.
(source: about.com)

Her life starts out in the typical way for royal daughters: she has royal parents (in her case, her father was Henry I of England), who want to secure allegiances with other royals, and so marry their children (particularly their daughters) off to the best candidate to ensure peace and prosperity. Or just prosperity.

In her case, she was betrothed by the age of 7, married by the age of 12, and widowed by the age of 23. She and her husband, Henry V,  Holy Roman Emperor, had no children, so she was then married off again, only this time to a lowly count.

She was her father's sole surviving legitimate child. (Her brother, William Adelin died in November 1120, when he was 17 years old, when the White Ship sank. This is the story alluded to in Ken Follett's novel, The Pillars of the Earth.)

Before his death, her father proclaimed Matilda to be his heir, and had all his barons swear fealty. But after his death, her cousin Stephen of Blois rushed around England, building support to usurp her, rallying various forces, and quickly had himself crowned king. He even got the blessing of the Pope. Likely, those barons who swore their fealty did not relish the idea of a woman ruler, and were more than happy to go back on their promises. Especially once the pope absolved them of their oaths to the dead king.

Matilda rallied her own forces and fought Stephen for many years, taking back all of Normandy, and eventually returning to England to fight there. After another several years of war, and reclaiming several castles, defeats, retreats, victories and the standard chess game that was war in the 12th century, she found herself surrounded, and it looked grim.

In December 1142, Matilda was trapped in Oxford Castle, and besieged. She made a daring and renowned escape across ice and snow at night, and evaded Stephen’s army. A year later, she also had to escape from Devizes Castle, this time disguised as a body being taken for burial.

In 1147, she finally quit the warring and returned to Normandy. But she wasn't done fighting.  Her son, Henry II, now Duke of Normandy, was her new hope, and she instilled in him his claim to the throne.

In the interest of peace, Stephen finally brokered a treaty with Matilda, and agreed to name Henry II as his heir, thus ensuring the progression of her line, even if she never quite sat on the throne herself.

In addition to a brief appearance in Follett's book, there are several good works historical fiction about Matilda. I've heard good things about Lady of the English, by Elizabeth Chadwick. I'm intrigued, and since I absolutely adore historical fiction, I may have to check it out.

Have you read it? What did you think?

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Queen for a Day, or a bit longer

Today, Queen Elizabeth 2 marks 60 years on the throne, with a 62 gun salute, tree planting, and other festivities.

The Telegraph.uk.com had a nice story about it:

They also have a special section with articles about and photos of Her Majesty.

She also issued this statement:

Today, as I mark 60 years as your Queen, I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years and to tell you how deeply moved we have been to receive so many kind messages about the Diamond Jubilee.

In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign and which my family and I look forward to seeing in many forms as we travel throughout the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth.

I hope also that this Jubilee year will be a time to give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with clear head and warm heart as we join together in our celebrations.

I send my sincere good wishes to you all.

Right back at you, your highness!

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The Power of the Tiara - stress-relief

Ever had one of those stressful days where you just want to crawl back under the covers and hide? That was me this morning. It took all my powers of self-talk to get myself dressed and ready for my ride to school.

I know the grown-up thing to do is to just get up and do what needs to get done. And, honestly, 99% of the time, I'm perfectly able to do that. But this semester at school has been a bit challenging. I know I need to some serious contemplation around that issue, but in the meantime, I still need to get to class each day.

So, on days like today, when it was particularly difficult, I find myself making promises of a small reward of something symbolic and affordable. Today's promise was that on my way home I would stop at the hardware store on the way home and buy myself a plant for my front yard. And then I promised myself that once I was home, I could lounge around in my jammies, wearing my tiara, and taking it easy for a bit this evening.

That helped me get myself motivated. As it turns out, I had reason to be stressed out. It rained on me while I was riding in, my morning class was full of fail, and I spilled tea on my new favorite t-shirt. *sigh*

All though everything, I kept reminding myself that was going to get some pretty new flowers for my yard. As it turns out, I bought myself TWO plants. Technically, it's 12 plants -- two six-packs.

Aren't they lovely?

I wanted the dark pink snapdragons, but I thought they looked so good on the shelf next to the light pink stock, so I got both.

Now I'm at home, changed into my cozy PJs, snuggled up with my fuzzy blanket, dreaming of the plants I'm going to add to prettify my front yard when it stops raining, and wearing my tiara. I'm feeling better already!

Tiara + PJs = stress relief

What do you do when you need an extra boost to get out of the bed in the morning?

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The Power of the Tiara - I love surprises!

I woke up with a terrible headache. It's the same dumb headache that was bothering me a couple of weeks ago. I'm still trying to figure out what causes it. I think I've decided that it's really more a combination of factors, some of which are out of my control. Boo.

So, I spent the morning attacking the headache from all angles: allergy medicine, decongestant, caffeine, water, rest, and mediation. At one point, I even decided to put on my tiara, to show this headache I'm still the head princess, even when I'm feeling like a frog.

With the tiara on, I decided to spend some quality time in my sewing room, cleaning up and planning my next couple of projects. That's when I remembered the sewing grab bag I'd picked up yesterday evening.

I was cruising around one of my regular thrift stores yesterday, and saw a bag of goodies that I couldn't pass us. It was sealed up tight, so I couldn't quite tell what all was in there. But since it was only about $1, I decided to take a chance. If nothing else, I know I can use some of the thread and that Altoids tin.

Oh, bonus! The Altoids tin is filled with pins! I actually need more pins. Mine are getting chewed up by my sewing machine and I sometimes have to skimp on how many I use on some of my bigger projects!

A jar full of buttons. Didn't everyone's grandmother have a couple of these? I know mine did. My Granny kept a bunch of different jars filled with odds and ends. I have to admit, when I opened this jar, I sniff the air inside. It smelled just like my Granny's house.

A little bag of miscellaneous buttons and doodads. I'm pretty sure that green flower is going to get used on my current monster project. I'm curious to know if anyone knows what that metal clip thing at the top might be. It looks like a miniature curling iron. Maybe it's a ribbon curler?

Green seed beads, and a thread crochet hook. I can use those, I'm sure. And bobbins! I was thinking about buying some new bobbins, since all the bobbins I have are sorta committed to different colors. I know I'm not the only person who tries to use similar colored thread on each bobbin right?

Wooden spools are so cool. We used them as blocks at my Granny's house.

Other older spools of thread. Some of these brands look very familiar to when my mom would sew clothes for me. Or maybe I remember them from my Meemaw's sewing area.

So, that was a pretty good score, don't you think?

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Not That Kind of Princess

What do you think of when you hear the term "princess?" What about a self-rescuing princess?

Last week, to commemorate the new (renamed) version of my etsy store,  I decided to create a Self-Rescuing Princess treasury. I made the mistake of searching for "princess" items. Wow! There is a lot of princess stuff out there. And, sadly, most of it perpetuates the damsel in distress or diva aspects of princesshood. There are plenty of "Daddy's little princess!" signs. And "Princess Bitch" items. And far, far too much pink (and I like pink). And, of course, lots of the different versions of the Disney princess ideal.

SRPS is not about that kind of princess.

The name "Self Rescuing Princess Society" came into being last summer, and originally consisted of three of us.

None of us would consider ourselves as weak. We're certainly not divas. And though we may occasionally hold court, we're not (drama) queens. But we are regal. And we've all had to pull ourselves out of tough situations, effectively rescuing ourselves -- one was going through a medium-ly challenging divorce, another was going through a really dreadful divorce, and one had just turned 40, and quit her job to go back to school. And we all believe in the power of the tiara. It's like bling that empowers.

In the beginning, there was only one tiara. And it got passed around to whomever needed it. But that tiara went missing. (It's still missing, strangely.) In the spring, when the person to whom that tiara belonged replaced it, she also bought one for the other two. 

Later in the summer, when planning to attend the twice-annual gaming convention PAX, we had the idea of dressing up in our tiaras as a kind of self-rescuing princess cosplay for one of the days. The concept of a self-rescuing princess has been around in the gaming community for a while, and we figured we would receive a warm reception. And that's when the term "Self Rescuing Princess Society" was born.

A couple of weeks ago, I started this blog with the goal of opening up membership in the SRPS to a wider audience, and creating a place where we can celebrate our awesomeness. Are you a self-rescuing princess? Care to join us?

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