Oz, The Great and Powerful

This week was spring break for me, so on Tuesday my best friend, Jackie, and I decided to hit up the cinema to indulge in a movie both of us had been craving to see: Oz, The Great and Powerful. I was a massive Wizard of Oz fan when I was little, so this movie seemed like the next obvious step considering I've already seen Wicked as well. The only way I can think to describe this movie is beautiful and truly magical. It is the prequel to Wizard of Oz, in a sense. It tells the story of a circus magician named Oscar Diggs. While trying to outrun the man whose girlfriend he sweet-talked, Oscar (Oz for short) jumps into a hot air balloon to get away. He then gets swept up into the oncoming toronado and begs for s second chance to become a "good man." He gets his wish when he arrives in Oz to meet Theodora the Good (witch). She brings him to Emerlad City where it is made apparent to him that he will be the next Wizard. The story then goes that he meets many of the familiar Oz characters so as to become the "Great and Powerful Oz."

This movie has many spoilers, which is why I am being so vague. Moving on, I felt the movie was good. The storyline was clever and left me wondering why no one has done this before. The cast was mostly good too, with the exception of a couple. This is quite a heavy thing to say, I admit, but James Franco was not Oz. What I mean is that he was uncommitted to this iconic part, and it was definitely noticeable. Yes, there could have been a better Oz, maybe even his little brother Dave Franco could have been better. Another part that was better than Oz, but still kind of acting 101-ish was Mila Kunis as Theodora the Good. I love Mila Kunis, whole-heartedly, but Oz was not meant for her. She seemed like she was trying to appeal to children in a sense. Not even that, though, I just do not think Mila is a character actress, which is what this part required her to be.

After that, the movie itself was breathtaking. Cinema has come a long way since the original Oz. Also, this is not a kid movie, so please do not make that mistake, as there were a couple scenes that made me jump. Don't take my word for it though. See it for yourself and tell me what you think.

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Let the Good Times Roll, Part Three

On our last full day there, we ate a lot and went to the National WWII Museum.

Our first stop was the New Orleans School of Cooking, where we were taught to make gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and pralines by this hilarious and tremendously passionate chef and instructor at the school, Kevin.

 

 

The gumbo was easily the best I've ever eaten. I even went up for seconds. No shame. Then we were treated to a lovely crawfish etouffee that i had with this sauce called Garlic Power or something like that, but was basically a garlicky, spicy sauce. It was seriously delicious. Lastly, we had homemade pecan pralines which is like a brittle, but softer and so creamy. This was one of the best parts of the trip, honestly.

 

 

 

 

A little while later, we were back on free time. So, naturally, we decided to go get something to eat. The three other girls I spent most of my time with in New Orleans and I all had getting a po'boy on our agenda. That was what we did. We went to the French Market, right on the edge of the Quarter, and got sauteed shrimp po'boys from this booth called Nawlins. The sandwich was divine and the shrimp was so fresh. It came with a spicy potato salad that is something I've never even heard of, but it was also amazing and nice and spicy. I wanted to try something with alligator in it, but I couldn't find anyone who wanted to share the gator po'boy with me, which is why I ended up with the classic shrimp.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the last major things we did on our trip that I have pictures for, was the National WWII Museum. It was nice. I mean I'm not particularly into wars, so this was a bit of a stretch for me, but it was good for what it was. We saw a 4-D movie there regarding WWII and I thought that was really quite cool. (For those who don't know what 4-D is, like myself a couple weeks ago, it basically means your seat moves and you might get sprayed with water or foam might drop from the ceiling, etc.) One of the exhibits showing there was the Super Bowl exhibition. It makes sense, they literally just had the Super Bowl before I was there. Anyway, we got to see the Lombardi Trophy, so there it is. We had gone to a pre-Mardi Gras parade that night. The next day we boarded the bus for a 16 hour drive back home. I really did have a good time in New Orleans. It's rare that I find myself in a city where everything tastes good. I kid you not.

 





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Let the Good Times Roll, Part 2

The next day we were off to the races, experiencing much of the French Quarter. 

 

 

 

 

One of the first stops was the Saint Louis Cemetery Number One. This is a bit off topic, but I was genuinely surprised by how many things are named after St. Louis (For instance St. Louis St., St. Louis Cathedral). Being that I'm from St. Louis, I found it quite flattering. The picture in the upper left is that of voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. She was a voodoo priestess in the 1800s whose magical powers were revered. People come to her grave to mark three "X"s on her tomb in the hopes that she will grant them a wish. There are also many offers laid before her tomb including make-up, candles, and flowers, among other things. On the upper right is Nicholas Cage's grave, even though he still has yet to actually need a tomb.

 

 

 

With the spirits of New Orleans disturbed by some Catholic high school girls, we made our way to Jackson Square. We recieved a tour of possibly the most beautiful structure ever built in the United States: The St. Louis Cathedral. Tell me that's not absolutely stunning!

 

 



 

 After our tour, we were allowed some free time to explore and what not. We went to the park outside of the Cathedral where we ran into our good buddy Andrew Jackson. There is so much beautiful ironwork incuding one that belonged to the first woman to own land in the U.S., Micaela Almonaster Pontalba. Her father helped construct the Cathedral. Her intials (AP) are hidden in the ironwork. If you look closely you can see it. We then made our way through varying tourist shops around the French Quarter.

We did some major shopping before heading back to Jackson Square to meet up with the rest of our group. While we were waiting, I chose to get my cards read. It was a neat experience, even if you don't believe in this stuff. I mean, they rarely tell you something bad. For example, I was told I am reliable and insightful, that I am currently in a stage where I am making friendships and changes that will last, I will achieve my dreams, but that those dreams will mature with me, I will be financially stable, and I have the chance for a romantic relationship in the near future. I'm not sure how much I believe in this stuff, but its still a lot of fun if you get the chance.




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Let the Good Times Roll, Part 1

 

Back in February, I went on a class trip to New Orleans. It was sandwiched in between Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. We did many great things, almost all of which involved eating, which is one of my favorite pastimes. Anyway, here are some of the highlights of my trip:

The first place we visited was the Tabasco Factory in Avery Island, Louisiana. I would share some pictures, but I have a surprising lack of those in my repertoire. So long story short: we saw how they make Tabasco hot sauce and then sampled Tabasco Coca-Cola, Raspberry Chipotle chocolate ice cream (which was to die for, I might add) and jalapeno vanilla ice cream (which tasted like jalapeno potato chips and was fairly strong). Anyway, once we actually arrived in New Orleans we went to Mardi Gras World where the floats are made for the Mardi Gras parades and various other parades around America.



 We got to see a bunch of the different pieces being worked on. Lte me tell you, there are spectacular! The elephant was one being worked on for MGM. Yes, the movie production company. The gorilla is a regular to Mard Gras parades and is redressed every year for the parades in New Orleans. There were many other random pieces to be used in different parades.

They also showed us where they paint and paper mache all of the pieces being created. I came to find  there were many familiar faces around the place including the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Belle and the Beast, and the Tin Man.

In this parade palace, we also met a Frenchmen, whose name alludes my memory, who creates these works of art from beads. I'm sure you can imagine that New Orleans has many beads, and he finds a way to recycle the hoards of beads within the city.

After all the excitement of parade floats and beads, we were off to dinner at Mulates. We indulged in gumbo and bread pudding, along with some dancing from the jazz band that arrived a little later in the night.



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Jollibee Don't Kill Us

1. Hi Jollibee. You know nobody can resist your new humongous burger steak meal with fries, right? You do know that's a sign you want us to be fat, fat, fat right? Your extra large fries wasn't enough to make us poor right? Don't be evil you guys. Please don't kill us. Please don't tempt us with this marketing drivel. Please stop making stuff you know we can't refuse.

Why can't you use your infinity years of experience to market Tofu, Veggies and Mongos the way Pungko-Pungko in Colon does with raw onions and vinegar? Raw onions and vinegar increase your immunity against illnesses. And no the cholera and Hepa BS isn't accurately true. You think you can't also get cholera and Hepa from Jollibee if a disgruntled employee intentionally dirts up the spoons with shit? Like, literal shit? All is equal in this commercial world.

2. Lower the P100 price please.

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