Once Upon A Time - Are You Hooked?

Okay, the good stuff first. Robert Carlyle makes a great Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold. The production values are fairly high with decent special effects. The basic plot—storybook characters cursed with amnesia, doomed to a life with no happy endings unless the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming frees them—is intriguing. And it's fun to catch the fairy tale allusions.

Yet the first episode wasn't as compelling as I'd hoped.

Perhaps it's because the back story that explained the curse was filled with hamming, overwrought acting, and weak characterizations. The way the Queen chewed the scenery, I'm surprised there was a shred of tapestry left in the castle. And, please, give me some chemistry between Snow White and her prince, not vapid arguments with dialogue like "I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you again." They're in a fairy tale, not the 21st century.

I liked the way characters were revamped when the story switched to modern times. Mr. Gold was particularly creepy as the man who "owns" Storybrooke, Maine, where the oblivious characters are trapped. Jiminy Cricket as a school counselor is a clever touch, almost too clever.

And the daughter who could be a savior? I get that she's hard-boiled (she escaped the Enchanted Forest before the Queen's curse took effect and her life in the real world was anything but charmed) and her transformation from skeptic to believer has potential. I just hope her character grows in a way that makes me want to care.

Right now, the boy she gave up for adoption has more appeal. He lives in Storybrooke, has grown up reading a book called Once Upon A Time, and believes his real mother is the town's only hope. A bit precocious, but his actions get the ball rolling.

I'm intrigued enough to want to see what happens next, but the acting definitely needs to get ramped up before I'll commit. How about you?

Love Your Body Day!

It's impossible to avoid them. All those images of airbrushed models, impossibly thin, along with ads for products promising youth and beauty. Well, today I'm inviting you to help me celebrate Love Your Body Day; a day dedicated to accepting what nature gave you and loving it!

Whatever shape you're in, embrace it. There's a reason women's figures are referred to as apples, pears, and bananas. It's 'cause we're juicy and ripe and bursting with natural goodness. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Yes, it's hard to ignore marketing campaigns that urge us to bemoan what we've got and yearn for what we're not. Gone are the days when painters like Rubens celebrated the lushness of female flesh.

But think about what makes you special to family, friends, loved ones. Your looks? Thought not.

So get up and go to the mirror, give yourself a great big kiss, and then hug that wonderful blessing called YOU.

Repeat as needed. ;-)


For more information, go to: http://loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/about.html

Let's Hear It for the Gals!

"Because man and woman are the complement of one another, we need woman's thought in national affairs to make a safe and stable government." Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Here in California, we're celebrating the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote and I want to give a huge shout out to those brave souls who risked arrest and public censure to give women a voice.

It's easy to forget that so much of what we take for granted today is the direct result of struggles in years past. Consider, in particular, the freedom women writers enjoy. Our words appear in forums big and small, not just specialized publications. We're free to share opinions (political or not), give advice, entertain, critique, teach, persuade, provoke. Quite a difference from the corseted era, yes?

So when you sit down to type your next blog post, take a moment to thank those who paved the way for you to speak out. I think the suffragists would be pleased to see the communities we've created online and off.