A Very Exciting February

Just one month ago, on January 31, I wrote a post describing how I had spent a month doing little more than wait for opportunities to come along. How quickly things can change in just a few weeks! Since then, I've started volunteering at an archives, gotten hired by Target as a cashier, and started planning a trip to England this summer.

I don't know if I had anything to do with this abrupt change in circumstances, like a more aggressive attitude in regards to filling out job applications or announcing to the Civil Rights Institute that I wanted to work in the archives, or if everything just happened to fall in place at the same time. Either way, I'm not questioning how it happened...I'm just thrilled that it did! I don't think I could have taken much more waiting.

London or Bust: An Update

Exactly one week ago, I wrote a post describing how I felt the universe was telling me that I need to go to London this summer. In the span of seven short days, the universe has been pulling out the stops, and if I were a more flighty person (who didn't live with her parents), my flight would already be booked.

Here's the complete list of events that have occurred in the past week:

• Two weeks ago, Killian Donnelly and Gareth Gates announced they were leaving Les Misrables at the next cast change on June 18.
• Two days ago, Matt Lucas, Hadley Fraser, and Alfie Boe announced they would be returning to Les Mis at the next cast change (meaning that I'd see some of my actors no matter when I went).
• Two hours ago, my friend Rachel emailed me the itinerary for her family's European vacation, and they will be in London from June 10 to June 18 (reinforcing my belief that I absolutely must see Killian and Gareth).
• Last week I discovered a rumor that David Thaxton would be taking over as Raoul next month during the cast change for Love Never Dies.
• On Monday, the rumor was confirmed in the same press release that announced Ramin Karimloo would be staying on as The Phantom until September (giving me the entire summer to see two former Enjolras' on the same stage).
• Today I was offered a job at Target working as a cashier, which would allow me to pay for a trip to London this summer.

This is fate, right? Hopefully my parents think so and approve of this plan!

My Unlikely Love - NASCAR

One of the enduring mysteries of my personality is my love of NASCAR. No one can explain where it came from or why I like it because none of my friends or family introduced me to it. I simply discovered it one weekend while I was flipping channels (and failing to find anything interesting to watch), and I quickly grew addicted. I watched it throughout high school and into college, but for the past three years my interest has waned. With graduate school, I was always too busy to watch every race, and once I missed most of the 2008 season, I got behind on all the changes as drivers swapped teams/numbers/sponsors. By 2010, I couldn't recognize half the cars on the track, and adding in the fact that Jimmie Johnson has won the past five championships, I basically just lost interest in the entire thing.

This year, though, I'm done with graduate school, the points system has been revamped, and I'm learning the line-up from scratch. I decided to watch the Daytona 500, and I'm back to being hooked. The racing was spectacular, Trevor Bayne's win was stunning, and watching the interviews before and after the race showed me how much I had missed these guys (not Jimmie Johnson, though). So don't be surprised if an occasional post about racing sneaks in between posts about obscure British actors and my volunteer work.

Obscure British Actors 101: Russell Tovey

Because I live a very exciting life, I'm spending the entire day in front of the television watching BBC America's Being Human marathon, which started at 5:00 AM this morning (and yes, I woke up in time for the first episode because I'm THAT dedicated of a fan). The third season premieres tonight, so I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to watch the first two seasons and refresh my memory of the show's mythology. In honor of this fabulous day of British television, I've chosen to profile Russell Tovey, since he was the reason I discovered Being Human in the first place.

• The first thing I saw him in - I first saw him in an episode of Doctor Who, specifically the 2007 Christmas Special, "The Voyage of the Damned." It didn't take long for me to notice him because a) he was adorable and b) his character's name was Alonzo, as in "Allons-y Alonzo."
• Why I like him - Russell is great at playing ordinary, adorkable, nerdy guys who rise to the occasion and turn into convincing badasses. He's also able to balance drama with comedy, which is one reason why the cast of Being Human makes the show so brilliant. In the middle of all the angst, you need an actor with great comedic timing, and Russell has that. It's also worth noting that he's part of a special group of British actors who starred in The History Boys, one of my all-time favorite plays (and movies).
• My favorite role of his - definitely George Sands on Being Human
• My least favorite role of his - John Chivery in Little Dorrit, but not because I hate his performance or the character. John pines for Amy Dorrit his entire life, only to have her spurn him in favor of Matthew Macfadyen...breaks my heart every time.
• A role I'd like to see him in - I'd love for him to do another costume drama, but one where his character gets a happy ending. I could easily see him playing Edmund Bertram in Mansfield Park, or maybe Emma's Mr. Knightley when he's older.

London or Bust

Earlier this week I had an epiphany, and I've grown more sure that it's the right decision with each passing day - I absolutely have to travel to England this May, and I'm going to make it happen.

Two of my best friends are going on separate trips to England this summer, but I've been wavering on whether I'll be able to accompany one of them. The biggest obstacle is the fact that I've been unemployed since May and have been slowly spending my savings. The obvious solution is to get a job, and I've been applying for archivist positions for the past few months. As I quickly discovered, though becoming a full-time, salaried employee usually means a six-to-twelve month waiting period for vacation days (meaning that I would have the money but not the time). I've hit a wall on that front, though, since I haven't seen any entry-level job openings since before Christmas.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been content to apply here and there for retail positions while volunteering at the Civil Rights Institute. But when I stopped to think about it, I realized that if I don't travel to England this summer, it will be at least another year before I have my next opportunity. My resolve strengthened when I realized that in mid-June, two of my Les Miserables actors were leaving the show (I'm super obsessed with the London production, don't judge me). Obviously, it's perfectly natural for me to base my decisions on obscure British actors. The museums and castles will still be around in a year, but you never know what an actor's next gig will be.

This morning I filled out five job applications at various stores, and I have another list of stores that require you to fill out a paper application. If I'm going to convince my parents to let me go abroad, I need to at least be able to pay for the trip myself. Fingers crossed that I'll find something soon!

Current Obsessions (Disguised as Recommendations), Part 3

Now reading: Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir - When I traveled to England in 2009, I bought new history books nearly every day, and now that I'm finished with graduate school, I finally have time to read them. Alison Weir is best known for her historical non-fiction, but she rightly decided that the tragic tale of Lady Jane Grey would be best told as a novel. After Edward VI died without an male heir, Protestant nobility rallied behind Jane Grey and declared her queen, despite the fact that Edward had two living sisters (who would eventually become Queens Mary and Elizabeth I). Less than a month after her brother's death, the Catholic Mary had gained enough support to take over London, arrest Jane and her family, and declare herself the rightful queen. When a handful of nobles (including Jane's father) continued to form plots in Jane's name, Mary's councilors persuaded her to execute her sixteen-year-old cousin.

Because Weir wrote Innocent Traitor in first person, the story becomes even more personal and Jane's short life becomes even more tragic. Her nine-day reign is often overlooked in popular Tudor history, with most novels and movies focusing on Henry VIII's multiple wives and the glorious reign of Elizabeth I. For me, though, it's easily one of the most fascinating aspects of sixteenth-century England. Innocent Traitor is a very easy read, even for those who know nothing about Tudor England, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in British history.

Now watching: Deadwood - Deadwood is one of those TV shows that I've heard nothing but praise for, but I couldn't watch it when it first aired because it was on HBO. My father caved and bought the super-extended cable last year when The Pacific aired, and he keeps paying for it because he enjoys watching tv shows and movies on-demand. Last month, he discovered that HBO is putting up six episodes at a time, so I finally got my chance. I knew I couldn't go wrong with a show starring Timothy Olyphant and Jim Beaver, and it's just as ridiculously good as I thought it would be.

Now listening to: "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum -I've been out of the loop of popular music for a few years now, mostly because Birmingham has terrible radio stations that I never listen to. However, Glee has been very helpful in showing me that I'm not missing much (chances are, if the song isn't an oldie, classic rock, or a showtune, I skip it on the CD). "Need You Now", though, is the exception that proves the rule. It was featured in the Valentine's Day episode last week, and I've been listening to it non-stop ever since.

Phase One of My Top-Secret Career Plan

Ever since mid-November (when I defended my thesis), my life has revolved around spending time with my friends, catching up on books and TV shows I missed during graduate school, and filling out applications. As previous posts attest, six days out of the week I'm usually in my bedroom, laptop or book in hand. However, last week I filled out a volunteer application at the Civil Rights Institute here in Birmingham, and on Tuesday I started Phase One of Operation Infiltrate an Archives and Prove Yourself to Be So Invaluable that They Hire You.

I had specified on my application that I wanted to work in archives, but I spent all of Monday worrying that something would go terribly wrong and I end up working in the gift shop. I mean, I seriously love gift shops, but it would be a waste of my talents in the sense that I couldn't put it on my resume. For the first three hours that I was at the Institute on Tuesday, I had this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that my fears were coming true and that the Operation was over before it even began. As soon as I got there and introduced myself, the lady in charge of volunteers told me to go on the self-guided tour. No discussion of why I was there or what my options were, but I didn't panic. So far, so good. I finished the tour and tried to find her, but she was on her lunch break. Uh-oh, this was not in the plans. I awkwardly sat there making small talk with some other volunteers, one of whom tried to turn me into a greeter like herself. Thankfully, as soon as the lady returned, I explained my experience and asked if I could work in archives. She said yes, took me downstairs to meet the archivist, and sent me home. On Wednesday, she immediately handed me over to the archivist, who immediately put me to work.

Just as Tuesday can be classified as a disaster, Wednesday can be classified as glorious. I didn't do anything exciting like process a collection, but it just felt so nice just to be in an archives again. It was definitely the sort of turning point I needed to affirm that I want a job as an archivist and that the Operation might be a resounding success.

I successfully made myself useful to the archivist by doing two menial tasks that would have prevented her from giving her full attention to more important ones. Because I was there to photocopy documents for one researcher and scan photographs for another, she could oversee an educational program and edit an oral history interview. Any trained archivist, such as myself, could do the first set of tasks, but the second group were her specific job responsibilities. She was so excited to have me there that she kept introducing me as "the perfect - and fully-trained - volunteer," and if that doesn't boost a girl's ego, I don't know what would!

I'll probably volunteer there twice a week, and best case scenario, she'll convince them to hire and pay me for my time. At the very least, she remembers those painful days of job searching and will keep her ear open for other job opportunities.

Obscure British Actors 101: Ioan Gruffudd

If my friends had to describe me in three words, I know for a fact that there is one word everybody would choose: Anglophile. I've been obsessed with British history and pop culture for ten years now, and I'm fairly confident that few people have a greater knowledge of obscure British actors than me. With that in mind, I've created a regular feature that I can use whenever my life is boring and I have no incentive to blog. Like "Current Obsessions Disguised as Recommendations," but with even more pretty boys. And now, without further ado, I present to you: Obscure British Actors 101!*

*not an actual college course, unfortunately

I saw this meme floating around tumblr yesterday and thought it would be a great way to introduce some of my favorite actors. And I've decided that there's no better place to start than with the obscure British actor that started it all, Ioan Gruffudd.

• The first thing I saw him in - Waaaaay back in 9th grade (fall of 2000), I was spending another boring Saturday watching movies on television. As I flipped past A&E, a very pretty man in a naval uniform caught my attention and made me stop. It didn't take long for me to be hooked, and I credit Horatio Hornblower with introducing me to the costume drama genre (as well as several actors).
• Why I like him - Besides the pretty-boy face with lovely blue eyes and great bone structure, Ioan is obviously a great actor. Specifically, he's a great actor for roles of fictional and historical leaders (Horatio, Mr. Fantastic, William Wilberforce, Lancelot). Ioan has the fantastic ability to give passionate and inspiring speeches, and he's always believable despite his youthful appearance.
• My favorite role of his -I'll always have a soft spot for Horatio Hornblower, but it's probably William Wilberforce in Amazing Grace.
• My least favorite role of his - Definitely 102 Dalmatians (although he did meet his wife on the set, so at least something good came out of that movie)
• A role I'd like to see him in - Ioan's ability to play natural leaders suggests that he would be great as one of England's more inspiring monarchs, but I'd also love to see him go against type and play a charming con man, a la Matt Bomer in White Collar.

Review: Love Story in Harvard

Three years ago, during my last semester at Montevallo, I inadvertently discovered the joys of Asian dramas and promptly became obsessed. It was during the height of my Death Note obsession, which led to an obsession with Matsuyama Kenichi, which led to an internet search for more of his TV shows and movies. During my search, I stumbled across a Korean television show called My Love Patzzi, which was described as a modern-day adaptation of Cinderella. How could I not say no to that? And thus my love for Kim Rae Won was born.

 Seriously...just look at that face.

Last year my obsession with Korean and Japanese dramas subsided somewhat, mostly due to practical reasons. My thesis was taking up more and more of my time, and my limited amount of spare time had to be devoted to my first love, the obscure British actors. Thus, I'm still working my way through Kim Rae Won's backlog of TV shows and never saw Love Story in Harvard (a 2004 drama) until now.

One thing that has to be admitted up front is that Asian dramas aren't for everyone. Japanese dramas have a different style from Korean ones, and both are very different from American shows. I've seen my fair share of both, though, and I always genuinely enjoy them...until this one. I'm very sad to report that after suffering through 17 hours of this show, I feel that I have to justify the waste of time with a blog post.

One problem with Love Story in Harvard is that it tries to be too many things and condense too many stories into one TV show. At its heart, it's meant to be a love triangle set at Harvard, but the girl never really considers dating the "other guy," so any dramatic tension is lost. The second major theme is overcoming adversity, which comes in the form of two stories. The first half is set at Harvard, where the main love interest (Kim Rae Won) is a law student in another country. There's some really painful scenes where he has to attend class and study sessions (and give speeches in English), but for the most part, he completely ignores class to woo the girl.

Half-way through the show, there's an abrupt jump from his first semester to three years later, when he's back in Korea. Now he's overcoming adversity as the prosecuting attorney against a multi-national corporation accused of polluting the water and air so badly that people are dying (because obviously you give that to a newbie). And who just happens to be the defending attorney? The "other guy"! Too bad the girl has firmly made her choice and he has no chance (but at least we're spared more ambivalent attempts at a love triangle). This storyline was a lot more interesting than the Harvard one, but it was completely predictable. The two men hate each other, which turns to grudging admiration and respect before they finally work together to take down the corporation.

Any list of the show's flaws is not complete without mentioning the soundtrack. Most of it sounded like bad elevator music, and the only decent music was the stuff playing over the intercom in stores and cafes. In the Harvard scenes, it was American alternative rock from the early 2000s, and in the Korea scenes, it was Christmas music (which was really weird because there was no mention of Christmas in the story). However, there was one glorious moment in Episode 15 when a crucial moment occurred to the soundtrack of Busted, the boy band that inadvertently led to the creation of my favorite band in the whole world, McFly. I legitimately started freaking out when I heard my favorite Busted song playing, and I completely missed the conversation taking place and had to watch the scene again (oh darn). That was unquestionably the best moment of the whole show.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - This show would get a 1/5 in terms of plot and enjoyment of the story, but I'll be generous and give it an additional one for the hotness of Kim Rae Won and the fantastically hilarious (intentional and otherwise) supporting characters.

A Predictable Post about Shopping

This week has been relatively boring, but yesterday was another one of those run-errands-before-meeting-friends days, which was a much-needed change of pace. After lunch, I drove around performing the more mundane tasks first. I had to go to the dreaded Wal-Mart because I had several quality coupons that were about to expire, and then I had to go to the post office to mail a couple of packages. After that, I drove to the bank and deposited a check, which was obviously the most exciting errand (you know, cause I'm poor). 

My friends and I planned to meet at 5:30, but I purposely left the house several hours early because I wanted plenty of time to browse at 2nd and Charles (a giant used book store) and Ross (a discount clothing store). I had sold several books at 2nd and Charles back in December, so I had $7.00 in store credit, plus a buy-one-get-one-half-off coupon. When combined, I only paid $6.50 for two books, one of which was a hardcover history book from England! It's called Blood and Roses by Helen Castor, and it's a multi-generational history of a noble family during the Wars of the Roses. I love learning about that time period, so I was particularly excited by that find. I also bought Marion Zimmer Bradley's classic book The Mists of Avalon, which Mom has been wanting to read for ages. 

I usually go to the Ross on Hwy 280, but I've had a sneaking suspicion that the one in Hoover is actually larger. I decided yesterday was an excellent time to investigate, and I was ecstatic to discover that I was right. I've bought some tops and skirts at Ross, but the real reason I shop there is the dresses. I buy one pretty much every time I shop there, so imagine my joy when I realized that the store in Hoover has twice the dresses as any other Ross I've been to. It was hard not to grab ten to try one, but I was good and only bought one red summer dress.

After leaving Ross, I went to Barnes & Noble to meet my friends/gush over the British DVD section with them. We decided to eat at the Indian restaurant, which was an excellent and tasty decision. Last night was particularly fun because we wandered from topic to topic, rather than talking about class and work all night. After we left the restaurant, we returned to the bookstore and browsed their history and clearance sections, as usual. However, I was very good and didn't buy anything else (hopefully I'll be that strong next week when we get together again!).

Accuracy in Historical Fiction

As a historian, I have a love/hate relationship with historical fiction, in both movies and books. When done correctly, there's nothing I love more than picking up a novel set in the Middle Ages (either about commoners, such as The Pillars of the Earth, or about royalty, a la Jean Plaidy and Sharon Kay Penman). When done badly, though, I tend to completely reject its existence (little known fact - there was no Oscar for Best Picture in 1996 because Braveheart was never made).

From the time when I was eleven and saw Titanic and Anastasia, I've been critiquing the historical accuracy of books and movies. I used to think that describing the correct years, names, places, actions, or consequences was all that contributed to a text's historical accuracy; however, in the past year I've begun to realize that a second aspect can undermine it completely. A historical novel can contain engaging plots with themes that resonate with modern society, but it would completely fail as historical fiction if the characters are not believable in their setting. If an author or screenwriter isn't going to take the time to thoroughly research a time period, why bother basing an entire story around it?

I've noticed that many authors employ the same formula of an "enlightened protagonist" clashing with the "ignorant/racist/etc" supporting characters who are actually more representative of the time period. I can think of two reasons for this trend. Either the author picked the historical setting exclusively to point out the flaws in past cultures, or the author mistakenly believes that an audience can only relate to a story where the protagonist shares its views on women, slavery, religion, etc.

For example, if a novel or movie is going to be  set in the United States in the early nineteenth century, then slavery is obviously a topic that the author must address as some point. More often than not, though, the protagonist just happens to be the one person in the family who believes that slavery is wrong...even if the family owns slaves! Watching the protagonist interact with slaves, struggling with his belief system, and eventually form his own opinions instead of relying upon society is one thing; in such cases, the story is very emotionally compelling. But casually writing a scene in order to acknowledge that the protagonist is aware of slavery, yet not supportive, just seems lazy.

I'm half-way through World Without End, the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, and as much as historians (including myself) love to pick on Ken Follett for his artistic license, I've realized that he does understand the medieval mindset and creates appropriate characters. Some bishops and monks are earnestly religious while others are ambitious; the nobility change frequently allegiances in their efforts to gain more land and power; and the working class struggle from year to year in order to put food on the table. Each character's actions come from believable motivations, and never once have I felt like Follett was using his text to preach to me.