Search Results for: blog moment of beauty 2

Shanghai Disneyland to Open in 2015

In 2015, a brand new Disneyland will open its gates.  Don’t believe it?  Did you think you would have heard of something so momentous happening sooner?   At the end of 2015, Shanghai Disneyland will be open for business. It was easy to forget about the at-times controversial park, because it’s been years since we’ve heard more than a peep about it.  But now that we’re getting closer to its opening date, more details are beginning to trickle in.  The Disney Parks blog has a snapshot of the Shanghai Disneyland model, or at least a portion of the model, focusing on … Continue reading →

Sleeping Beauty: A Strange Fairy Tale

Charles Perrault’s “La Belle au bois dormant” (literal translation “the Beauty sleeping in the wood”) is a bizarre little tale. Some people might find Walt Disney’s adaptation of the story as soporific as the curse upon Aurora, but at least it has narrative consistency. So many of the things that happen in Perrault’s story leave (modern) readers scratching their heads, and that’s on top of the hefty dose of terrible messages for women, something that didn’t come as a surprise after I read the 17th century Frenchman’s take on Cinderella. Up until the point of the teenage princess’ pricking of … Continue reading →

On Blogging and Real Life

Yesterday was a wonderful day. We celebrated winter solstice. After the darkest day of the year, the light starts to return to the northern hemisphere. We began with trimming the tree in the morning. It is an outdoor tree, so it comes indoors for less than a week, beginning on winter solstice. We moved on to decorating the back yard with food for the birds and watched chickadees move from seed-covered cone to seed-covered cone. In the evening, we went on a lantern walk through the forest at a church near the ocean. We threw stones in the ocean to … Continue reading →

Beauty Queen

I had a bad mommy moment the other day. My daughter was playing outside with the other children, and she asked if she could go into one of their houses to play. I said yes, just for ten minutes, as it was almost bed time. Nine minutes later, I put on my shoes to go get her, only to find her crying in front of our house. The older girls had told her that since they were playing with makeup, she should go home. After calming her down, I began to think about this whole makeup thing. Makeup and preschoolers? … Continue reading →

Waking Sleeping Beauty

“The real heartbeat of this company was, is, and will always be, the film business.” – Roy E. Disney A few months ago I caught wind of a Disney project that’s excited me more than I can remember in years, more so even than hearing that Disney was to return to its hand-drawn fairy tales with “Princess and the Frog.” Any of my anticipation for upcoming Disney projects is always tempered by wariness; I know that due to nostalgia it’s unlikely that I will ever feel the same way about new Disney films as the ones with which I grew … Continue reading →

Reading Beauty Labels: Petrolatum

You may run across petrolatum as an ingredient in some of your favorite skin care products. Or, you may be familiar with petroleum jelly — a staple in many medicine cabinets. Moisturizers in beauty products fall into two categories: humectants (which draw moisture out of the air and into the skin) and occlusives. Occlusives trap water in the skin and prevent it from evaporating. Petrolatum is most definitely an occlusive, reducing water loss from the skin by as much as ninety-eight percent in laboratory tests! Other studies have pointed out that petrolatum can help fill in spaces between skin cells … Continue reading →

52 Romantic Movies You Either Love or Hate

Dale’s blogs about some of her favorite romantic movies (see “Favorite Romance Movies” and “Favorite Romance Movies-Part 2”) has inspired this next one from me. The idea took hold because I sympathized with a comment one reader, deedee1231, left on both blogs regarding the movie Casablanca. She wasn’t a fan. (Though she didn’t begrudge Dale for including it on her fave list.) Deedee1231 thought Casablanca was overhyped. (Though she also admitted she’d seen it so many times she was just plum over it.) I chuckled with sympathy when I read her comment. Though it wasn’t Casablanca I had in mind, … Continue reading →

Moment of Beauty 2

I want to introduce you to one of my favorite web sites out there. It is called Moment of Beauty. A new, lovely, photo or image is presented every day. From bright images of flowers and landscapes to solemn photos of religious statutes in shadow, to little hands discovering new things, Moment of Beauty offers a wonderful new surprise each day. This is the second half of the series. If you missed the first blog, click here. Mary Ann: What do you think is the best thing about Moment of Beauty? Patrice: For me, it is getting to pick out … Continue reading →

Moment of Beauty

I want to introduce you to one of my favorite web sites out there. It is called Moment of Beauty. A new, lovely, photo or image is presented every day. From bright images of flowers and landscapes to solemn photos of religious statutes in shadow, to little hands discovering new things, Moment of Beauty offers a wonderful new surprise each day. I enjoy this web site because it is very family friendly, it brings a smile or moment of serenity to my day, it reminds me to slow down, and it introduces me to some pretty interesting people. One of … Continue reading →

Gypsy (1962) (1993)

“Gypsy” is a Sondheim musical based on the true life story of Gypsy Rose Lee, the most famous stripper in our history. This may seem like a strange movie for me to review, but let me explain why I found it worth discussing. Two versions of the film were done, one in 1962 and starring Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell, the other made in 1993 and starring Bette Midler and Cynthia Gibb. I’ve seen them both, the Bette Midler version just last night. This review will encompass both films. Madame Rose has two daughters, one named Louise and the other, … Continue reading →