The Luck of the Irish

So there I was...

It was March 17, 1762 in New York City. I celebrated the very first St. Patrick's Day as Irish Soldiers paraded through the street honoring Saint Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland. We all celebrated with music, dancing and lots of beers to remind ourselves of our history and religion! Éirinn go Brách!

Alright alright... you caught me. I wasn't there. But with the way I celebrate St. Patricks Day, I might as well have started the holiday myself. I mean really, who doesn't love a holiday where you can get inexcusably drunk and call it cultural? And besides, this is the ONE time of year I choose to be proud of the ridiculous four-leaf clover tattoo my irresponsible parents let me get when I was 16. Thanks a lot mom and dad.

I'm an Irish-Italian catholic. So whether it's wine, the blood of Christ, or an Irish car bomb, you can guarantee I will be drinking it. This year is especially exciting because I finally get to participate legally! Of course, given my back ground, i've always used the term "legally" very very loosely.

St. Patrick's Day always falls on finals week. I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse. A curse because it is begging you to be hungover through your finals (provided you're not lucky and didn't get your finals over with beforehand) and a blessing because for the love of God if I write one more paper or solve one more quartile-deviation I might drive a nail into my foot. St. Patrick's Day is the perfect outlet for your finals frustrations, and by the end of three months of hard work and endless shitty weather, it is always much needed. So here I am, on the eve of my winter quarter freedom, embarking on my first legal St. Patrick's Day. One more pesky math final and then please, someone pour me a Guinness and let's cheers to St. Patrick!

I will be back later in the week to tell stories of my first legal St. Patty's, so stay tuned! But you know what they say... when Irish eyes are smiling, they are usually up to something!

Sláinte everybody!

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

So there I was...

"If I had my own world, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what it is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" Alice's Adevntures in Wonderland

I was five years old, plopped right in front of my pink TV/VCR combo watching Disney's Alice in Wonderland with my mom.

This bond between Alice and I is certainly one I've cherished for a long time. I've read the books and seen the movie so many times I feel like I was the one that got the privilege of falling down that rabbit hole. So, obviously you can imagine my excitement when hearing Disney was doing a new version of Alice.

History of Alice

"Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense."

The original story, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, was written in 1865 by Lewis Carrol, the pseudonym for english writter Charles Dodgson. Filed under the category of "literary nonsense" the story of Alice is a whimsical tale that takes you through a fantasy world. Coined as the originator of the fantasy genre, Carrol carries readers through a world excruciatingly different from the world in which we live.

The majestic and nonsensical characters were brought to life in 1951 in the Walt Disney adaptation. The Disney Movie titled Alice in Wonderland was based off of the original book and the sequels Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.

The "remake"

This year, Disney released a new version of Alice in Wonderland. Directed by Tim Burton, this version was half animated and half real-life. The cast was stacked with Hollywood bigshots, Johnny Depp as the Madhatter, Helena Boham Carter as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. New to the scene, Mia Wasikowska brought 19-year-old Alice back to wonderland.

I obviously saw the movie at midnight the night before its release. I went with my friend Kathy, who without doubt is a bigger Alice fan than I am. She knows everything about the history and has been waiting for the release of this movie for years. She came down to UC to go see the movie at the AMC theatre in Newport with my roommate and I. We had a blast. I was especially happy because the kid seated next to me was clearly tripping on something. Good for him, I bet Lewis Carroll would be proud. We didn't get to see the movie in 3D but I wasn't concerned, that makes me nauseous anyway.

I will spare you my recount of the movie, but as a huge fan of all that is Alice, there is something i'd like to make clear... This is not a REMAKE. It is Alice later in life, in the books like Through the Looking Glass and the others made after Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. So for those of you whining that it is nothing like the original, it isn't supposed to be.

With that said, I obviously loved the movie. The March Hare is fantastic in this movie, so funny. I was disappointed in the cheshire cat and unfortunately very disappointed in Mr. Depp. The hatter should have had so much more to him and so much more time on screen. I was really impressed with the Red Queen, Helena Boham Carter did an excellent job.

I got some reviews from my friends on facebook and they went as follows...

Brian: I enjoyed it very much. It was worth paying an ass load of money for. Tweedle Dee and Deedle Dum were by far my favorites.

Sommer: Matt lucas is the MAN

Andy: I was unimpressed. The 3D was unnecessary and Johnny Depp was not that great. I didn't even recognize Anne Hathaway....the whole thing was just off to me.

Emily Wandland 1. the beginning was a little choppy
2. it picked up, and i liked it!
3. the 3-d glasses made the colors a little less brilliant at times... like wearing shades inside
4. my favorite part was sitting next to andy while he squealed like a child when johnny depp was on screen

Andy (again): #3 on Emily's list is spot on. And I'm upset she put 4 on there.

Jon: I thought it was kinda weird. I didnt know what to expect because i dont remember the first one. I thought it was good but its not my favorite and i would definitely like to see it in 3D while Fucked up.

Derrick: I Give Alice a C. The story line lacked some areas of probability..Girls don't slay dragons! Haha but I did like the bright colors and it needed more 3D. I did like all the funky animals and of course Johnny Depp is that shit!

Kathy: Alice in Wonderland is beautiful. My life will forever be different. I'd like to thank everyone who made this possible. It's Alice in Wonderland, but at the same time, it isn't. It was perfect. Just perfect.

I told you Kathy was obsessed. So there you have it. This movie is something you definitely have to experience for yourself. Hopefully not as stoned as the kid next to me was. I will leave you now with my favorite clip from the original...

So, here it comes... have you been there? What did you think of Alice??