Sad but true ... Another hiatus

Three weeks into the semester and I am already feeling a lot of pressure.  I really am sorry to say that I will be neglecting the updates for a while.  I had a chat with a roommate tonight about how this just isn't fun anymore - it feels like work on top of school work and actual work.  I started this as a creative outlet to keep writing during my internship, when I had more time to put serious thought and analysis into each post.  Now, I feel too rushed.  I can't put the kind of care and editing into it that would make this blog worth reading.  I want it to be something I can be proud of and tell people to read, but I've been too distracted, and my latest posts just aren't up to my standards.  I am working much harder this semester to keep up with my priorities (reading, studying, applying to grad school, studying for the GRE) and so something had to drop off my to-do list.

I may still do the odd post on holidays, but I won't make any more promises about when I am posting.  Now everybody send me happy thoughts that I can manage a 4.0 this semester without going batty!

Juno - Leah

Diablo Cody's breakout screenplay, Juno, about twee teen pregnancy starring Ellen Page is a refreshingly non-judgmental and non-preachy movie about growing up and making mistakes.  While some reviewers found the language precious and the pop culture references tedious and verging on obnoxious, but being of the Gilmore Girls generation when it was released, I appreciate the quick, witty banter.  There are a lot of interesting relationships in this movie: Juno and Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), Juno and her dad and step-mom (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney), Juno and the adoptive parents (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), and last and pretty much least, Juno and Leah (Olivia Thirlby).  From Tic-Tac fueled fornication to tearful post-push snuggle, Juno and Bleeker seem to share a very innocent and naive love, and I like that they seem able to move on with their youth relatively unscathed after the trauma of pregnancy and birth.

The Beta-Friend Blog is moving to Tuesdays!

I'm back in classes and this semester is going to be very homework heavy on the weekends. So, I am moving my blog posts to Tuesdays. After all, I am a student first, and the role of blogger comes somewhere around third or forth on my resume..

The Princess Diaries - Lilly Moscovitz

Thanks to the holiday weekend, I'm posting a little late, however, let's just say today is Sunday...

The Princess Diaries is the story of Mia Thermopolis, a painfully shy and awkward 15-year-old who discovers she is heir to the Genovian throne. Anne Hathaway stars, with Julie Andrews. After discovering the truth of her heritage, Mia undergoes a makeover to look "like a princess" - all it takes are contacts and newly tamed tresses to transform her into teen royalty, and remove her cloak of uncool invisibility. Revealing this new look to her best friend Lilly Moscovitz (Heather Matarazzo) results in shock and awe, and not the good kind. As supportive as Lilly is up to this point, she is threatened by her friends' transformation. Lilly attacks Mia, accusing her of joining the conformist ranks of Lana (Mandy Moore) and her cronies. Naturally, the secret gets out and Mia is on the receiving end of some suspect attention from the popular kids which results in some negative press and a terrible first kiss. Mia misses an appearance on Lilly's local cable show, and when reprimanded by her grandmother, the Queen of Genovia, she decides not to accept her title. And then she changes her mind, and shows up at the ball looking like a wet rat and manages not to throw up when she gives her speech.