Maggie's A-Team

I love and adore hypothetical situations. I frequently play “Marry, Sleep with, Kill”, I spend a large amount of my life reading and writing fanfictions, and I have such fun watching fan videos of AU ships and slasher couples on YouTube (fangirl squeal!). That is why I, as you can imagine, have long contemplated my hypothetical life and how naturally in many cases the very fate of mankind rests on my shoulders.

The best of these is the age old question, “If you had form a team to save the world who would be in it?” It is after all a fantastic question. You must take in all factors. How would the team get along? Who would be the leader? What exactly would they be fighting against (Ninjas, Zombies, Asteroids, Daleks, Satan, Miley Cyrus, ect.)? And how would they defeat said threat? Is it possible for one member to be TOO powerful?

Well after severe contemplation I believe I have at last created a force of good which, under my leadership, can face any evils of the coming Apocalypse. Excluding of course the obvious choices of Chuck Norris, Mr. T, and Jesus, I am left with a mythical nerd A-Team of sorts with specific skills made to conquer. You can argue and say that the team would never work in practice with the characters present, however I beg to differ.

High King Peter Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia) - Peter was my first choice naturally because not only is he my husband, but he is also a born leader and skilled swordsman. He spent years as the High King not only looking over his beloved country, but also as a brother and husband looking after his family. He defeated both The White Witch and King Miraz, and is used to supernatural evils as well as human ones. With his sword and his pure heart he is a fantastic addition to any team.

Michael Corvin (The Underworld Trilogy) - Michael is one of the many descendants of the original immortal Alexander Corvinus, and the only ever hybrid of a vampire and werewolf. Along with his mate Selene he has defeated some of the oldest vampires to ever exist as well as the very first werewolf. His strength and killing abilities are unparallel once he transforms himself into his beastly alter ego at will. And although he has a thirst for blood, he also has an urge to perform for the greater good.

The Doctor (Doctor Who) – The Doctor is known to many as the last timelord and winner of Survivor: Gallifrey. He has traveled for many years with various female companions saving the world multiple times in his flying TARDIS. Among his many advantages he can never truly die, but only regenerate into a new being. He also has a severe love for humanity and refuses to kill beings, but rather studies them and attempts to spread reason and peace.

Dr. Sam Beckett (Quantum Leap) – Doctor Samuel Beckett is the original creator of the project known as Quantum leap, a theory stating one could time travel within his own lifetime. Under the authority of God and with the assistance of his friend Al (appearing as a hologram) and “ziggy” (an information super computer) he traveled through time and various lives righting things that once went wrong. He has a flawless moral code and a severe intelligence that will prove valuable.

William Pratt “Spike” (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) – Spike is everyone’s favorite anti-hero from Sunnydale, California. A former romantic poet and then killing machine, now lovable yet cocky vampire with a soul. His strength, street smarts, and approximately 200 years of experience make him a raw killing machine. However his love for Buffy Summers and the gain of his soul has caused him to save the world more than once.

The dynamic of this hypothetical team is undeniable. None of them are from the same fandom, none of them are gods or godlike, and none of them are neutral or just love to kill. They all have their own experience to bring to the table as well as fighting abilities. And although they are also all used to being the leader of the pack, each and every one of them have also at one point worked in pairs or teams. They are also all male and mostly in some sort of relationship, therefore will not be distracted from the task at hand (which is to save humanity).

So I hope it is comforting for you all to know that if ever we are all in mortal danger all you have to do is call on me to bring a king, a hybrid, a timelord, a quantum physicist, and a vampire together. Easy as pie.

Antonio Carlos

Hola readers! Estoy muy FANTASTICO! Porque? I now have a son named Antonio Carlos. He is a fat Mexican baby, and I love him. But don't worry, It's not what you think.

My mom and I were in a Toys R Us and there were about 100 robot babies (like the kind for classes) just sitting there unloved and they look so real, and I felt bad (particularly after Toy Story 3). So my mom and I got a little robot baby. She let me pick whatever I wanted. They all looked different races and had different features.

And then suddenly I saw him, my own Antonio. He was chubby and had squinty little eyes and dark hair. The best part is that all the other babies had necks that fell back if you didn't support the head to make sure, you know kids are in fact, fragile...gasp! Anyway Antonio was not like that at all. He had a big strong neck and sat all upright and perky. And he had really big feet (like me). And soft brown eyes (like me). And even had a cute little diaper

I could tell he was the king of the robot babies. If the robot babies were dictators, he was Stalin. If they were a boy band, he would be the romantic one. If he were a Texas ranger, he would be Walker. In short, Antonio was awesome.

And so I plucked him from his cardboard box and he kept me company while I did math. I named him Antonio Carlos (After Antonio Banderes and the baby from The Hangover). Then We carried him out in my mom's purse (making him a lot like Moses). And he is now a part of the family!

Welcome home Antonio!

My Life is Some Sort of Sitcom

My entire life from the beginning has revolved around TV, books, music, and movies. As a young child I was obsessed with PBS kids where I was exposed to the literary ingenious of Wishbone, the soft social commentary of Arthur, the diversity in characters of Sesame Street. I read the lives of saints in all my colorful little saint books. My mother sat me down and forced me to watch all the classic musicals (Singing in the Rain, Sound of Music, Mame, Peter Pan, ect.). While other children discovered Britney and Christina I was introduced to the sounds of the Rat Pack from my mother, and the classic rock of the Eagles and Meatloaf from my father.

Even as I grew older I can remember weeks and family time all planned around the holy vessel known as the television. If The West Wing was on everyone sat and watched intently pretending to know what was going on. It was particularly strange for me being so young because I had even less idea. All I can remember was a lot of walking and really fast talking and women who looked like they needed to take a nice nap. But if I tried to ask what was going on I would get yelled at because they missed some epic news like "The Earl of Nambia has been decapitated with a laser gun constructed by terrorists under the employment of Al Gore's mistress!"

And books were a huge part as well. Where was my favorite place to hang out in the horrid elementary school I was stuck in? The library! It was small and cozy with big wooden bookshelves. Filled with Nancy Drew, Animal books, magazines, and big shiny apple computers. It was a child's paradise. And we always had story time with our librarian. Who had the low and graceful voice of a world leader. Her voice was the one I heard every time I was reading.

That too carried on to high school. The CJ library was one of the main reasons I loved the school in the first place. It has dark blue carpet and even bigger wooden shelves filled with every book ever. And the lines of them create a perfect little corner right under a big window. It's in that corner where my 2 best friends and I would watch youtube videos and talk when we should have been studying. Them were great times.

And as for movies, well that goes without saying. They take the worlds I have created in my mind and then are made available for all to see. Narnia, Hogwarts, Neverland, Wonderland, Asgard. We all complain about how "The books were so much better!" But I think we take for granted the privilege we have in witnessing film. It is one man's vision conveyed to another. To share, to show the beauty in the chaos in our minds. How cool is that?

So perhaps Albert Einstein knew more than all of us when he said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." Because Imagination has basically run my life up to this point.

Lost in Austen

Because I am extremely addicted to watching movies and TV instantly on Netflix I recently saw the fantastic film Lost in Austen. In which After a dispute with her boyfriend, the feisty Amanda Price ends up in the 19th-century world of author Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. While helping the Bennet sisters find husbands, Amanda accidentally causes problems that could alter the course of the tale. Throughout this British series, Amanda must balance her feelings for Mr. Darcy (The extremely hot Elliot Cowan) with her responsibility to the one of the world's greatest love stories.

The movie had one of the best Darcy's that I have ever seen, certainly one of the best looking. And The keeping of the dynamic of the beloved characters was perfectly held in the many hypothetical situations. The entire thing accomplished one of my favorite things about movies, which is to ask "What if?". That is to me what makes the movie so fun and what made me and Amanda both Lost in Austen. Although my tale was a bit different.

After a combination of seeing the mini-series (with the amazing Colin Firth) for the first time and re-reading the novel for a class this coming semester you would think my mind would be strictly P&P. However (as always) my mind strayed a bit of track. Instead of dreaming of the Bennet sisters I was transported to an outing with the Dashwood sisters.

I had a strange yet wonderful dream that my life followed the plot of "Lost in Austen" only (you guessed it) instead of Pride and Prejudice it followed the story of Sense and Sensibility. In some sort of mix up I took Marianne's place and ended up marrying Christopher Brandon while she became an actress in the modern world.

And the best part of the entire thing was not only did I get to change the story for the better while interacting with my favorite characters, I got to find true love. The amazing, brave, handsome, and infinitely sweet and forgiving Colonel Brandon. Anyone who has even looked at my blog knows that I am obsessed with justice, happy endings, and OF COURSE prince charming. And me and Brandon ending up together seemed to fulfill all of those categories.

Because Although I love the novel with all my heart it always upset me the way Marianne ended up with Brandon and "learned to love him". With all do respect to Ms. Austen I believe both of the characters deserved more. Marianne deserved the exciting life she yearned for. And Brandon deserved the full and unconditional love of a woman he loved back.

Call me crazy for correcting classic literature. Say I'm missing some profound commentary on married life. But in all truthiness I will not be swayed to believe that the original version is better than the one of my dreams. So I will continue to enjoy reading Jane's work with joy (save some revisions). And continue to be Lost in Austen.