Red by Taylor Swift Song Review

Video 

Lyrics
Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street
Faster than the windPassionate as sin, ended so suddenlyLoving him is like trying to change your mindOnce you’re already flying through the free fallLike the colors in autumnSo bright just before they lose it all
Losing him was blue like I’d never knownMissing him was dark grey all aloneForgetting him was like trying to know somebody you've never metBut loving him was redLoving him was red
Touching him is like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of youMemorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite songFighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answerRegretting him was like wishing you never found out love could be that strong
Losing him was blue like I’d never knownMissing him was dark grey all aloneForgetting him was like trying to know somebody you've never metBut loving him was redOh red burning red
Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes
Tell myself it’s time now, gotta let go
But moving on from him is impossibleWhen I still see it all in my head
Burning red!Darling it was red!
Oh, losing him was blue like I’d never knownMissing him was dark grey all aloneForgetting him was like trying to know somebody you've never metCause loving him was red yeah yeah redWe're burning red
And that's why he's spinning round in my headComes back to me burning redYeah yeah
Cause love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street
http://www.directlyrics.com/taylor-swift-red-lyrics.html

Review
I decided to start the week off with a song review of Taylor Swift's Red. The name of the album is also Red and comes from this song. It's a song about her loving someone who didn't love her back. I think we can all identify with this and with the colors: blue, dark grey, and red. This is the color associated with love, but also with anger and the more distasteful feelings. Blue is associated with loneliness, the cold, and calmness. Blue is better than red (Blue is my favorite color:) 
Besides the chorus, some of my other favorite lines were 
"Loving him is like trying to change your mind
Once you’re already flying through the free fallLike the colors in autumn" 
and 
"Touching him is like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you
Memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite songFighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answerRegretting him was like wishing you never found out love could be that strong" 

I just love the struggle in TS voice as she can't decide whether or not she is going to love her or not, because she already loves him, but he doesn't love her back.Eventually she makes the decision that it's not worth it to her to love him.  

I also really just liked the background music for Red; it went really well with TS's voice. The song is catchy and fast, but not too fast. It has a good beat and is overall a good song. It's not my favorite on the album (those would be the last time, starlight, and come back be here) but it is really enjoyable and I can see why she named her album after it. I think it probably means a lot more to TS than I'm interpreting, and now that's I've looked at is closer it's actually kind of a sad song. 
That's all I've got for this review, but have a good one and hope you enjoy this song! Rachel 

Red by Taylor Swift (Full Album Review)

Taylor Swift's new album came out! It's been great listening to all the songs on Youtube and I am now going to do a general overview of the songs on the CD, Red. 

Songs. 

1. State of Grace--it was way, way, way too long for me at approximately 4:55 minutes. I also felt like it was  just too slow, except for the full chorus. I also thought the song was too ambiguous and I didn't understand what the lyrics were saying. 

2. Red--the first few times I heard it, I thought it was just okay, but now that I listen to all the time, I really like it. It's a very catchy song and it's easy to identify the colors with the stages of love and breakup. 

3. Treacherous--I didn't love the song, but I didn't not like it. It was just okay for me. 

4. I Knew You were Trouble--I didn't like this one, because I thought it was too fast and the lyrics were mean, although it was catchy.

5. All to Well--This one is so sad! It's really sad as it's about a bad breakup, but I still really liked it. It's slow but it moves well. 

6. 22--I really loved this one! It's so catchy and great to dance to and sing along with. It's really easy to follow and just overall a fun song. I also love how it's about getting lost in the music! What a thing to sing about! (I'm joking:) 

7. I Almost Do--another sad but good one! I liked this one even more than I liked all too well. This is the song on the album that I listen too the most. 

8. We are Never Ever Getting Back Together--I didn't know what to think when I first heard this one, as it is so different from her other songs. Now I really love it, as it is just so much fun to dance and sing to! My friends and I love it! 

9. Stay Stay Stay--I didn't like this one, because I thought it was too repetitive and was just too pop-ish rather than country-pop. 

10. The Last Time: OH MY GOSH I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS ONE!!! IT'S SO PRETTY AND BEAUTIFUL! 

11. Holy Ground--I didn't love the song, but I haven't heard it that many times. It's not a song that stands out and I feel I casually listen through it. It's a little catchy, but not too much and it's more on the slower side too. 

12. Sad Beautiful Tragic--take song #1 with different lyrics. It's way toooooooooooooooooooo slow. 

13. The Lucky One--I liked this one, as it's catchy and easy to sing along too, but it's not one of my favorites. 

14. Everything has Changed--This is a really excellent song overall. Love the melody and the pace. She sings it with a male vocalist, and I really like their duet. 

15. Starlight--This is another OH MY GOSH I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS ONE!!! IT"S SO PRETTY AND BEAUTIFUL. It reminded me of Fearless from one of her previous album, so if you liked Fearless I think you will like Starlight 

16. Begin Again--I really liked this one too. I didn't love it like I love songs #10 and 15, but it's still a really happy, somewhat slow song, but it moves well. I think it's one of the best ones on the album. 

17. The Moment I knew--I really liked it the first few times I heard it, but after actually listening to the lyrics I just think it's really sad. However, it does have a faster moving pace than some of the other songs. 

18. Come Back Be Here--I loved this one! It's a really great song that is similar to #10 and #15. It's not slow, but it's not too fast that you can't catch it. 

19. Girl at Home--This song is catchy and very fast moving, although slightly repetitive, it works well because it moves so fast. A good one to sing along to, but it doesn't have the best lyrics. 

That's RED for yall!!!!!

I will be doing (full) song reviews on some of them in December, so be on the lookout for that! Throw yourself a dance party and listen to some Taylor Swift! Have a great night, yall! 

Other things on Episode 6 OUAT

Interesting ideas from these sources:

Tallahassee and Emma's character: http://nerdygirlnotes.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/tv-time-once-upon-a-time-2-06/

Emma's Journey: http://www.tvfanatic.com/2012/11/once-upon-a-time-review-keeping-the-nightmares-away/

Emma's past as a Vagabond: http://dailycollegian.com/2012/11/08/once-upon-a-time-recap-tallahassee/

On Neal and Emma: http://thedisneyblog.com/2012/11/05/once-upon-a-time-2-6-tallahassee/

Love and Theft: http://www.examiner.com/article/once-upon-a-time-recap-love-and-theft

Neal and the Postcard: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/once-upon-a-time/once-upon-a-time-recap-who-is-48293.aspx

The One about Emma Swan: http://afterbuzztv.com/tallahassee-s2e6

On Emma and Hook: http://lightheartedlibrarian.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/once-upon-a-time-emma-and-hook-sitting-on-a-beanstalk/

Some interesting thoughts and photos from Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/tallahassee?before=1352146454 (LOVE THIS PAGE SO MANY COOL PHOTOS)

The offical page for Neal Cassidy: http://onceuponatime.wikia.com/wiki/Neal_Cassidy

Okay that's it. I'm done with this episode. Please watch, read, enjoy, and comment!
Have a great night yall! Love, Rachel

Broken Episode 6 and Thoughts OUAT

Tallahassee. In the pilot episode, we found out that it was the longest Emma had lived anywhere. Regina asks, "What did you like so much about Tallahassee?" In Episode 6 of OUAT, we find out Emma's back story and that she once had a true love.

The episode, however, actually begins in FTL with the four girls (Aurora, Mulan, Mary Margaret, and Emma) along with Captain Hook approach the gigantic beanstalk that leads to the giants home. Only one giant is left, "the strongest and most terrible." The story of Jack and the beanstalk that we all know and love in our modern world, is not the case in FTL. According to Hook, the giants used the beans to plunder all the lands and Jack took an army up there and killed the giants (except one) and destroyed the beans.

The four girls argue about who is going, but ultimately it is Emma would climbs up with Hook. I love the two of them! Emma is certainly worthy of love and Hook is definitely swoon worthy. I think I might be over Graham's death; Emma and Hook need to get together! I absolutely loved Graham and Emma together and I wish he had lived. I personally  do not think Emma and Hook will really end up together, just because Hook is not trustworthy and he has different goals in life than Emma.

Up they go! As the climb, Hook reveals to Emma that he can tell she was orphaned, because he spent time with the Lost Boys in Neverland and she has the same look they did. I think that Hook had been to Neverland before he went after Rumplestilksin cut off his hand. I think he must have gone there before, because in E4 (the Crocodile) he told stories about the places he went and the treasure he found. (or maybe that was William Smee who did that...?) Either way it just makes sense that he visited it before he became Captain Hook. I am very curious about his backstory in Neverland.

When Emma and Hook reach the top, the giant's home has been destroyed. Hooks says it happen in the battle. They make a plan to use Mulan's powder to put the giant asleep. It works! They certainly make quite the team. They go into the giant's lair that is full of the treasure they plundered. Hook is more interested in the treasure than in finding the compass, which Emma is determined to find among the gold. The powder doesn't last very long, however, and soon the giant has woken up and is out to get them. Emma, using Jack's sword (yes Jack from the story) to cut the trip wire of an iron cage, which fall on the giant trapping him. She demands the compass, which he gives her, because he says Emma is going to kill him anyways, but that's what humans do and all humans are alike. Emma tells him that not all humans.

We also learn from the giant that Jack's army destroyed the magic beans, not the giants. We get to hear the famous line, "That's because the victors tell the story." Even though the giants were wrong to plunder the lands, were the humans less wrong when they killed the giants? I am also curious about this Jack character. His skeleton and sword remained in the giant’s castle, but he still has his own story, and I’m eager to hear it. Emma is allowed to leave with the compass and jumps from the beanstalk.

Meanwhile, Hook remains? Yep! As she pulls Hook out from underneath his hiding place, and takes his open hand, she chains him to the wall. Emma says she’s sorry, but also that she can’t trust him. That she just needs a head start, but that he won’t be chained there forever. I expected this, but think it may be a potentially dangerous thing to have done. After all, Hook is not the type of person who stands to be bested, and we never knew in the first place if he really was going to steal the compass for him and cora! It’s a smart move in that sense, but what if Hook was telling the truth? Then Emma and company have got an angry Captain Hook on their hands!

Back on the ground, Mulan was told to cut the beanstalk down if Emma wasn’t back in 10 hours. Shortly before Emma comes down, Mulan sadly notes that it’s been ten hours and takes out her sword. Snow notices and yells and her, but Mulan strikes the beanstalk anyways, shaking it. Aurora and Snow are both upset; Aurora screams “You’re just going to leave them up there to die?” To which Mulan calmly replies, “They may already be dead.” Snow, however, will not leave her daughter. She tackles Mulan and they struggle. As Emma jumps down, she yells at them to stop. Mary Margaret runs to Emma, upset. She tells Emma that they go home together. No matter what. I fail to understand why they would have needed to cut the beanstalk down in the first place. After all, the way of getting home is through the compass. I guess Emma to Mulan to do it, because she didn’t want Snow to risk going up, if she in fact was killed by the giant. I really enjoyed the reunion scene between MM and Emma, because MM really does love Emma and I love seeing that in the show.

As the four girls go on to steal the ashes from cora, we get to travel back to Emma’s past.

11 years ago, in Portland OR, Emma steals her beloved yellow BW bug. From a guy named Neal Cassidy. Oh, wait, actually it’s not his car either. Emma stole a stolen car from a fellow thief and thus begins their relationship. Emma and Neal are later seen at a convenience store, Emma stealing from the shelves and Neal distracting the manager with a map. When a real customer comes in, Emma fakes going into labor and the two make a run for it. However, Emma was only faking being pregnant. The two later go to a rundown hotel and Neal talks about settling down somewhere. Emma asks, “is this what you really want?” To which he replies, “what I really want is you.” It’s a really romantic scene. Emma says okay and wants to know where they will go. Neal tells her to close her eyes and point to a place on a map. She points to Tallahassee. So that’s where they plan to go. Neal stole some watches a while back and Emma goes and gets them out an airport locker. Neal plans to pawn them and tells Emma to meet him somewhere and sometime later.

As Neal is on his way to his destination, he is stopped by none other than August Wayne Booth! He tells Neal that Emma has a destiny, a curse that she must break and that Neal is getting in the way of Emma doing so. August quickly finds out that Neal is in love with Emma, but after showing him something inside of his box, Neal decides to do what August calls “the right thing.” 

So, Neal goes to Canada. August calls Emma in and she is arrested for possession of stolen goods. In Vancouver, Canada, two months later, Neal meets up with August. August tells Neal he’ll send him a postcard when the curse is broken. Neal gives him the car keys and the cash he got with the watches and tells August to give them to her. (August sends her the keys, not the money). It is there we find out that Emma was given 11 months in jail in Arizona. The last scene is of her getting the keys—and also getting the results of a pregnancy test.

This was the saddest part of E6. Emma could have had a home, a normal life in Tallahassee with Neal and Henry. Only August ruined it. Whereas I think he had the right intentions, I don’t think that Emma needed to go to jail in order to end up breaking the curse. The Blue Fairy said she would do that when she was 28 years old so I think Emma would have ended up in Storybrooke eventually. But she could have had a family, with Neal and Henry and with their other children! What they could have had kills me! The life and home that Emma had always wanted was taken away from her by August. Instead, she ended up in jail at 18 years of age, with a child that she gave up for adoption, so he could have his best chance at life, never knowing if she would ever meet him or get to see him grow up. (And yet, ten years later he becomes the most important person in her life.)

Emma learns not to risk her heart. She learns not to trust. She gets out of prison a different person. The carefree girl is gone, instead is the Emma we’ve gotten to know. Tough and strong and independent. Yet, when Emma gets out she still keeps and drives the stolen car to Tallahassee where she waits for two years for Neal. August kept his word and sent him the postcard. Will he end up meeting August sometime soon and taking a trip to Storybrooke? Will he be reunited with Emma and get to meet his son? What will happen when he sees Emma again? And when can we get to know what was in the BOX????

Please share your thoughts. After all I did just write 1,668 words for you. Thanks, Rachel 

Because of a Stoplight

We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.

Anais Nin
US (French-born) author & diarist (1903 - 1977)

I can't drive. I mean it, too.  I've had my permit for two years and I am no closer to getting my license. It's actually okay, because I don't want to drive. I survived high school with my parents picking me up and my friends driving me places or just meeting me at my house. I've never really NEEDED to drive. I still don't. 

Friday night I went with some friends to a Day of the Dead celebration and because of traffic it took us a long time to get there. We drove during rush hour. While trying to find the parking garage, we needed to make a left turn. My friend put on her blinker and waited at the stoplight. The car behind us, a hick guy in a truck, began honking the horn and wouldn't stop. My two friends and I began to get really annoyed and didn't know why he was honking at us. Finally, we realized we couldn't make a left turn. If you Google search "no left turn no u-turn" you will find one of the signs I am talking about here. Realizing this, we immediately went straight. As the truck got into the other lane and drove by, he gave us a thumbs up. We had gotten the message that he had been trying to tell us. Feeling so much better about it, we made it to the garage. 

The celebration was really fun, but it was more American than Mexican. There were food trucks and some cool art galleries, but really the interesting part was seeing everyone in their freaky costumes. Pirates and skeletons and normal people like my friends and I who didn't dress up oh my! I also got to eat a coconut ice cream bar dipped in chocolate with nuts on it. It was absolutely delicious. 

I really enjoyed it, even if it wasn't very cultured. There wasn't Mexican music or Day of the Dead bread, and the food wasn't even really Mexican, but my two friends did promise to take me to a Mexican restaurant. However, throughout the night I was reminded of the words of Anais Nin. In the case of the truck driver, we saw the situation as we were then, but it turned out to be not what we saw. I'm thankful for that. That he was trying to help us and not just be a jerk. And it gave me something to write about! 

I also got interested in who this woman, Anais Nin, was. So I did some research and found out that she has a website dedicated to her memory: http://www.anaisnin.com/

She is best known for her diaries in which she writes about the identity of a Cuban woman with mixed French and Danish roots as well. She also writes about her love life and contributed much to feminism in America after she emigrated from Paris, France where she spent most of her childhood. She is a very fascinating woman. 

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

Summary and cover from good reads:

Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again, you must learn to trust again. 

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven. 

Like all good natured hopelessly romantic girls, I love Nicholas Sparks. I had been wanting to read this one since it first came out two years ago. It's darker than some of Sparks's other novels and is much less sad. I didn't like it as much as I liked Nights in Rodanthe or Dear John or The Choice, but it was still a good book. Normally, Sparks writes from a third-person narrative from the male perspective, but this time it was from a woman named Katie's and that was new.

It was a different perspective and definitely darker, but it was still a good book. By far my favorite character was Katie. I love how Katie survives and is such a strong woman and how she is willing to fight for what she wants once she finds it. Katie is surely a woman who deserves it after what she went through. Safe Haven definitely opened my eyes up to what it's like for a woman with an abusive, controlling husband who is determined to have control over her no matter what. It's scary and I really admire Katie for being strong and brave and finding love, in well, a hopeless place.

I also really enjoyed Alex and Katie's relationship and their relationship with his two kids. I love how real they are with each other and how realistic they are about where their lives are going. I enjoyed reading about their trip to the beach, which was one of my favorite parts. I definitely hope Sparks writes a sequel, too!

I give Safe Haven not quite 4 stars but more than 3.5. And also, it is going to become a movie! The clip above is the official trailer. So excited because I love the three actors that play Alex, Jo, and Katie. Can't wait to see this one!

Have a great Thursday, yall!