Homosexuality

  Am I against homosexuality? No. Am I in favor of homosexuality? No. You know why? Because it’s not any of my business to judge other people's lives and choices.

  Gay people have exactly the same right as heterosexual people to be with whoever they want, so why are they constantly judged and pointed out? If a person is happy with another person from the same gender then why shouldn’t they be together as a couple?

  Everyone has their tastes and preferences about everything, but in love and friendship things just come as they are and it’s not really a thing people can choose themselves, you get what I’m saying?  

  Why should they be discriminated just because they are different from the majority? Because they’re different from what is considered ‘normal’? That is wrong on so many levels.

    No one says that you have to be with a person of the opposite sex, no one says that a couple must be a man and a woman. The essence of being with another person is to love them and feel loved. If being next to that special person makes someone happy, then why don’t you let that person go forward with it and just be happy? 

    Don’t be afraid of other people’s opinions because in the end what really matters is your happiness.

   I am really proud that gay marriage is being legalized in more countries now. That means that people are starting to change their mentalities, that they’re opening their minds to difference, accepting others the way they are. If a woman and a man are allowed to get married, why wouldn’t two men or two women be allowed too?

   They’re both human beings and citizens and in my opinion they should and must have just the same rights as others, in this case the opportunity to get married with his or her partner.

    Love is love, and love doesn’t have any patterns or norms.

   I appeal just not to be judgmental when it comes to these situations, or to any other different people really. Help them to express their feelings and support them in their decisions and choices like you would like to be supported with yours.

- J

"If I stay": Book and Movie

"If I stay" is a book written by Gayle Forman that is about a cellist player, Mia, that has a car accident with her family. While she is unconscious (because of the crash) she can feel and see everything around her and all that happens in the hospital to where she is taken as if she was a normal person walking around.

The book alternates between the present situation (the car accident) and Mia’s past, where we start to understand her passion to the cello, her friendships and crushes, her relationship with her boyfriend Adam, her family and everything that led her to that day.

 In general I liked the book even though it got to a point where I just wanted to know more about her hospital status rather than her past story.

Moving on to the film, seeing episodes of her past was so much more appealing than we read in the book, in the way that both the hospital situation and the past telling are so interesting that we can’t even choose if we want to see more about one or about the other.

This is a case where I definitely liked the film way more than the book. Firstly because the story was so much more appealing to me and the analepsis took about the same amount of time as the situation she is going through, and I think that captivated me more than the book did.

Secondly, the acting was so well performed by Chloe Grace Moretz, one of my favorite actresses, because she portrayed so well her character and transmitted really well her character’s feelings by her expressions and intonations. We could see it was such a genuine character that in some kind of way we wish we could be like her in some aspects of our daily life. Watching her passion in playing the cello and dedicating herself full time to what she truly likes was so beautiful to watch and listen to, because we could feel it came straight from her heart. Her parent’s and family incredible support and their companionship was so intense and connected and honestly seeing that in images was something that makes any person teary.

But while Mia is unconscious, she is not it because she is awake in her mind and she is aware of every single thing around her. She has a strength in herself, a power that is based on her feelings for and from her loved ones but will she have that strength to wake up? Or will she give up? What if she stays? What if doesn’t? After all it is her choice…

Overall, I think this is a beautiful love story that covers all basis whether from love, support, friendship, bonds and inner strength. Even though the book inspired the movie to be made, I enjoyed much more the second one, and it is one of my favourite films at the moment.

Favorite quote: "Sometimes you make choices and sometimes choices make you"

Rates

Book: 15/20

Movie: 20/20

- J

Book vs Movie

Most people I know are always saying they didn't like a movie because it was different from the book. I just don’t agree with that line of thinking.

I think a movie doesn't have to be a copy of the book, a movie has to translate the story from the paper to the screen, and the script doesn't have to be an exact replica of the conversations in the book.

  

I mean, I get that people want to see what they read, what I don’t understand is that if a single thing changes in the movie, they will be saying they didn't like it because that specific scene was different from what they were expecting. From my point of view that is wrong, the book should just set the foundation to the movie for it to be adapted and improved so that the audience can enjoy it.

A movie should present the book story and must draw in people to watch it, it has to be made in a way that it could be commercialized, and this implies an adaptation of the book itself. If the movie is exactly like the book, it wouldn't even make sense to waste money on the movie production, would it.

I feel misunderstood in this matter because no one seems to understand that the book and movie are two distinct things.

So please folks, don’t judge a movie because it is different from the book, because if you never read the book and you saw the movie, you would probably love it.

- J

Liebster Award TAG

I was challenged to answer this tag by http://booksandpagesblog.blogspot.pt/

This TAG consists on:
1 - Writing 11 facts about me;
2- Answer the questions that your blog was asked;
3 - Nominate 11 blogs with less than 200 subscribers to answer this TAG;
4- Make 11 questions to the 11 nominated blogs;
5- Share the Liebster Award TAG picture in the post;
6- Send the link of the post to the blog who nominated you.




11 Facts about me:
1- I practice martial arts (Karate Shukokai);
2- I love the sound of thunderstorms and the smell after it's been raining;
3- I love giving hugs to my friends;
4- I like to face all my fears execpt my aracnophobia;
5- I am really shy but I love to meet new people;
6- I am the biggest Divergent triology fan;
7- I love photographing and being photographed;
8- I'm not very sentimental, so i'm too cold for people sometimes;
9- I am really small (4'9) and use glasses;
10- I'm semi-ambidexter;
11- I have a Cambrigde first certificate and I'm studying to get the advanced one.


Questions I was asked:
1 - Which is the book with the most beautiful cover in your book shelf?
"Four" by Veronica Roth.

2- Do you buy your books online or in bookstores?
Most of the times i tend to buy books online.

3- Which are your three favorites series?
Tv series? Arrow, How i met your mother (even though it is over) and Sherlock.

4- Did you ever postponed reading a book for too long and when you finally read it you wished you have read it sooner? If so, what was that book?
Actually that has not happened to me yet.

5- Which is the most evil character you ever had contact with?
I don't read many action books, so I will have to say Jeanine Mathews from the Divergent Series.

6- How many pages has the biggest book you read?
447 pages ('Stay with me' by J.Lynn).

7- From the books you've read and were adapted to a movie, which one you think it was best one adapted?
I think "The Fault in our stars" was a really well adapted book to the big screen.

8- Is there any book that almost everyone liked but you didn't? If yes, which one?
"The fault in out stars". I don't see the big deal about it. I know it is a cancer story that touches all of us but the way the author put it didn't make me connect to the characters or create a connection, and i think that was lacking in the whole book.

9- Which is your favorite place to read?
My bed in my bedroom.

10- Who is your favorite author?
Jennifer Armentrout (J. Lynn).

11- Do you like more stand alones or triologies?
I like books that have a connection between each other but don't depend on each other to understand the story itself. I like both actually but i think i like triologies the best.

Questions to answer:

1. Which was the book that led you to reading?
2. Do you prefer novels or action books?
3. Which is your favorite triology?
4. Is there any book that everyone has already read except you?
5. What is your favorite place to buy books?
6. How many books have you read this year?
7. Top 3 favorite books?
8. Has any book disappointed you? If yes, which one?
9. Where is your favorite place to read?
10. Favorite author?
11. In your opinion, which is the best movie adaptation from the book? Why?

Blog i nominate to answer this TAG: http://feelitasyoumay.blogspot.pt/

-J

Review on "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

(there are some little spoilers ahead)

Divergent is a dystopian book and is one of my favorite ones.

   It is about a society that’s divided into five factions: dauntless, abnegation, candor, amity and erudite. Each faction stands for an ideal: dauntless are the brave, abnegation the selfless, candor the truthful, amity the kind and erudite the intelligent.

   In the age of sixteen, every teenager has to do an aptitude test, which put them in different simulations that will lead to one single result, the faction they have more aptitude for. Based on that result, they must choose one of the factions and never change again, or they will become factionless.

   Divergent follows a young woman, Tris, who can not be categorized in one single faction, which makes her Divergent and a threat to the dividing system. This system was created to separate the different ways of thinking in order to maintain peace. Since Tris is divergent, she has different ways of thinking and that scares Jeanine Matthews (the leader of Erudite and the one in charge of the city faction system), so Tris has to do everything to stay alive, because if anyone finds out her secret, she will be killed due to her uncontrollable way of thinking.

   Unaware of the danger she’s in, Tris chose Dauntless, the brave. There is where she meets Four, her instructor. Tris is very curious about him, for his strong presence and personality, but she sees something else, something deeper than that. Four is a mysterious character, with a very dark past that no one knows about and no one really know him, but Tris tries to know him better.

   Then a problem emerges, dauntless superiors allies with erudite ones to create an army formed by dauntless members to take down abnegation. This dauntless members are not aware of what they’re doing because they were injected with a serum that makes them do whatever they’re ordered to, unconsciously. But there is one problem, divergents are not affected by that serum, and Tris is divergent so she has to play along and pretend she is a normal person during the simulation. Whilst that, she and Four plan to counter strike, stop the simulation and destroy the ones who are behind the whole thing. Will she be discovered? Will they succeed?

   Reading this book completely changed my life because before reading it, I didn’t enjoy reading whatsoever, but this book made me more aware of life, it made me realize I really enjoy to read and I’ve been reading more ever since. It took me to a different place, a place I can relate myself with a lot to be honest. I think I probably loved this book so much because I related myself a lot with Tris, I think we share the same doubts, insecurities and she is a brave woman who wants to conquer her fears instead of letting them dominate her and I admire that qualities in a person.

   I thoroughly recommend this book to every age range since it is an adventure/action/romance book and it is a very easy reading.

Favorite quote: “Becoming fearless isn't the point. It's impossible. It's about learning to control your fear and how to be free from it”.

Rate: 20/20

-J

This or that book tag

1. Audio or book in hand? Book in hand.

2. Soft cover or hardback? I feel like hardbacks are more beautiful and don't crease but i find paperbacks more practical for the daily life.

3. Fiction or non-fiction? Definitely non fiction.

4. Fantasy world or real life issues? Real life issues.

5. Harry potter or twilight? None of them.

6. Kindle, i-pad or other? I just really like to have a book in my hands and feel the pages.

7. Borrow or buy? Buy.

8. Bookstore or online? I actually use both but most recently I've been buying books online.

9. Tell me one time or total triogoly? DIVERGENT TRIOLOGY.

10. Monster read or short and sweet? I kind of like books that are not too short but not too long, just about 250 - 400 pages.

11. Starry eyed romance or full of action? I love romances but I also enjoy romances mixed with action, like Divergent series.

12. Curl up in your snuggie or bathe in the sun? No doubts, curl up in my snuggie *.*

13. Hot chocolate or latte? Latte.

14. Real the review or decide for yourself? I have mixed feelings about this question because sometimes after reading a book, if I'm not sure how I feel about it, I read some reviews and form my opinion but other times I just have my opinion and it won't change even if i read a review that says completely the opposite of what I think.

- J

A brief opinion on the movie "The Theory of everything"

 

 Well, this movie is the biography of Stephen Hawking's life, his contributions in the physics area and his humongous impact in the science field.

Personally, I loved the movie because it taught me that is not a disease or an obstacle in your life that will stop you from doing was you want or incapacitate you to achieve your dreams.

Firstly, it is just surprising what Stephen Hawking has survived and lived so far, and more than that, it is even more breathtaking how he has contributed to the physics area, the is such a genius.

Secondly, this movie fascinated me because Eddie Redmayne (who starred as Stephen Hawking) did such a good work when it came to his posture showing us the development of Stephen's disease.

It was such a beautiful movie that I had tears in my eyes from the beginning to the end of it. Another thing that I liked about this movie was that it is just not a drama, but also a romance with some comic moments that made me smile and laugh. It shows us that Stephen Hawking, despite his disease, could love and laugh and be happy with his family and friends while contributing to the world's knowledge. The amout of support he had was huge and the response on his book was even bigger!

I recommend everyone to see this movie, specially if you would like to know more about this great man's life. If you just like dramas with some funny moments to release the tension, I hope you choose this one!

Rate; 17,5/20

- J