Funny River Fire - Day 3 - Pictures

Taken around 1:30 - 2:00pm at the Kenai Beach and Kenai River Bridge... as well as a few of the smoke cloud hanging over my house. A smokey haze has fallen on Soldotna and Kenai, it doesn't smell too bad, but it's obviously in the air because my throat and nose are acting up. Bugs are swarming low and all over, it's crazy bad. All of Central Peninsula is affected and under smoke clouds so it's dark and cold... but it makes for some pretty cool pictures.

30 Days of OUAT - Day 22: Funniest Character

Day 22 - Funniest Character

Oh, Leroy. How I love his realism and sarcasm. I love everything about Storybrooke's Grumpiest member. He's got a heart of gold, he's just rough around the edges. I've been a fan of Grumpy forEVER (I first saw Snow White with my Grandma when I was either 11 or 12, I am not sure why it took so long), I just relate to him (no shock there). So when we meet Leroy in the Pilot episode and there's NO doubt who he was in Fairytaleland (I mean, could they have tried any harder to be obvious?!) I was super excited. That he's played by Lee Arenberg makes it that much sweeter. No one does "grump" like Lee!

What's funny is for the longest time I had no idea that I'd seen him in anything else. It wasn't until I was looking up the cast of OUAT that I realized that I'd seen and loved the actor in several movies (Pirates of the Caribbean 1-4) as well as a small part in an episode of Friends! I'm just glad several of my friends didn't recognize him either or I'd feel super stupid! Ha ha!

Lee's a hoot on Twitter, too - not shocking, all of the cast seem to be Twitter comedians! Not that it matters for his character, but it definitely adds to his charm.

Grumpy/Leroy has a lot of heart, and is very similar to the Disney version of the character... though he's a little darker and seedier in his Storybrooke persona. Still, Arenberg has perfected the character and you can't help but love him. And the writers are always good to give the town crier the funniest lines.

Funny River Fire, Day 2, in pictures

The fire that was just a few acres has grown close (if not over by now) 8,000. It's hit Tustumena Lake. According to last reports it is still 0% contained. No homes, people, or structures have been harmed. Winds could shift and all that change. Pray for rain.

30 Days of OUAT - Day 21: Bravest Character

Day 21 - Bravest Character

It goes without saying that Charming is the bravest character in OUAT. I mean, Zelena chose to steal his courage because it was strongest (and he fought off Regina's guards one handed while cradling his newborn daughter in his arm). So how could I pick anyone else? I know there's an argument to be made that Neal Cassidy is the bravest/most heroic... and I agree he's right up there with Charming... but Neal typically went about it wrong - and he did have his cowardly moments. So that's why I'm not doing yet another gushfest of the wonderfulness that is Nealfire. Ha ha.

Prince Charming (David Nolan) was just a shepherd named David (yeah, I still think it's a nod to the Old Testament hero turned King.) until Rumpelstiltskin comes calling. Seems David was not the only child he believed himself to be, he had a twin brother who was given to King George (a deal his parents made with the Dark One). After his brother James dies in battle, Rumple informs George of James' brother and goes off to get the man. While James was trained in all things Princely, David was just a lowly shepherd and farmer. But the farm is failing, and Rumple's given him a way to save his livelihood - and give his mother a comfortable living.

But, as we all know, Magic comes at a price - and David finds himself thrust into a dangerous situation right off the bat. He needs to slay a dragon... or... well... at least be the front man while his "father's" knights do the deed. Problem is, they aren't really up for the task. So without any training whatsoever David rushes in and manages to defeat the beast, and save lives. He returns the hero, and George informs him that his duties remain at the castle. He cannot return home, and he has to marry the princess of a neighboring wealthy kingdom.

Because George threatens to kill David's mother, he agrees. Problem is as he and his betrothed are riding towards their new home and life... David meets up with Snow White... and falls head over heels for the female bandit. I could go into their whole love story and recount every single heroic/brave act Charming does (and later David does in Neverland and Storybrooke), but I won't... because you should just watch (or rewatch) the three seasons for yourself.

Funny River Fire Pictures

Dad called mom around 9pm tonight saying you could see the smoke from the Funny River Horse Trail fire from the Kenai Beach (he was fishing). So I went down and snapped a few pictures. With the wind blowing as strong and fast as it is, the 2 acre fire has now grown to over 1,000 acres burned. And it's only going to get worse it seems.

30 Days of OUAT - Day 20: Favorite Scene

 
Day 20 - Favorite Scene

Um, well... I have been sharing my favorites throughout the course of the meme... so... I guess I'll pick one of my favorites I haven't yet shared. And it's another scene from Manhattan (definitely one of my favorite episodes EVER), it comes right after Neal finds out he's a father. Rumple informs Neal that the deal with Emma was for her to get Neal to talk to Rumple. Neal tells him he's got three minutes... and then this scene happens. This is where two of OUAT's best actors shine. Robert and Michael had a great "father son" chemistry about them and it showed from the first episode they were in.

The scene is so... sad. It's where Neal gets to have a little bit of say into not only how he views his father, but what his father did to him. Yes, at the time of the episode's airing, we knew very little of what Bae went through with his father. We'd seen the young boy deal with the pain of his father turning to darkness and that his father let him go through the portal alone - but we didn't know the extent of the pain he suffered afterwards. We don't even know how long Nealfire's been away/alone (for the record it's over 200 years, way to go Papa Rumple).

And that's the part of the scene that I love most. After Neal lets Rumple have his 3 minutes, Neal shuts him down. He confesses that there hasn't been a day that's not gone by that he doesn't relive the haunting memory of his father letting him go. Of backing out of the deal. Of not being enough for his father... that his father would choose the safety of magic and a dagger over his own son. A son, who we later find out, who then goes through a multitude of losses and disappointments... only to end up making similar choices to that of his father.

Perhaps one of the reasons in the last few months that I've become such a staunch Nealfire fan is because I understand betrayal like he experienced. No, I was never dropped through a portral... my mother never ran off with a pirate... and that pirate never gave me over the Peter Pan's goons... But I do know what it's like to have people that you've loved, looked up to, respected... TRUSTED instinctively... not just "Back out of a deal" but completely misuse my trust and in a way fail me. I dealt with that for most of last year, having my parents use me to save the other sibling - when I not only had nothing to do with what caused the situation, but it also tanked my reputation within the community. It was devastating. I can safely say that reconciliation and rebuilding has been happening, but it's an up and down process. So perhaps that's why the entire Neal Cassidy arc not only speaks to me - but that I understand the entirety of it.

Still, I would love to have the guts to confront some of the darker parts of what happened the way he does... I need to get me some good writers and set the scene I suppose. But, to me, Neal not only has every right to be angry with his father - but he has the right to accept or reject him. He has the right to work out the demons how he sees fit. He has the right to ultimately forgive the man and tell him to let go (okay, yeah, I've now jumped back/forward to Quiet Minds again... dang).

I am a true believer in second chances - in all forms... and perhaps that's what Neal was supposed to get and didn't (though really... maybe that poster was not referring to Emma at all, but to Neal's forgiveness of his father).

Anyway, here's my "favorite" (today anyway) scene:


Can I also just whine for a moment - I know he just made the announcement on twitter like 4 days ago, but I really really really want to know what is next for Michael - I think 4 days is "soon-ish"! I want details! (And, seriously, if it isn't that he's going to be a regular on a great show... then I'm not sure I'll be any happier ha ha)

30 Days of OUAT - Day 19: Favorite Relationship

 Day 19 - Favorite Relationship

I'm going to cheat (Aimee said I could) and choose an "off camera" relationship that is probably one of the best bromances of all time. Michael Raymond-James and Colin O'Donoghue have to be the most adorable bffs OUAT has. While their characters on the show had a "love-hate" relationship, it seems the pair are actually quite fond of each other. They definitely fed off of one another during interviews - highly entertaining - and some of the stories they told on each other makes them sound like lifelong friends, not two dudes who found themselves newbies of the cast two years ago.

I have to say one the main reasons I love both of the characters and the actors is how they've interacted with each other and their castmates on social media (mainly Twitter). The OUAT cast seems to be very tight knit, which I think has really helped this show stay with fans. They're accessible, they're freaking hilarious, and we all eat it up!

One of the major reasons I'm so bummed about Neal's death on the show - which means MRJ is leaving - is we have seen less and less of the "Mikey Ray & Colin" moments on twitter. Pictures, banter... and then the interviews at Comic-Con and Good Morning America.

And the fan wars, oh the fan wars, why can't we all just be friends. Without this show, most of us wouldn't even know who these two are. So be thankful for Once Upon A Time and Adam & Eddie... and Michael, and Colin... and all of the cast. They've created magic and a lifelong fandom!

***Warning - MRJ likes to drop the F-bomb. I think he says it twice in this interview... maybe three times. You've been warned.***

Their friendship is what I think drove the part in Quiet Minds (there I go bringing that darn episode up again... I will forever obsess over it) where Hook and Neal have closure to their past. It would seem SO out of place if Neal wasn't the goner. I'm not sure if Hook knew what was coming - I'm still not convinced Hook wasn't aware that Neal sacrificed himself for his father and to get Hook the message to get Emma - or if we're just seeing Colin and Mike in this scene. In some ways their faces both tell that they know what's coming in this scene and later in the episode. And I can't help but believe that the scene was written with the two very much in mind. It just seems like it's a great way to give both actors that "farewell" moment. It was a touching scene that had a few winks to their past episodes (the jello reference is from a deleted hook scene from season 2), as well as a few winks to how they saw each other's characters. Just a great couple of minutes of television.




Because it's late and I'm lazy I'll just post photos of the "honorable mentions" of relationships I am a fan of in the actual show.

Emma & Charming - DADDY'S GIRL!

The most tragic, IMO, relationship.
Neal doesn't get back to his son, they don't
have the relationship they so desperately
need and crave. It's just WRONG!

How can anyone not love the story of
Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire? It's so sad,
but in the end they come together and
reconcile and it's beautiful... and sad...
and it's just not fair!