Love

When I saw you, I loved you

I knew it right away

The way your eyes sparkled

And your lips smiled

It was as bright as day

From the first look and the first kiss,

So tender and sweet,

It feels like pure bliss,

We got to meet.

You’re the magic in my life

And the song in my heart.

It’s a feeling I hope will last forever,

So we will never part.

Happy Valentine’s Day <3

If I could

If I could

Then I would

Like I should

But I can't 

Say the words

or describe it

Share my feelings

so I hide it

For fear of coming on to strong

being to forward

or going to fast

So I hold back

Don't say the words

Of what's going through my mind

The hope of love

and happy endings

That someday I would find

this sensation of happiness

which is one of a kind

My list - updated

It's been a while since I updated my list. And let me tell you, it's a lot of work. There are so many good shows out there right now, that I can't even keep up. So my list of shows to watch grows longer and longer. That's why I thought for this blog, I'd update my list again. Especially since the new television season is about to start!

Currently watching

Rizzoli & Isles 
The Flash
Castle 
Bones
The Big Bang Theory
Lost Girl (cancelled, but still have a few eps in the works)
Once Upon a Time
Arrow
Haven
House of Lies
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  
Agent Carter
Game of Thrones
Defiance
Sherlock
Orphan Black
Orange is the New Black
House of Cards
Penny Dreadful 
True Detective (just started watching it)
Dominion
iZombie
Carmilla (web series) 
Grace and Frankie
Killjoys
Marvel's Daredevil
Scream: the TV series (will finish first season, but not watching it after that)
UnREAL
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
White Collar
Nashville
Sleepy Hollow
Teen Wolf (seen first ep)
Scream Queens (new to the list)
Supergirl (new to the list) 
Lucifer (new to the list)
Quantico (new to the list)

On my to-watch-list

Elementary (seen couple of eps)
The Following (dito)
Grimm (dito)
Girls (dito)
The Originals (seen one ep)
Once Upon A Time in Wonderland
Homeland
Smash
True Blood
Being Human (seen one ep)
Lost (seen couple of eps)
Flash Forward
Battlestar Galactica
Dr. Who (seen couple of eps)
Torchwood (seen couple of eps)
Smallville (seen a couple of eps)
The Lying Game
Alpha's (seen a couple of eps)
Switched at Birth (?)
The Walking Dead (one ep)
Black Box (?)
Dracula (seen one ep)
Ally McBeal (5x03)
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Star Crossed
Complications (already cancelled after one season, but still have to see it) 
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (seen first ep, but appears to have already ended after one season as well)
Banshee (seen first ep, not sure if I'm gonna continue)
Dark Matter
How to get away with murder
Scandal
Continuum
Mr Robot
The Librarians
(and probably a couple more)

Started watching, but paused or stopped entirely with...
(cos I already watch way too many shows and some of them really lost their way, but others I simply can't keep up with)


Merlin (?)
Supernatural (?)
McLeod's Daughters (8x07)
7th Heaven (grew up watching it and now I'm just curious about what happened with the characters)
Heroes (3x01)

Under the Dome (seen the first season, but stopped)
Pretty Little Liars (stopped at 4x16 - it just got to ridiculous) 
Awkward (stopped at 3x12 - also too ridiculous) 
The Vampire Diaries (stopped watching after season 5)
New Girl (up to season 4)
Grey's Anatomy (up to season 11)
2 Broke Girls (up to season 4)

Shows I watched that have already ended/been cancelled
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - BEST SHOW EVER
Angel
Charmed
Firefly
Veronica Mars (also seen the movie)
Play it Again, Dick
Kitchen Confidential
Dollhouse
Roswell
Joan of Arcadia 
The L Word
My So-Called Life
Gilmore Girls
Dawson's Creek
Point Pleasant
Tru Calling
Mercy
The Playboy Club (just three eps)
The Sarah Conner Chronicles
Life Unexpected
No Ordinary Family
The Cape
Hellcats
Friends
Alias
One Tree Hill
Gossip Girl
Being Erica
Leverage
Ringer
Secret Circle
The Pretender
The Client List
How I Met Your Mother  
Warehouse 13
The Crazy Ones
Parenthood 
Twin Peaks 
The Newsroom
Witches of East End  
Freaks and Geeks
Dark Angel
Glee
Revenge 
Video Game High School (VGHS)
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (though I'm not entirely sure I've seen all the eps)

As with the list before, some are probably missing in all categories. I can't watch them all the time, but luckily now that I have Netflix I don't really feel I have to.
My request remains the same: If you think some shows are missing or should be added to my list, please let me know! I'm always looking for great shows to watch, especially during the holidays when shows are on hiatus ;-).

Another year passes

It doesn't matter how much time passes

Or how quickly it goes by

Every year on this day

Time stops

There's a moment to cry

Seconds may turn into minutes

And minutes into hours

It's an ongoing rollercoaster

And before you know it

another year has passed you by

But on this day time freezes

We reminisce

On the life you led before 

The good and the bad 

Because having you here was bliss

Thank you for coming into my life

and letting me get to know you

I will always carry you with me

 Because you made my life richer 

in ways that I never knew.

-----------------------

For Tom

In loving memory

20 Mar 1989 -
04 Sep 2004

Facebook live with Stephen Amell

I'm back! And boy, do I have news for you. If you follow Stephen Amell, this can't be news for you. But if you're a big Arrow fan and you're not, well you should follow him. Who else would find this interesting? Everyone interested in social media and more specifically: Facebook. Because last week they came up with this new thing, called Facebook live!

The beginning
On the fifth of August Stephen Amell, the awesome actor of Arrow, surprised us all with this new app called 'Facebook Live'. It's a new feature with which he can live chat with his fans/followers on Facebook. As fans of him might know, Stephen is known for spending time in between filming his scenes answering questions from fans during his break. He also inspires them to make fan-art and really takes time to acknowledge the viewers. By introducing this in a five minute video he's taking it one step further. Something he's actually been in 'cahoots' about with Facebook. Not only will he answer fan questions, he's also thinking about a lot of other options to put this new feature to good use. Oh, and another cool thing? You can actually see how many people are watching! It's like a counter that keeps going up and up. 

Check out his Facebookpage at: https://www.facebook.com/stephenamell

The difference
I can hear you guys thinking, what's the difference? Whether he's answering in comments below the thread, or we're listing to him and seeing him? Well, the fact that you can actually hear him say it. Of course there's always the typing thing on Facebook, which can lead to typos or it's just taking longer. But the cool thing is, that by talking to him, he can elaborate a bit more. It's like taking part in a live talk on stage during a con. Though, sure, the first vid was mainly meant as an introduction, sharing that it went live. But Stephen has already mentioned several things he'd like to do with this app and he's already put some of those ideas into action.  

What have we got so far?
I can't even pick a favorite yet... Since this app was introduced, Stephen has done a twenty minute Q&A live, he's given Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak on Arrow) a gift, he's taken us to the set, having a looksy, while you can see a silhouet of Ramsey (Diggle on Arrow) walking by and he's even had a video where he shows his surroundings to encourage fans to come up to him and chat during the live chat! I mean, how cool is that? He has also mentioned live table readings, which I would just love love love to see. And I'm not theonly one. Because how many viewers have seen these? Well, one vid has about 200K viewers, another one 500K, but there's even one with 903K followers. I mean, that is insane! And I'll bet, that as words gets out, these numbers will only get higher.

Don't miss it!
One of the things I like is that as soon as he's live, you get a notification from Facebook. Therefore, if you're carrying your phone with you, it's impossible to miss it. Though yes, if you're in a meeting, like I was the first time, you might miss it. Luckily, you can still watch it back on his Facebook page. And... Stephen is also that considerate, that he'll give you a heads up on his page, so you can take it into account. Another thing I love is how Stephen keeps mentioning how many viewers there are at that exact moment. It's amazing how fast these numbers grow. Lastly, a live facebook vid will hopefully lead to some unexpected fun times as well. Because as we all know, when it's live it's out there. And a lot of stuff can go wrong, but it'll be real. Like Stephen not being able to speak (he kept messing up 'smell' and 'spell' in one of the vids). And as Stephen said: "Everything is better live."

So that's everything I wanted to say about it for now. If you're not following him right now, I can highly recommend it. I just wanted to make sure that this new app with all it's possibilities was known to everyone out there, cos it's gonna bring some amazing stuff. Especially with someone like Stephen Amell at the front of it. Now we'll just have to wait till his next one, which is tomorrow. ;-)

One word

All I have to do

Is think of you

The butterflies return

And I've lost all grip on reality

It's not about missing you

But about wanting to be with you

Every day

For the rest of my life

One word is all it takes

You know how to turn my world upside down

Make a bad day good again

Because you are the light in my life

The Veronica Mars Movie Review

On March 13th a Kickstarter project was brought to life: The Veronica Mars Movie Project. It's a site where all people with ideas can go to and other people who see something in those ideas can donate money to make it happen. For Veronica Mars it was a 'hail Mary'. The show, which ended with an open ending in 2007, reach their goal of two million in just one day. At the end they had actually reached 91.585 backers (people who gave their money) and with 5.7 million dollars the 'Go' was a definite and the crew could start making their movie. A little over a year later, Veronica Mars - The Movie, premiered on the 20th of March in the Dutch cinema (one time only). And a little over one month later, the DVD came out.

After having turned her back to Neptune and her teenage years of being a detective, Veronica is being pulled back. She's about to be a lawyer, has a good relationship with college sweetheart Piz and the prospect of a great job in New York, but returns to California. All because her ex, Logan Echolls, is the main suspect in murder case of singer Bonnie DeVille. And this is all just in time for her ten year high school reunion.

Remember this one?
For fans Veronica Mars (the movie) offers everything they could wish for and more. Hardly a minute passes without a reference to the tv show that everyone has grown to love. Cases Veronica worked on as a teenager will put a smile on every fan's face. At the same time the references are so subtle that a newbie to the fandom/show/movie will hardly notice. Like when Veronica walks into her dad's office and simply answers the phone, just like when she was helping him at the office in the show. One of the most surprising - and for fans heartwarming - things are the guest appearances. There's an overflow of familiar faces from the show which will surprise you every other moment. I squeeled when I saw Veronica back together again with Mac, Piz and Wallace! Mac's hair is amazing and Wallace's career choice heartwarming. Or how about Celeste, Weevil, Dick, Gia, Corny, Madison, Leo, Cliff (really, I could go on for a while) and of course my all time favorite tv dad: Keith! After ten years it's not unusual to wonder who would have kept in contact and what they would have been doing now. That's how Rob Thomas cleverly came up with the idea of the high school reunion. This way both friends and foes had a reason to appear in the movie.

New faces
Luckily the movie presents both familiar faces as new ones for the new viewers. The story centers around known characters, but the case itself is linked to some new names of the old high school. A case that goes deeper and deeper, which will increase the interest in the case as it develops. Both the tension and the rythm make for some scary moments that will catch you off guard. You'll literaly jump out of your seat. With all the new and old faces, there are also a lot of storylines in this movie. Because of this a lot is happening and it's all happening very fast. Together with Veronica you'll go from one situation to the next, while the real action takes place near the ending. Just as it should... at the climax of the movie.

Double the episode
Veronica Mars is a fitting sequel to the show, even though the case is not totally up to Veronica's abilities. In the show Veronica used to have cases that challanged her, took more research and for which she used more gadgets. A comparison isn't easy to make though. In the show you have more time for the plotlines and there's a totally different budget. This case is actually better for new viewers who are meeting Veronica Mars, P.I., for the first time. Having said that, it felt like the old days. Familiar faces and wonderful sarcastic remarks are inbetted in the fenomenon that is Veronica Mars. The music is also part of that. In the show it was always a vital part of the the vibe and all the wonderful moments to which it fitted so perfectly. And Rob Thomas simply uses this again. From the party music in clubs tot the darker sounds to go with the tragic and intense scenes. Thomas knows which music goes with every scene as no other. You feel like your simply watching a double episode of the tv show.

PiLoVe
Of course you can't have the movie without some romance. Where you can feel the chemistry with Logan, by fans also put together as LoVe, right away, she's actually seeing Piz. The corn bread next door good guy, whose parents Veronica is supposed to meet. For fans there will be a definite tension whether or not Veronica can resist the charmes of Logan and stay with Piz. In the show this played on for three whole season, but in the movie it goes on a rapid pace. Therefore the chemistry will feel a little bit haste. Especially for viewers who don't have the all the background information. For them these moments won't be as convincing. However, if you do know them from the show, seeing them again will make you feel butterflies.

For the Marshmallows
As the movie was made possible with the money from fans, lovingly called Marshmallows, it isn't strange that all the fanfun is such a big part of the movie. The down side is that all the newbies will probably have more questions once the movie has ended. Some storylines are simply there to bring familiar faces back. But other than that the storyline doesn't really get solved, it just stays in the middle. Because of that - storywise - it doesn't add anything to the movie. It might seem more logical once you know that there's also a series of books coming, following the events of the movie. Two books have already been published (The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line and Mr. Kiss and Tell), which explains the open ending on some of the plotlines that never get explained in the movie. The open ending also gives the idea that the movie was truly made for the real Marshmallows who'll probably read the books, instead of the new viewers (who of course could also end up reading the books after seeing the movie and loving it).

The dvd
As a backer, I also received the DVD of the movie once it came out. Luckily for me, they made a European version as well. Not that I need the subtitles or anything, but it's still nice to know to be thought off. There's also a flyer included with which you can download the movie with a code.

The looks
The cover has the same image as on the poster: Veronica holding a camera and photo negatives on the right side of the picture, which pictures different characters in different scenes. The only name on the cover is 'Kristen Bell', no director, no screenwriter, no editor and no other actors, leaving all the room for the picture. It's simple, just as the fond of the  title. On the back it has different scenes pictured as well, with a little remark about being able to download it, and all the names are mentioned. It also has a big box which mentions the hour long featurette.

As for the dvd itself: The dvd is just as simple, with just the title of the movie on it. The menu pictures the same image as on the cover. It gives you a scene selection (twelve scenes), language selection (dubbed and subs) - for which there isn't really a background - and the one extra featurette. Basically it's very simple. But honestly, with a movie like this, you don't really need anything more.
The featurette
The dvd has the usual specs, like trailers from other movies at the beginning. The one featurette for the fans is "By The Fans: The Making of the Veronica Mars Movie". It shows the beginning from when the Kickstarter Project goes online and the first backer donates money. Creater Rob Thomas shows how in about twenty seconds they make like a thousand dollars. You see how Kristen Bell wakes up to the news of already having 400.000 dollars in the project and the entire cast in clips, of their backer vids that were shown on the site, who are just overwhelmed. This featurette takes you from the first moments of the Kickstarter campaign, through the days on set where they meet the fans to Comic Con 2013, where the first sizzle real was shown.

Honestly, I'm not gonna spoil the entire featurette, cos you'll have to see it for yourself. But there's this one moment where Rob explains how the location got leaked and fans show up taking pictures. How much love the actors have for there fans shows in the fact that they actually went to them and took pictures with them. And that's what this featurette breathes. Because not just the fans are uberexcited, but the cast and crew as well. And hearing everybody talk about this show and what it means, it will bring tears to your eyes. It's simply that touching.

Veronica Mars (dvd, 2014) is everything a Marshmallow could wish for and so much more. The humor brings her character back to life, the cameo's create wonderful nostalgic moments and the case makes for the excitement. While a newbie could feel a little bit overloaded with all the info, they'll also be able to enjoy this movie. Whether you grew up with this blond teenager or not, it's wonderful to see her back at work (again) in Neptune. And if you missed all the excitement on Kickstarter and the value this project has, the dvd will give you the insight with the featurette.

New year, new place

First of all, let me apologize for the past TWO months in which I haven't blogged. I must say, I missed it dearly and had lots of ideas to write out. So hopefully I'll be able to pick it up soon (which I intend to do) and even though some of those topics might be far in the past, I'm already looking forward to writing about it.

The past two months have been crazy for me. Ever since I got promoted in September, I've been looking for a place for myself. While I already fell in love with my current appartment in September, it took quite some time to see if it was affordable and getting the loan. Pretty much all my free time went into finding documents, making a lot of calls and thinking ahead. As soon as the paperwork was as good as done, I could start planning what I needed for my own place. I had to get a couple days of work as well for the move, and I needed to find out if some of my friends and family could help out.

December 12th was the big date: I got the keys to my very own little appartment. Right before Christmas... cos you know, that's logical planning :P. Anyway, I wanted to be out of my own room (student house) by January first. Which I managed to pull of thanks to all the help I got. Everything went ever so smoothly, except that I couldn't get my All-in-One TV/Internet/Telephone thing to work. So that's why I had to spent about two to three weeks without internet. Aside from the backlog of all the shows I watch, it also meant that I couldn't blog.

Luckily I'm back online again (already caught up with about half of my shows ;-) ), my appartment is as good as done and this weekend my friends and family will come by for my housewarming. After that, I'll hope to be able to pick up this dear blogging thing and post more frequently.

So anyway, that's my start of the new year and another new years resolution to blog more this year, than I did last year. Now that I have internet again, I'm pretty sure I should be able to do so.

xoxo

Shtàko!

Here it finally is! The unofficial English translation of my interview with Stephanie Leonidas (Irisa from Defiance), which I had the priviledge of doing during the Imagine Film Festival. The Dutch version can be find either at the Imagine website or a slightly longer version on Teeveehoek.nl. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple years ago you could spot her in the Dutch movie Crusade in Jeans and last year she scored one of the leads in the SyFy show Defiance: Stephanie Leonidas. On friday March 11th season one premiered at the Imagine Film Festival for which she had flown over. I quized the beautiful Irathian about her alien character and talents. 

With titels on your resume such as Dracula, Atlantis and MirrorMask - winner of the Jury Award in 2006 at Imagine - it looks as though you're into fantasy. 
“Did MirrorMask win an Award here? They never told me! That's great. It's true, I like movies with strange beings and a dark vibe. I grew up with The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal and E.T. Those are my favorite movies. I always stared at the tv thinking 'I want to be there'. I never expected it would actually happen."


And now you're playing the alien Irisa on Defiance. What kind of research do you do for such an extraordinary character? 
“Irisa may be Irathian, but she has a human heart. She's a young girl trying to find herself above anything else. The new element, for me,  was in her talent to handle knives. A lot of training hours went into that. I got this gigantic piece of paper with a human shape drawn on it and was told to aim tennisballs on that. Slowly I was allowed to go from tennis balls to knives. And those became sharper and more dangerous. When I train as myself, as Stephanie, everyone is always scared for me. But the funny thing is that as soon as I'm in the skin of my character Irisa, they're confident enough to let me do anything with those knives. While I'm really the same person!"

You're still you, but unrecognizable. Do you ever get recognized on the street? 
“Not as Irisa, haha. Sometimes at conventions people will be shocked to find out that I'm the girl behind the make up. The fun thing is that fans will show up dressed as Irisa at these cons. It's very surreel and flattering. Sometimes they look so convicing I'm actually worried for my job (laughs). And instead of the 2,5 hours that I have to sit in make up every day, it only costs them like twenty minutes! So I think we're doing something wrong, haha." 

Firefly has Browncoats, Star Trek Trekkers… how are the fanatic fans of Defiance called?
“I have no idea! But if we don't have a name yet, I'll come up with one! Hmm...it has to be something that's connected to Irathians though. Even if it's just to have myself represented by the title, as there are so many alien species in Defiance." [After thinking about this for some time, she still couldn't come up with a great name, so during the Q&A a day later I asked again]. "It's you again! You're cheeky... I discussed it yesterday with others and we came up with 'Defi-ers', but that was actually rubbish. So probably something like 'The D's'."

What are good and bad qualities of Irisa?
“As Irisa I feel like I can handle everything. When I'm in her skin I can suddenly clime a fence. While I can't even clime a rope as Stephanie! There's a certain power that comes out and that's great to do and experience. Other than that she's not much of a talker. She only speaks when she feels that it's needed and when she can bring something to the table. If that's not the case, she'll stick to the background. And yes, she's an alien, so she can be dangerous. You can see that in her relationship with Nolan, played by Grant Bowler. He knows how dangerous she can be and it may create some tension in their father-daughter relationship." 

The story takes place in the future. What if you'd be around in 2046? 
"Wow… I'd hide behind Irisa I think! I'd be one of the screaming people asking her for help. Or I'd use my look from the show and walk around like that. That way no-one would try anything."

In Defiance St. Louis looks drastically different because it's been terraformed. What do you think Amsterdam would look like in 2046? 
“Terraforming is a mix of the earth and a different planet, so colourful alien plants would grow out of Amsterdam buildings. And since you guys bike a lot...they would have a jet-engine in 2046 which makes it a hover-bike. With bike paths in the air/sky. Wouldn't that look cool? And you'd have aliens with Dutch accents, which I'd really like to hear. This might actually be a good idea for season three.”

Speaking about accents and languages: You had to learn an entirely new language for Defiance. 
“Irathian is now my second language, haha. David Peterson, who also works on Game of Thrones, has created five languages for the show. One for each culture. It was quite hard to learn such a new language, but it makes my character complete. The funny thing is that we keep talking in those languages during lunch break, like we have a secret language or something. My favorite word? That would be 'tashinka', which means 'little girl'. It what's Irisa is called. But the curse word 'shtako' is the first word we all knew or remembered. I even use it outside of the show, like when I'm with my parents. It's a safe curse word, because no-one understands it or knows what it means.”

It's an American tv show, though you wouldn't say that looking at the cast. 
“Haha, that's true. Julie [Benz] prizes herself that she's the only American. Other than that Grant is from New-Zealand, but a large part of the cast is British, Scottish or Canadian. Which matches Defiance when you think about it. In this show several cultures are living together and the cast mirrors that. I even had to learn an American accent for Irisa. I tried a Cogney-accent, but that didn't work at all!” 

Season two starts on June 19th in the U.S. Does this mean you're enjoying a nice vacation now? 
“We finished shooting in december. That took about six months and after that I did have a holiday. But we just started promoting season two, so that's what I'm currently doing. What can you expect from season two? The new season will be darker. Not just the whole vibe of the show, but Irisa herself as well. In the first season she was a little bit sweeter and sometimes I kinda want that Irisa back (laughs). We're also going to see more of the landscape outside of Defiance. So you'll get to see other surroundings.”

You can watch Defiance starting wednesday April 30th at 21:00h on Syfy in the Netherlands. New episodes from season two will start airing in America on June 19th 2014.