Traipsey Turveybecause I love

Last weekend, we went to The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California.  That was my second trip there but this time, I brought my Ashton with me!  Exciting?  Yes it was!

The Flower Fields is a fifty acre field of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers that is open to the public for approximately six to eight weeks annually.  Unfortunately, The Flower Fields are already closed because the flowers are already out of season.  We were just lucky to catch the last of the spring blooms and capture their glory.

The Flower Fields is an actual working ranch and is the only ranch that allows tourists to walk around and experience their beauty.  Of course, picking of the flowers are not permitted but you can purchase some freshly picked blooms available at the store.

I was just uber lucky to go and stay in between the flowers.  Doesn’t it look like I’m standing smack dab in the middle of the field?  Well, I thought so.

The weather was a bit overcast when we were there so unfortunately, I didn’t get to shoot blue skies over the field but I think these photos still look great.

The Flower Fields also have a rose garden and a poinsettia greenhouse where they breed different kinds of poinsettias the whole year round.  Imagine seeing yellow poinsettias?  That was the first time I saw one, mind you.

I checked out the sweat pea maze but didn’t get to finish it because they were already wilted.

Another thing that you can do at The Flower Fields is to go on Wagon Rides that circles the field.  This a good way to see the field in it’s entirety while sitting back and relaxing atop the wagon.

The different faces of the ranunculus

You could also walk around the fields at your own pace but tours are also available.

See more of my flower photos here.

The Flower Fields | 5704 Paseo Del Norte, Carlsbad, CA 92008 | Website

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The Reader is a 2008 British drama film based on the 1995 German novel of the same name by Bernhard Schlink. The film adaptation was written by David Hare and directed by Stephen Daldry. Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet star along with the young actor David Kross.

The Reader tells the story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who as a teenager in the late 1950s had an affair with a woman 21 years his senior, Hanna Schmitz, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war.  Hanna is also illiterate and is embarrassed to admit it which costs her to be convicted of the war crime and is sentenced to life in prison.

My View

After doing a bit of research about this movie, I discovered a few interesting things about the novel from which this movie is based on. It basically shows the Holocust in a different light by showing a Nazi’s side of the story, so to speak.  However, since I haven’t read the book yet, I cannot in tell you more about the book so you’ll have to wait until I have read it.

To say I was shocked is an understatement because this film had some really shocking parts.  From scenes showing body parts best kept covered and sex scenes with a minor, it is a movie not for the straight and narrow minded.  It is not a movie that is all about sex though but it does quite a bit of it, albeit tastefully done.

Hanna and Michael’s relationship is a bit odd with them having ritualistic sexual acts of him reading aloud to Hanna before doing the deed.  It is later revealed in the film that Hanna is illiterate which explains most of her actions.

For the most part of the movie, I was touched by Hanna’s impact on Michael’s life, leading to Michael’s divorce from his wife to how Hanna taught herself how to read using the tapes Michael sent her in prison.  After their affair ended, Michael and Hanna only meet again a few days before Hanna is released from prison where they have a pretty interesting conversation that had me in tears the second time.  Believe me, the things that they spoke to each other touched me for an unknown reason.

This movie is again another must see however, be sure to brace yourself for the scenes to come.  Winslet really dellivered in this movie and I give it FIVE STARS.

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Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film directed by Danny Boyle, co-directed by Loveleen Tandan, and written by Simon Beaufoy. It is an adaptation of the Boeke Prize-winning and Commonwealth Writers’ Prize-nominated novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup.

I hadn’t heard about Slumdog Millionaire until I saw the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards and I didn’t even had the interest to see it. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure what it was about!  Well, yesterday, I saw the Oscars’ and when they brought home eight Oscars, I was intrigued.  I had to see it.  Luckily, I was able to see it online and I agree that it was, hands down, the best movie that I saw for the year.  Slumdog Millionaire deserved the Oscar.

Slumdog Millionaire is a story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who joins the Indian version of the show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? At the beginning scene, a question is presented to the viewers: “Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 Million Rupees. How did he do it? A) He cheated, B) He’s lucky, C) He’s a genius, D) It is written.”  This statement now, sets the tone of the whole film where Jamal is interrogated by a police inspector because he was accused of cheating.  Jamal then gives the reasons why and how he knew each of the answers to the questions, through a series of flashbacks from way back when he was a child.  At this point, I will not go on a detailed blow-by-blow account of the whole movie because I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you in the event that you would want to see it but I would love to give my thoughts on this film.

My View

This movie is one of the best movies that I have seen so far. I loved the pacing all throughout the movie and the transition from the present to the flashbacks.  It was a unique take on providing the viewers to peek into Jamal’s childhood while growing up in the slums, how he and his brother survived, and how he befriended and fell in love with a little girl named Latika.  This movie is a love story that is craftily made that it doesn’t resemble one of those chick flicks that are a dime a dozen.

It is interesting to note how each person’s life is changed by the decisions they make, the lives they lead, and the society with which they belong to and I believe this movie shows it all.  It may be something that would not happen in real life and yet the movie doesn’t play out as something surreal but something that could happen in real life.  The film ends with Jamal winning the 20 Million Rupees and meeting with Latika at the train station at last, free to love each other.  I also noted a symmetry between Latika’s yellow scarf and her yellow dress when she was a girl.  I immediately noticed it’s significance by the end of the film.  I thought it was a nice touch.  As per Bollywood movies, they dance to the song Jai Ho which won an Oscar in the Best Original Song category.

For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, you’d better get a copy and see the movie ASAP!  Yes, it is that good.

I give this movie FIVE STARS.  A definite addition to a movie buff’s collection.

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