Twilight, Travel, and Treats

I love photography iPhone apps. I've discovered a new one - and it's got a Twilight filter too!

FX Photostudio for iPhone and iPad

Cost $2.99 plus in-app purchase 99 cents for the Hollywood pack (twilight filter)

The basic photo editing tools are only crop, rotate, and gamma (exposure or brightness). If you want blemish or red-eye removal and other editing tools you should also get Perfect Photo. I'll review it next post but it's surprisingly powerful.

There are 187 filters to choose from but they categorize them so it's not overwhelming. Plus you can mark favourites and hide ones you don't use.

The smartest thing is that you if you figure out a filter combo that's brilliant you can save it for use again later or even share it.

You can vary the amount of change each filter creates as well. There is a lot of control built in.

I just did some screencaps of my favourite filters below.

Original (photo from robsessed)




With filters - the filter title at top of each pic































And lastly the Twilight filter




It does really look like Catherine Hardwicke helped with that shot.

In case you wanted a Kristen Stewart version I've included some too

Original




With filters










Note the iPad version is HD is a separate purchase from the iPhone version and has a few more filters.

There is also a version for Mac as well but no PC one.

More iPhone and iPad app reviews to come.

Do you know who Henry Cavill is? Does his name ring a bell? I'm assuming if you are a true original Twilight fan that you know the answer (or maybe you're just British.)

Let me back up. My heart surgery went as expected - thanks for all your well wishes by the way. God willing that I wasn't going to get out of my parental and professional obligations that easily.
As a result I've been forced to lie in bed for hours while recovering. Thank God my husband managed to set up Netflix USA on my iPad or I would go mad.

I've been blowing through the periodic drama called The Tudors. If you don't know it's a Showtime drama with cutie Jonathan Rhys-Meyers playing Henry VIII. There's a lot of raunchy sex as he goes through his numerous wives and mistresses. Can you believe I first watched this on an airplane?I shudder that there was some old Asian guy behind me also watching people fucking on my TV screen.

I highly doubt Henry VIII looked like this. Yum.

Well in addition to Mr. Rhys-Meyers I've been enjoying watching this guy.

These photos don't do him justice. You need the voice too. See video below.

Henry Cavill - tall, dark, handsome, amazing voice, and striking eyes. Honestly what's not to like?
The montage below is a nice run down of his sex scenes but minus his voice though :(



This sex scene below is one that I like. Sorry the quality is a bit grainy but you'll get the idea.



Okay I totally resisted putting a picture of his naked butt on this post as well out of respect for Mr. TC who actually reads my posts once in a while!

Alright, now that we've established he's hot you might wonder why I post. I don't usually post for something not Twi-related right? Well, his name is very familiar and I couldn't figure out why. (I know you Stephenie Meyer purists are shaking a finger at me now for being so daft.)

Answer: Henry Cavill was Stephenie Meyer first and frankly only choice to play Edward Cullen.



What Stephenie Meyer had in mind - a young Henry Cavill


If you peek at the Stephenie Meyer website archive of whom she would like to cast in her stories you'll realize just how little say the authors get. Of all the actors listed as her preference the only ones who are actually in any of the films are Daniel Cudmore and Graham Greene. She had chosen them as Emmett and Billy respectively; their roles in the films are more minor as Felix and Harry Clearwater.

So can you ever see Edward as anyone other than Rob Pattinson? I can't see Henry Cavill in that role as Robward is too engrained. Lucky for us though Mr. Cavill will again be in tights playing Superman in 2012.

My deepest apologies for being absent for two months. My friend DQ even asked me if I'd just unsubscribed her to my blog. Since my last post I've been to Asia twice - once for fun and the second for family medical stuff. I've decided that as much fun as it sounds to fly around the world that I won't do it if I have to keep flying economy.

So what's with the title of this post? Well it's been roughly two years since I picked up a copy of Twilight. Since then I've developed some health issues so I thought I'd reflect for a bit.

Now this is a doctors opinion but I'm also a crazed Twilight fan so the medical advice is a bit biased.

Health Hazards of Twilight (anyone who has lived with a Twilight fan could write this section...)

- reading Twilight or any related fanfiction for hours on end can't be good for you - no one should forgo food, sleep, or even using the washroom for a sparkly Edward
- it's possible the health of your family suffers when you're too busy reading to actually buy groceries and cook a proper meal
- your marriage could potentially break down because you refuse to acknowledge the actual man in your life since fictitious beautiful dark and brooding men are so much better (or the opposite could happen - see Benefits below!)
- eventually the dust bunnies that build up while you're reading instead of cleaning could rise together and kill you in your sleep

Health Benefits of Twilight?



- with obsession comes the feeling of purpose and drive. I know that our roles as wife, parent, and working woman should be enough but sometimes it's not.
- I'm sure my close family and friends will not want to hear it but Twilight obsession can improve your love life. It helped me open my eyes to my real life Edward minus the obsessive tendencies and constant need to kill me. Lemony fanfic definitely puts one into a mood in search of necessarily sexual tension relief.
- for those of us who have made new friends through our Twilight obsession it feels wonderful to find acceptance and understanding
- finally having an outlet for writing has averted my brain from potentially exploding with unused creative energy

I will treasure these last two years as a time that I've discovered myself and made new friends. It's been a time of personal growth which I don't think I've had the chance to experience since I've been too busy expanding my professional and family life.
It seems that real life now needs me more than I need Twilight. I feel like I've woken up out of a fog that was Twilight madness and suddenly my kids are a bit older and I have more wrinkles. But my marriage is much better than before I went in.

I'm having minor heart surgery in a couple of weeks. I'll be going back to work after only a few days so it really is a small thing. But I thought I should post once more just in case. Don't blame me for being morbid - I have spent the last two years reading about vampires and immortality. I highly doubt that Carlisle would be waiting for me in the unlikely event something were to happen though.

Love to all the Twilight friends I've made and to my family who have been so supportive of my Twilight obsession. I'm sure many of us Twihards are guilty of the sins above but I'm hoping that, like me, the benefits have outweighed the cons and you are happier for it.