I have a begrudging respect for the shoplifter who had stolen one of the ice cream bars from the 3 bar package I bought the other day. Very sneaky, though one less ice cream for me

Bónus and me we do not completely agree on the state broccoli should be in when sold. I think it should be mold free, but Bónus clearly disagrees as I have to discover every single time I buy broccoli there. Which is sad, because it is one of my favourite vegetables....

I like the dutch approach to public spaces. Except Heerlen train station. It is the place where all the ways to frustrate people accumulates. It is not signposted. There is no parking close by. During Christmas it is not even possible to reach it via car due to the Christmas market. The ticket machines only accept cards and the ticket office always seems to be closed. There is no station hall or seating, but lots of stairs to heave your luggage up or down.
The trains though are dutch trains, read comfy, cheap and on time. The newest invention is to have compartments for people who want to have conversations and silent compartments. Just imagine commuting in a train where the general consensus is that everyone can work in silence.
Schiphol airport managed to redeem itself to me from acquiring full body scanners by creating a "village square" space. A space with (fake) trees and bird songs. There is lots of comfortable seating to sit or lie in and well as huge pillows to take a nap. There are sockets to charge your electronic devices. Free WiFi. Best of all there were science stations where kids (and me) could play with sound waves, alternate current balls, perspective and lots of other sciency stuff. Ahh Netherlands, why are you so nice? Are you trying to get me to improve my Dutch and leave this rock?

Last Monday was Lucy Maud Montgomery 141st birthday. She is the author of the "Anne of Green Gables" books. Anne was one of my childhood heroines, probably the one I identified the most with (getting lost in fantasy worlds and a temper).

I have read and reread the books several time as well as seen several adaptations. My favourite ones are below.

Akage no An - anime (1979)
The first anime and the first adaptation of "Anne of Green Gables" I saw. It is beautifully drawn and follows the book faithfully. Most of the narration is straight out of the book. I like it when things are not dumbed down, because they are for kids and it makes the anime enjoyable to watch even as a grown up. When I re-watched it recently I was surprised to notice a lot of subtle characterisation of Marilla, which I had missed of a kid.

TV mini series Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Anne of Avonlea (1987)
Megan follows is a wonderful Anne. The first series adopts the "Anne of Green Gables" book and the second is a mix of the books "Anne of Avonlea", "Anne of the Island" and "Anne of Windy Poplars". "Anne of Avonlea" and "Anne of Windy Poplars" are both very episodic and the series takes incidences and characters from both books and incorporates them into the Anne's character development arc from "Anne of the Island". Both series are perfect for a rainy afternoon.

Web series Green Gables Fables and Project Green Gables
Green Gables Fables is now it its second season. The first followed "Anne of Green Gables", in between seasons some stories from "Anne of Avonlea" were adopted/mentioned on the social media sites of the characters and the second season is now adopting "Anne of the Island".
Project Green Gables is currently in it's first season and adopting "Anne of Green Gables".
It is very interesting to view both series side by side. Both are very faithful to the book(s), have an excellent cast for both the main and side characters and the love for the characters and story from everyone involved shines through. In Green Gables Fables Anne's character flaws, such as her stubbornness and temper or unrealistic expectation (wanting her first published story to be in the New Yorker) and subsequent character development are emphasized (and Matthews story is heartbreakingly well adopted) while in Project Green Gables conflicts of the book are ingeniously brought to modern times, from Anne being sad about wearing clothes from the Salvation Army flea market, Ruby Gillis talking about slut shaming or Anne being a girl of colour with natural hair, giving her issues with it and the fight with Mrs Lynde and Gilbert about their comments on it a new and interesting interpretation.

Fire escapes
and in my mind I hear "Maria, I just me a girl named Maria!"

Newspaper boxes
We just don't have them in Iceland, because they would constantly be frozen shut.

Chinese take away boxes
Which actually seem to exist only in movies, now one gets styrofoam boxes, so I will never get my movie moment (eating Chinese take away out of boxes in a motel).

Yellow cabs in New York
We did not go by cab though, now I have to hope that Uber has not destroyed it until I get to New York again

Certain accents
Such as a "California college student", a strong New Yorker accent or any other which can be exaggerated to be a stereotype in a movie. Never an Ohio accent though, I am too used to hear it from all my friends from Ohio (I tend to attract Ohians for some reason).

Ice cream in pints / with sprinkles
When I was a kid there was no such thing as the Ice cream pint (like with Ben and Jerry's ice cream). I love that movies encourage me to eat a whole pint when I'm "sad".
First time I came to USA was with my parents when I was 10. Our caravan broke down in the Californian desert and we ended up staying 3 days in a tiny town called Bishop. We went out one night and got a ice cream cone with sprinkles on top and watched a baseball game. I felt like I had stumbled into one of these coming of age movies about a kid in a small town.

Central Park
Just look at it:


Bonus: Washington is different in movies
I was completely surprised by the diversity in Washington DC. In movies the town seems to consist to 99% of white men in suits. In reality it is around 40%.