Anyone else tired of seeing Obama and H. Clinton's face? That's what I thought.
I'm going to be turning eighteen just in time for elections so I've been following the race pretty closely, but I'm just sick of all the crap. All I ever see is Hillary and Obama on the TV saying derogatory things about each other. The occasional picture of them drinking and a couple of low blows to H's love life. This is ridiculous. Should we really care about this? DOES anyone care? I highly doubt it.
I mean, yeah, these are our candidates and as such they are subject to scrutiny, but I don't think the fact that Hillary gets a little teary sometimes or Obama enjoys a beer every now and again is going to change who they are. Let's see some real issues folks! Let's hear about what there going to do about the war, economy, immigration, etc. The rest is superfluous.
Some of the best known politicians in history have had terrible personal habits. J.F.K, adulterer extraordinaire. Thomas Jefferson, rumoured to have small colony of illegitimate African children...Think of a political hero you have. Go research them --a little extensively if you please--. Chances are that they were substance abusers, adulterers, or just overall crappy people to know personally.
So, I appeal to whatever Patron Saint/Deity that controls these media people. I ask only that we cover a little less of this superfluous information and get down to the things that are going to be affecting our nation and consequently the world.
* Small afterthought: Whatever happened to McCain? Come on Republicans. We at least need the semblance of a party choice.
**Slightly larger afterthought: Is Nader running this year? If there was any chance of him getting in I would so vote for that guy. What persistence.
***Since I don't like reading about the campaign I'll try to make this the last post that I write about it. At least until something significant and blog worthy comes up.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Final Draft Evil and Misquoted Titles
I'm just sitting here at 1:00 a.m. finishing up the last bits of my final draft for a paper I've not been working on for ages...You would have thought I'd learned my lesson with the rough draft. Think again suckers! No amount of painful frantic stress will teach me a lesson! Observe the resilient tendencies of procrastination.
I was just staring at my blog. With it's nice Through the Looking Glass title and thought to myself, " Oh haha. You have the title Through the Looking Glass, but your quote is from Alice in Wonderland. Bravo."
Back to the paper.
I was just staring at my blog. With it's nice Through the Looking Glass title and thought to myself, " Oh haha. You have the title Through the Looking Glass, but your quote is from Alice in Wonderland. Bravo."
Back to the paper.
Monday, April 21, 2008
It's a NEW DAY!
Spring is gross. It's wet, soggy, and filled with mosquitoes. Ants attack everything I lay down and there's flies waiting in a queue to get in my house. Allergies make it impossible for me to breath and leave me with attractively blood shot eyes.
But, oh, how I LOVE it! Everything is green and flowers are coming out. I was just out walking around and our dogwood trees are in bloom. The apple blossoms smell wonderful. There was even enough daisies to make a bouquet. I love you Earth.
Spring always makes me have epiphanies. The same epiphanies, but I'm surprised every year. If I fail at life, if I don't become an English teacher or a publicist. If I'm left bitter and alone because I'm caustic and unpersonable...There's still Spring, and it is wonderful. I don't understand how anyone can't believe that there is a God during spring time. Whatever deity you believe in. Spring must make them apparent.
So, come all ye victims of seasonal depression and rejoice! Spring is here and it is a new day.
But, oh, how I LOVE it! Everything is green and flowers are coming out. I was just out walking around and our dogwood trees are in bloom. The apple blossoms smell wonderful. There was even enough daisies to make a bouquet. I love you Earth.
Spring always makes me have epiphanies. The same epiphanies, but I'm surprised every year. If I fail at life, if I don't become an English teacher or a publicist. If I'm left bitter and alone because I'm caustic and unpersonable...There's still Spring, and it is wonderful. I don't understand how anyone can't believe that there is a God during spring time. Whatever deity you believe in. Spring must make them apparent.
So, come all ye victims of seasonal depression and rejoice! Spring is here and it is a new day.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
This is a New Day
New Day --Melee
Morning sunshine come light my life like you said you can.
With the windows open, all the spirits fly away.
Pull the wings off a bird who cannot fly ,
And I'll make you feel the pain where she lies .
'Cause this is a new day for broken hands and breaking backs.
This is a new day for lovers' hands and fighting hands .
To finally be set free from tragedy.
Morning sunshine come light my life like you said you can,
And i'll give you all the time that we need now.
To figure out where we can go just to be alone,
And I'll watch you wash your body clean,
of all the things you wish you'd never seen.
I cast these stones upon my broken hands.
I cast these stones upon my back ,
I cast these stones upon my soul .
My ghost will carry me home,
Carry me into a brand new day.
Morning sunshine come light my life like you said you can.
With the windows open, all the spirits fly away.
Pull the wings off a bird who cannot fly ,
And I'll make you feel the pain where she lies .
'Cause this is a new day for broken hands and breaking backs.
This is a new day for lovers' hands and fighting hands .
To finally be set free from tragedy.
Morning sunshine come light my life like you said you can,
And i'll give you all the time that we need now.
To figure out where we can go just to be alone,
And I'll watch you wash your body clean,
of all the things you wish you'd never seen.
I cast these stones upon my broken hands.
I cast these stones upon my back ,
I cast these stones upon my soul .
My ghost will carry me home,
Carry me into a brand new day.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Say, "AHH!". Then repeat.
Oh, haha. I've had a research paper assigned for about four weeks now. It's due Thursday. Have I started it? No. Have I got the sources? No. *hysterical laughing here* Now, if you want to know what's going on in my head I'll show you. Here's a little exercise.
First, scream the words, " ARG FREAKING BLEEP FREAKING NO!"
Okay, good job. Now repeat.
Keep going.
Well, your still not there, but we'll settle for now. You've got an e for effort! xD
But, even with the paper looming over my head I manage to read my required dose of fiction.
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
Aza has hair as black as a raven, cheeks whiter than snow, and lips the color of a dragons tongue. To round her appearance off nicely she also has pulpy cheeks and a waist the size of a tree-trunk. Gail Carson Levine manages to take an old fairy tale and make you fall in love with it all over again. Fairest is a great remake of Snow White complete with poison apple, but has so many new elements that you don't feel as if your having to read the same story for the thousandth time. Which oft happens in those remakes.
Slightly more angsty than Ella Enchanted, but stil lovely and appropriate for young children and fairy tale loving adults alike. It's a boon to all the girls --you guys might like it too-- out there who were ever ridiculed for their appearances.
I liked the book, but wasn't nearly as emotionally attatched to the characters as I was in The Two Princesses or Ella Enchanted. You just don't get enough time with anyone to care too much.
An extremely disturbing aspect--> One of the characters( one of the romantic characters I'm afraid to say.) is mentioned to have abnormally big ears. My band director has big ears. Therefore, whenever it talks about the book character I keep seeing Mr.Denton. Disturbing? You betcha.
First, scream the words, " ARG FREAKING BLEEP FREAKING NO!"
Okay, good job. Now repeat.
Keep going.
Well, your still not there, but we'll settle for now. You've got an e for effort! xD
But, even with the paper looming over my head I manage to read my required dose of fiction.
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
Aza has hair as black as a raven, cheeks whiter than snow, and lips the color of a dragons tongue. To round her appearance off nicely she also has pulpy cheeks and a waist the size of a tree-trunk. Gail Carson Levine manages to take an old fairy tale and make you fall in love with it all over again. Fairest is a great remake of Snow White complete with poison apple, but has so many new elements that you don't feel as if your having to read the same story for the thousandth time. Which oft happens in those remakes.
Slightly more angsty than Ella Enchanted, but stil lovely and appropriate for young children and fairy tale loving adults alike. It's a boon to all the girls --you guys might like it too-- out there who were ever ridiculed for their appearances.
I liked the book, but wasn't nearly as emotionally attatched to the characters as I was in The Two Princesses or Ella Enchanted. You just don't get enough time with anyone to care too much.
An extremely disturbing aspect--> One of the characters( one of the romantic characters I'm afraid to say.) is mentioned to have abnormally big ears. My band director has big ears. Therefore, whenever it talks about the book character I keep seeing Mr.Denton. Disturbing? You betcha.
Friday, April 04, 2008
The Somnamnbulist
Another shameless review that I did for my school paper. --What?! I wrote it therefore it still counts. Plus, it's nice to see that I've got a start on what I want to become blog devoted more to reviews and less to dreary posts.--
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
Ah, the dimly lit aisles of a book store swim before my eyes as I squint at many a title. For the past three hours I have been searching for one decent book to do a review on and have only come away with dozens of cliché captions. The standards for publicists have obviously reached an all time low. The standards for authors aren’t so hot either. --I was still annoyed with one of the smart eleck clerks when I wrote this*--
Finally I came away with The Somnambulist. Edward Moon is a washed out magician who used to be famous for his ability to solve crimes, but now is past his prime. Boredom is starting to get to him when one day he gets a visit from Inspector Merryweather who needs help with a new case. “This one’s special,” the man insisted. “There’s something queer about it, someting grisly and gothic and bizarre. So you can see why I thought of you.” Gothic and bizarre describes most of the book.
Moon is pulled deep into the twisted world of Victorian England as he searches for answers. Along the way he encounters a bearded woman**, the human fly, a man who lives backwards in time***, and his faithful sidekick The Somnambulist. What seems to be a straight up murder mystery in the beginning quickly changes into a humor-filled quest for answers as Moon and The Somnambulist uncover a cult whose goal is to take down London and rebuild it using the pantisocratic plans of the poet Coleridge.
What I still don't understand is why it was called The Somnambulist. The title character is in fact only a minor type that shadows Moon around. A tall, bald, golem like guy that communicates by writing on a slate and has a passion for milk. There are several vague references about him resembling Gog and Magog the last of Englands giants, but beyond that his origins aren't elaborated on. The most remarkable thing about him is that he can be impaled, slashed, and sliced with nary a drop of blood being shed. Well, I didn't say he wasn't odd. He just isn't featured enough to warrant the book being titled after him.
It’s somewhat confusing in places, but for the most part it’s funny enough that you won’t care. Never fear though, by the last three chapters everything is resolved quite nicely and all the odd pieces stitched together. If you like dark Victorian books with random bits of humor thrown in...this is a must. If you are easily grossed out by descriptions of gore and the occasional just plain gross, then it’s a must not.
--> Back to me--> This book was pretty decent considering that it was J. Barnes's first. It's funny in places and very confusing in others, but does have that nice 1800s feel to it with a large dash of fantasy. Who can resist, eh?
* The book store that I usually frequent has this really annoying know-it-all clerk. When ever I ask him questions he sneers at me. I know! Though, since I assosciate him with books I'm slightly fond of the jerk.
**A bearded whore actually. There's a really REALLY odd scene involving a place of ill repute and disfigurment.
***A man living backwards in time? Does this ring of T.H. White's Once and Future King or is it just me?
The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes
Ah, the dimly lit aisles of a book store swim before my eyes as I squint at many a title. For the past three hours I have been searching for one decent book to do a review on and have only come away with dozens of cliché captions. The standards for publicists have obviously reached an all time low. The standards for authors aren’t so hot either. --I was still annoyed with one of the smart eleck clerks when I wrote this*--
Finally I came away with The Somnambulist. Edward Moon is a washed out magician who used to be famous for his ability to solve crimes, but now is past his prime. Boredom is starting to get to him when one day he gets a visit from Inspector Merryweather who needs help with a new case. “This one’s special,” the man insisted. “There’s something queer about it, someting grisly and gothic and bizarre. So you can see why I thought of you.” Gothic and bizarre describes most of the book.
Moon is pulled deep into the twisted world of Victorian England as he searches for answers. Along the way he encounters a bearded woman**, the human fly, a man who lives backwards in time***, and his faithful sidekick The Somnambulist. What seems to be a straight up murder mystery in the beginning quickly changes into a humor-filled quest for answers as Moon and The Somnambulist uncover a cult whose goal is to take down London and rebuild it using the pantisocratic plans of the poet Coleridge.
What I still don't understand is why it was called The Somnambulist. The title character is in fact only a minor type that shadows Moon around. A tall, bald, golem like guy that communicates by writing on a slate and has a passion for milk. There are several vague references about him resembling Gog and Magog the last of Englands giants, but beyond that his origins aren't elaborated on. The most remarkable thing about him is that he can be impaled, slashed, and sliced with nary a drop of blood being shed. Well, I didn't say he wasn't odd. He just isn't featured enough to warrant the book being titled after him.
It’s somewhat confusing in places, but for the most part it’s funny enough that you won’t care. Never fear though, by the last three chapters everything is resolved quite nicely and all the odd pieces stitched together. If you like dark Victorian books with random bits of humor thrown in...this is a must. If you are easily grossed out by descriptions of gore and the occasional just plain gross, then it’s a must not.
--> Back to me--> This book was pretty decent considering that it was J. Barnes's first. It's funny in places and very confusing in others, but does have that nice 1800s feel to it with a large dash of fantasy. Who can resist, eh?
* The book store that I usually frequent has this really annoying know-it-all clerk. When ever I ask him questions he sneers at me. I know! Though, since I assosciate him with books I'm slightly fond of the jerk.
**A bearded whore actually. There's a really REALLY odd scene involving a place of ill repute and disfigurment.
***A man living backwards in time? Does this ring of T.H. White's Once and Future King or is it just me?
Gemma Doyle Trilogy--Pt. III
Umkay, this is going to be my final say on the series and then I shall mention them in my blog no more.
--A review that I did for my highschool paper and am now shamelessly posting on here.--
At first glance, A Great and Terrible Beauty appears to be just another cliche book lurking in the Teens section, but if you take out the time to pick it up it's actually worth a read. Gemma is a girl stuck in the Victorian age with the unfortunate afliction of independent thought. After the suicide of her mother she is sent from her home in India to Spence, a boarding school for young ladies, where she has to deal with petty girls and the unwanted attention of an Indian boy who followed her from home. She can also conjure a door of light that leads to a place called the Realms. While there she finds out that she is descended from a line of priestesses that governed the mysterious Realms and is the only one who can restore their secret society called The Order. At every turn there is another reason to question who she trusts and more people waiting to thwart her efforts at harnessing the magic.
The book captures the struggle of being a free spirited woman in a time when society wanted your body and mind both corseted. It also manages to throw in a classic batch of good versus evil in the form of ancient magic. A decent introductory book into the Gemma Doyle trilogy, it's followed up by Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing. Both of which are much better than the first. It's dark and angsty, so if you don't do that sort of thing I would pass it by, but for all the rest of you...I would definitely go get myself a copy.
Back to me --> I know. Trying not to throw in exactly what I think complete with petty thoughts is almost physically painful, but I must restrain myself. They'd just get edited out of the paper anyhow. xD
I did REALLY like this series and to finish up this review I give you a comment from Wonder Duck --Which I just now noticed while scrolling down to see what I'd written on Gemma-- It really sums it up much more nicely than I can. Hopefully she doesn't mind.
DUDE. I love those books! And it's funny, because I had the same reservations as you did when I started reading them. Even the COVER of the book looked cliche, forget the description on the back. But the more I read the more I liked it. Couldn't figure out why at first, but I finally realized after I finished the second book that it's because of the characters. They're REAL girls. They're not all angels with a few token flaws to make them seem like real people. As much as I love the novel, they're not like the girls in Little Women, who do something naughty but always learn the moral at the end of the chapter. They're not always selfless and strong and particularly kind. They do snotty things and make bad decisions, and sometimes I find myself downright disliking them. But that's what makes them REAL. It's what makes them human. I've never met someone who never had a selfish thought or didn't ever do something with selfish intentions. It's the human condition. But even through the hefty character flaws, they still have zest and personality and vulnerability that's relatable. You can still find things to like about them.
--A review that I did for my highschool paper and am now shamelessly posting on here.--
At first glance, A Great and Terrible Beauty appears to be just another cliche book lurking in the Teens section, but if you take out the time to pick it up it's actually worth a read. Gemma is a girl stuck in the Victorian age with the unfortunate afliction of independent thought. After the suicide of her mother she is sent from her home in India to Spence, a boarding school for young ladies, where she has to deal with petty girls and the unwanted attention of an Indian boy who followed her from home. She can also conjure a door of light that leads to a place called the Realms. While there she finds out that she is descended from a line of priestesses that governed the mysterious Realms and is the only one who can restore their secret society called The Order. At every turn there is another reason to question who she trusts and more people waiting to thwart her efforts at harnessing the magic.
The book captures the struggle of being a free spirited woman in a time when society wanted your body and mind both corseted. It also manages to throw in a classic batch of good versus evil in the form of ancient magic. A decent introductory book into the Gemma Doyle trilogy, it's followed up by Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing. Both of which are much better than the first. It's dark and angsty, so if you don't do that sort of thing I would pass it by, but for all the rest of you...I would definitely go get myself a copy.
Back to me --> I know. Trying not to throw in exactly what I think complete with petty thoughts is almost physically painful, but I must restrain myself. They'd just get edited out of the paper anyhow. xD
I did REALLY like this series and to finish up this review I give you a comment from Wonder Duck --Which I just now noticed while scrolling down to see what I'd written on Gemma-- It really sums it up much more nicely than I can. Hopefully she doesn't mind.
DUDE. I love those books! And it's funny, because I had the same reservations as you did when I started reading them. Even the COVER of the book looked cliche, forget the description on the back. But the more I read the more I liked it. Couldn't figure out why at first, but I finally realized after I finished the second book that it's because of the characters. They're REAL girls. They're not all angels with a few token flaws to make them seem like real people. As much as I love the novel, they're not like the girls in Little Women, who do something naughty but always learn the moral at the end of the chapter. They're not always selfless and strong and particularly kind. They do snotty things and make bad decisions, and sometimes I find myself downright disliking them. But that's what makes them REAL. It's what makes them human. I've never met someone who never had a selfish thought or didn't ever do something with selfish intentions. It's the human condition. But even through the hefty character flaws, they still have zest and personality and vulnerability that's relatable. You can still find things to like about them.
Review, Review, Review!
Alright! I've finally decided to sit down and write a review on a couple of books. I really like recommending books I read to other people and then lending them out. Sharing books gives me a warm fuzzy feeling of, " Ah, share the knowledge." --As much knowledge as my predilection for fiction/fantasy allows anyhow.--
It's very unlikely that I will do a review on a book I don't like. I mean, come on, those are easy to find and I've never understood why magazine's/newspaper's write them. The only exception being if I REALLY don't like it and feel it imperative that everyone else avoid it. ;)
It's very unlikely that I will do a review on a book I don't like. I mean, come on, those are easy to find and I've never understood why magazine's/newspaper's write them. The only exception being if I REALLY don't like it and feel it imperative that everyone else avoid it. ;)
