Hilariaously Unoriginal

Ada, I think it was you (or Cerasi?) who mentioned the similarity of a movie that came out last year, No Stings Attached and a new one coming out, Friends With Benefits. 

And here's proof that they are in fact the same movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wYl4RhlI-9A

Too bad they don't combine in the end in some strange Black Swan-y way...  cuz that I might go see.

Doing it Right

There is a huge difference between a passable (bordering on abysmal) book and a wonderful book.  One of the biggest to me is the latter being 30 pages longer, and not notice them.  To say it clearer, I didn't begrudge every page, I swallowed it hole and with it complete, beg for more. 

I just finished reading The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card.  And he's a pretty fantastic writer.  And the book is fantasy.  Which is why it took me less than a fourth of the time to complete it as compared to The Secret of Lost Things.  (I now I have just realized they both have lost in the title,  and I feel like it says something about my subconscious feeling  about this summer...)
Back to the book.  Well-written.  Witty, interesting characters with interesting things happening!  And solid world-building skills (I do love good mythopoeia!).  Really no comparison to the prior book I read.  A nice palate-cleanse.  And more than a welcome relief to be back in the world of good writing. 

And my  minimal Wikipedia research has told me this is the first in a trilogy.  CAN'T WAIT for the next ones!

Ooph.  I feel like I should go through in detail what was right in this book (more or less compared to the other one).  But, it's funny, I almost feel like I don't need to.  The whole thing just clicked.  I guess some writers are just better at getting the important things right.  Maybe they are better storytellers.  Maybe they've worked harder on it.  Maybe they have a better editor. 

Really, one of the most prominent things was that I liked the main character.  Not just that I was supposed to, but I actually did.  I wanted to know more about his magical abilities, about his world.  I was interested.  I know that I am predisposed to like fantasy, it's one of my favorite genres.  But I still feel like Card made me interested as a reader because of his skill as a writer. 

And the other characters were compelling and developed.  Not flat pieces of furniture.

There is more (it's just better on every level).  And if you want me to I can discuss more deeply anything you want me to.  But it's nearly 5:00 and I'm gonna jet work like now.  :)

Brave

Disney/Pixar. Female lead. Helmed by lady. Trailer. 'Nuff said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYg0VgPy6Uk&feature=player_embedded

Doctors Cannot Write

My new job is editing blog posts for the dean's blog. Here is an example of extreme frustration:

Sample:

"As a student, Carolyn first became interested in Oncology because she found connectedness with patients who were at serious risk of dying and would often stay for hours past her regular rotation time talking in a personal way to these patients."

My edit:

"Carolyn first became interested in oncology, when she connected with high risk patients. She would often stay for hours past her regular rotation to talk personally with these patients."

THIS GUY IS THE DEAN OF THE MEDICAL SCHOOL.

Just more proof that writers are not only lovely people, but also NEEDED. This sentence killed me and I am honored in editing the shit out of it. Everyone needs to learn how to write, especially someone in such a high position, or maybe he just needs more cronies like me. Either way GUH!

Inspiration

Okay, so I know we are over a month out of commencement mayhem, but I just discovered this speech. Honestly I cried at the end, because of the idea of the elastic dream. My dream in life has changed so many times its ridiculous. Finally someone has admitted to the idea that dreams cannot just consist of a singular goal. Instead, they change as you age and mature.

My dream of being a ballerina doctor when I was little has shifted to me wanting to work in media now. Dreams are a constant flow and flux penetrated by your surroundings. What were your dreams then and now?

Here is the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmDYXaaT9sA

PS The inspiration comes around 15:00 minutes in.

Best App EVER

I troll a couple of sites regularly.  And today I found an article about a hilarious phone app.  It's the Optimistic Weather Forecast



Just remember: today's weather may be shitty, but tomorrow is gonna be great!

Composing a Photo

I saw this really cool photo series.  Each is a composite picture of a particular place in New York.

Here's the link: Babel Tales

It's so neat that he take tens or hundreds of pictures to get these few that he can divine a theme from.

I especially like these picture taking and posing shots.  It's funny that this place is always (or often enough) somewhere where so many people take pictures.  And looking at people posing in such varied ways without the photographer visible is creepy and hilarious.



And then everyone is flying!

So funny.

Also the world of children:

Lord of the Flies.  AHH!

Anyway, thought it was interesting enough to share.  So enjoy!

Thought You'd Enjoy This

Twice is one day. Terrible, I know. But I thought I'd share this for anyone who hasn't seen it all ready. Love Weird Al sooooo much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss_BmTGv43M&feature=topvideos_music

New Blog!

Hey yall,

Per the suggestion of a lady I met who works in the ad business, I'm starting a new blog that will chronicle my time as an intern.  It's called Shannon the Intern  so follow and enjoy.  Get other people to also follow!  The lady said it might be helpful, sharing what I learn here to other recent graduates, so spread the word!

Video Game Review

So I know that most of you guys don't care about video games at all, but I finished playing L.A. Noire and I want to review it here because I think it's a really good game. I'll try to be brief.

Synopsis

In L.A. Noire you play a ex-Marine and war hero turned detective Cole Phelps. You work on cases, trying to solve mysterious that involve arson, murder, and even drug smuggling. Along the way, you have to come face to face with corruption in both the city and police department while struggling with your own conflicted feelings about your armed service as well as the darkness within yourself.

Gameplay

Simply put, I love playing this game. It's not just a Grand Theft Auto knockoff (it's made by the same company, Rockstar Games). You actually can't kill random civilians or you lose the case. Most of your time is spent your time finding clues and interviewing witnesses. They shot the motion capture for this game twice, once for movement and once for faces, so facial expressions are hyper-realistic and really cool. This is especially great because your witnesses can lie to you, and you have to be able to spot it either from the evidence you've gathered or just based on their expressions alone.

Story

I have conflicted feelings about the overarching story line. L.A. Noire has three discs, and the story really only starts coming together in the last one. The rest of the time you get pieces of your past delivered to you a la wavy green flasbacks which I'm not a fan of because they're so spaced out it's hard to keep them together. You also pick up newspapers to get cut scenes which show you the story line. These take FOREVER to load and, once again, don't make much sense until way late in the game. The ending of this game is also kind of unsatisfying.

Drawbacks

Once again, I love playing this game. It's so much fun. However, I don't love the loading screens which I think are more prominent than usual because of the aforementioned motion capture.

I hate to harp on this all the time, but there are very few female characters. Yes there are women you investigate in the cases, but aside from that there is only one female character in the whole game. On the flip side, there's a lot of domestic abuse in the game (one serial killer strips woman naked and writes derogatory things on them in lipstick). For a time you have this fat, alcoholic asshole for a partner and every time you come across one of these murders he says, "The husband probably did it because the wife drank too much. I know I've taken a swing at one or all of my ex-wives." It gets old really fast.

One other drawback is that it's an expensive game and you can really only play through it once. I mean, you can play the cases again, but you know the answers and how they end.

Sequel?

This is one game where I really hope they make another one. Partly because it was really imaginative and a real departure from most third person shooters set in the city, but also because I think there's a lot of room for improvement in the story telling and loading screen ratio.

Final Word

I love this game. I might actually dish out some money to download new cases, and I never do that. Make me another one. Go universe, go!

Because I'm Very Busy

Doing Very Important Things.

Thought you might enjoy:  Creatures Capturing America's Heart
I know it's always mermaids for you Cylon, but they make an appearance.  And I still love hobbits.

Also check out on the same site The Troublemaker of the Moment
My favorite troublemaker was the Rebel Alliance (which I'm sorry to say, Ada, you won't get).  Also Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. 

And then let's take a trip in time on the best barcrawl of your life.  The high points: The Leaky Cauldron, Paddy's, and (possibly my favorite) Merlotte's.

But really I should get back to my very important work things that I'm doing all the time here.  Very busy.

Job Interview!

Remember yesterday when I was despairing about job hunting? Well, Thursday I have a job interview for a video editing job at a television station. Yay!

I'd all ready applied for this job and then I sent another e-mail to the guy yesterday because I hadn't hear from him, and he said he would give me a call this morning. So last night I didn't sleep, at all. I had a terrible case of insomnia.

Then this morning we talked a little bit, it was kind of pre-interview interview (I thought it was going to be an actual phone interview, so this was a little bit of a relief), and I'm driving into Green Bay to talk to him on Thursday.

I'm super nervous. I probably won't get it because I don't have that much experience with video, but I have a little!

Whether or not I get it, it does make me feel like less of a lazy ass, so there's that. Plus I passed one round of interviews. So, that's a small bit of success!

Hootey Hoo

I've started following photo blog called NY Through a Lens. It is done by a professional photographer, who uploads beautiful photography onto her website. Why I bring this up is that she put up her photo gallery of the Howl! Festival, which is dedicated to the poem and the aesthetic value of poetry. 140 artists get together to make huge murals encircling Tompkins Square Park, where he once resided. Viva La Allen Ginsberg!

Nothing much else to say, so here is the Flickr album:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vivnsect/sets/72157626770424397/

Job Hunt Update

I haven't been doing half the job hunting I should, but that ends today. I've applied to one internship that's only a half an hour away. The person didn't reply so I e-mailed him again. (I was going to call him, but he didn't have an office number on the website and I chickened out, bad me!) I also applied to a part time job and to a temp service. So hopefully one of those should come through soon.

In my defense (there is no defense), this last week has been crazy. We had Paul's graduation party yesterday and a party for the Youth Group Mission the day before that (yes, I realize we're the most white anglo-saxon protestant family and existence), and my dad was gone all week. So my mom had us cleaning the house the whole week. Literally, every single day in the whole week.

Which is fine, but when she gets stressed she starts to exude this nervous energy and it's all she ever talks about. Since my dad was gone and I was the one picking her up every day, I feel like I had to bare a lot of it which, in turn, makes ME stressed and anxious.

But I can't really blame her. I was briefly mad at her because she asked me to mow the lawn and I wasn't going to do it right away and then she said something kind of snippy so I went and did it. (I know, I'm thirteen years old.) But being mad at her is stupid too, because she apologized for being so stressed right away. Oh mom.

But, she was a lot happier yesterday. And I got to see a bunch of our old church members from Watertown which was really nice. Including this eighth grade girl(not my sister) and her college-age brother that me, Em, and Paul were always friends with. She's grown up A LOT since I last saw her. She in eighth grade and she sends me Dr. Who flair on facebook. She has also started putting up, how do you say it, SEXY pictures. Nothing too bad yet, but her mom mentioned she started wearing a bikini. I feel like I should try to mentor her. She's really smart and wants to be a marine biologist (and nerdy me and her family talked about Harry Potter for a half and hour because they're all into it), but she's coming down with a bad case of teenager, if you know what I mean.

So I'm going to send her some nerdy youtube stuff (the TimeLord rock stuff from Charlieissocoolike which only Ada knows what that is). I don't know, maybe I'm just being a prude because god knows I was never remotely sexual in high school. Still, she seems a little young to be posting the Crystal-like pouty lips and camera way up high pictures that she does on occasion (okay, they're not quite that bad, I just wanted to mention Crystal).

Anyway, I am going to be a machine of job hunting for the next two weeks because it is no longer acceptable for me to be unemployed. Love you guys! I'm going on my family reunion soon where I will FINALLY be free of the internet enough to actually read something. So I'll post a book review in a couple of weeks.

Full Review of Secrets

As you may or may not remember, my first comments on The Secret of Lost Things were less than glowing.  Unfortunately, I have no intention of repealing any of those comments.  For a 349 page book, I feel unsatisfied.  I knew when I  bought it, it was a risk, since it was not my usual fantasy genre choice.  And, man, did it whoop me in the ass.

After 4 chapters, I couldn't decide if my inability to get interested was just a slow start or the fact that I give non-fantasy books less of a chance to draw me in.  Well, turns out, it was just a lackluster novel.  Not terribly offensive, just boring.  However, people by offensive, obnoxious, stupid, or disgusting characters. 

I found out at the end in the Author's Notes that she borrowed quotes and stuff from famous authors (Shakespeare, etc.) that her characters said with no reference within the novel.  And some of the random existential commentary was also taken from similar sources.  What the hell? 

There were quotes from and about Melville, but those were all explicitly so. (And the book revolved around a lost manuscript of his, so it made sense..) But the other quotes (and some were given reference, just not all within the book itself) seemed just to be randomly tossed in to beef up the otherwise sleep-inducing tome. 

Lessons learned: 
- write something that is at the very least interesting.
- write interestingly, that is develop some sense of style.  if this proves impossible, write cleanly so that the reader isn't tripped up by errant adverbs or tense switching.
- make the majority (or half?) or your characters likeable or at least understandable in their motive and feelings.  otherwise the reader isn't going to give a damn if the albino is pushed to his death in the middle of the bookstore by the possibly asexual, obsessive compulsive guy who can't relate to real people.
- not all authors from Australia (or whatever country you're currently enthralled with) are worth reading.
- make the reader feel, after completing the entire book,  like they have arrived somewhere, like they have learned something valuable, like they journeyed with the characters.  not like they just wasted their time learning what not to do in their own novel.

SUPER movie review

As we have all been reviewing the various media we've been consuming, I thought I'd let you all know my thoughts on a movies I saw recently: Super 8.  And my thoughts are:

Awesome.

Really.  I liked it a lot.  JJ Abrams and Spielberg were involved, so not a huge surprise but quite a nice little film.  About (what else?) aliens.  Except not really just about aliens.  The kids in this movie were fabulous actors and a joy to watch.  The girl( Elle Fanning maybe?) was really good!  The effects were effective and wrenching, not overdrawn.  And sumbitch, was that a train crash OR WHAT!  I did get E.T. vibes at the end, but I was okay with that.  

Populated with sweet characters that we care about with touching and suspenseful story lines, I think it's worth looking into.

NOTE:  For my fellow HP fans, one of the previews was for the final Harry Potter movie to which afterwards Kaitlyn and I looked at each other breathlessly and said oh hell yes.  Midnight premiere here I come!

What's Going On.

I've been thinking lately about my online identity. Whatever I put on the internet will permanently be in this web of numbers forever. If I put up a photo of my dog, then that photo could be used by someone else without knowing. Do I really want something dear to me to be exploited?

What concerns me even more than pictures are words. What if something I said was taken out of context? What if my boss sees it? As a result I have become thinking cautiously about what message I am sending out to the world.

Words that I use could be the beginning and end of my career. Recently I haven't been online much as a result of working from 8:30-5:00 M-F, studying math from 6:00-9:00, vocab flashcards from 9:00-10:00, then email, movie, reading then sleep. On weekends Saturday from 9:00-12:00 is cleaning and catching up on my blogs/readings, 12:00-5:00 is reading and doing vocab homework. Sunday is the only day I completely have free except that I have to go into work this weekend for another project.

Being online so little, work doesn't count, has resulted in me thinking about what I am being left out of. I am not being left out of anything at all. Maybe little things like inside jokes and YouTube videos are being missed out on, but honestly I don't really care anymore. In college I was on the internet all the time for work, school and friendships. Facebook, Vimeo, Netflix were some of the keystones of my excessive free time used other than for studying/work. Now that I am working full time and lack any sort of free time I feel more free than ever.

I miss school terribly and hopefully will be moving away from my parents in August, but I still feel more free than I ever did before. People count on me at my workplace to do well in my projects for the sake of the company. Soon I will have a math tutor who will give me homework and guidance on top of that to do well on a test. I have not felt this free since I walked on the streets of Beijing alone or fooled in the alleys of Bedford with my cousin Maria 15 years ago.

Honestly I have been severely depressed for the past month, because of other things going on in my life that I do not wish to discuss on the internet. Now that I have something to do, in essence achieve, there is more to life than the little things I do on the internet. If I put up a picture of my dog, why shouldn't someone else use it to say how cute she is? I give myself the liberty to do what I want with my online identity.

Maybe to realize that I should stop caring what others do is maturity? Maybe no longer caring about my online footprint is some sort of revelation?

AlJazeera is doing a series on London's West End theaters, which is fabulous and makes want to live in London, for they seem to be doing something extremely creative.

As always, here is a YouTube clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDycZH0CA4I

Sidewalk Sale?

I logged into facebook today to find that Lorenz was having a sidewalk sale. I find that interesting considering I'm pretty sure they still don't have a store. Even if they do, I like to pretend to their "new location" is just Allya's old boss crouching on a street corner with a bunch of knock-off Jimmy Choos on a burlap sack she can just pick up when the cops come. That image gives me a great amount of satisfaction.

Softly Chirping

~ A collaborative poem, written by Allya, Cerasi, and Cylon some time ago

Seashells on my towel
       bleed out into the
       grass
Spread your wings
       and
       fall on your feathers
Catch the sunlight
       wind and brightness
       burst
Blades of grass
       cool, soft on
       the backs of my calves
A child stops, stares
      looks at me, college graduate
      in repose
They remind me of little suns
      whereas I am a dead star
      they are like gardenias on fire
I can remember the pain of being so
      young
      but it's hard not to envy them.
To envoy is brevity
      soft chirps above
     bleeding children on the ground
The battle is won
     nature is gone
     soft chips above
Purses full of degrees
     pockets full of bombs
     nature is gone, soft chirps above

Who Runs The World?

So I found this article in the Nytimes about how women politicians don't have sex scandals anywhere near as often as men. The gist of it is that women get into politics for different reasons than men. Mostly, women get into politics because they care about an issue and men get into politics because they want to be somebody. Isn't that terrible? I don't want ANYONE in politics that's just being there to be there.

It also said that women were possibly cleverer at not getting caught. The point I mostly want to make is that women are awesome and there should be more of them in politics. Because men are all stupid. (That's not true. It's just fun to say sometimes.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/weekinreview/12women.html?pagewanted=1&ref=us

An Author I Want to Emulate

Jonathan Stroud.

Awesome guy.  Actually English.  Has written my favorite character in all of literature:  Bartimaeus.  Cerasi already knows this guy (author and character), but when she asked for book recommendations it had to be his other novel "Heroes of the Valley".  It's a one book deal, unlike his other (FABULOUS)  Bartimaeus trilogy: The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem's Eye, and Ptolemy's Gate.  And (BONUS!) he's written another Bart book called The Ring of Solomon, which I didn't know about until I went on his website the other day. 

Which if you wanna visit yourself is: www.jonathanstroud.com

But I'll hit the high points here, since this guy is awesome, and I just fully realized his awesomeness by visiting his site.  To preface, I have not really googled any of my other favorite authors before or visited their websites.  Like not even Rowling.  (Though I have read and watched interviews of her..)  So doing this sort of 'research' is new to me.  Well, I just went looking for the title of the book I wanted to recommend Cerasi, and found Stroud's site.  He has some lovely things to say. 

Perhaps most relevant to all of us is the FAQs section.  He answers how does one become a published author.  He gives four pieces of advice.  (One of which I know Ada will be MOST interested in!)
    -  practice         "Write as much and as often as possible."
    -  experiment   "Try as many different kinds of writing as you can"
    -  read               "As above – as much and as widely as you can."
    -  persevere       "(i.) Don't be disheartened by ideas and projects that don't work out. I've got zillions     of half-finished things in boxes, assembled over many years. Individually they may not have been any good, but together they pushed me in the right direction.

(ii.) When you're confident you've got something worth showing, send your material to several publishers at once, so you don't waste time if it's rejected. But check to make sure these publishers actually do the kind of book you're proposing! Don't worry if you get rejections, but listen to any advice."

 

See Ada, proof that Andres can suck it: a published, experienced, quality author says to experiment.  Wonder of wonders.

Also, he graduated as an English major.  Also with no idea of what he wanted to do.  Heartening.

He said that it takes him an average of a year to punch out a book like The Amulet of Samarkand.  Stroud has this funny section that details a typical day for him as a writer.  NOTE:  his goal is to write 5 pages a day/ 25 pages a week.  When you think about it, not super fast.  I doubt though, that I could just start punching out a novel like this any time soon.  However, maybe 10 pages a week?  That's only 2 pages a day.  Doable, I think.  So, I'm going to have a real go at getting some work done on Chronicles of an Escape Artist. 

Another thing he said, that should be comforting to us as fledgling writers, in response to what is he working on now: "I can't tell you yet. It's too early. When a book is just being started, it's weak and feeble and needs to be protected. So I keep it very close to me, while it gathers strength. With luck one day it'll be sturdy enough to send out into the wider world!"  

We may not have stuff that we feel can show to the world, but that's ok.  So does every author, even published ones. 

I just love this guy and everything he has to say about writing, because it really comforts me coming from someone I want to write like.  Not exactly like, mind you, but in the fantasy genre with interesting, developed and hilarious characters.  With intriguing plots and solid style (especially with Bartimaeus).  I encourage you to check him out.  Start with The Amulet of Samarkand.  If you don't laugh within the first 10  5 pages,  I'll buy you lunch.  

And then we need to re-evaluate our friendship.  

Been Busy (No Really)

Hey there you POWers. I've been away from the computer for the past four days or so since I took a trip down to see Elizabeth and then babysat for a couple of days while my parents and some members of our church put on a play for the United Church of Christ conference.

My thoughts from my various adventures, in short.

1. I want a kid a little bit. Babysitting Kellen (almost 5 yrs) and Nevin (3 yrs) has been a lot of fun. They're into dinosaurs and super hero movies, and Nevin has this little African American baby doll he carries around with him that he calls "Dadou." It's so goddamn adorable I can hardly stand it. I kind of want a son. Not that I wouldn't love to have a daughter to (at least one of each would be perfect), but I want to hold my own little boy in my arms some day. Is that wrong?

2. Elizabeth is awesome. We went out to bars in Jefferson (where I didn't pay for a drink all night between Elizabeth, her friend Chantel, and a bartender that Chantel knew that got us free drinks). We also watched Dr. Who, played with her dogs, and sang through the song book for both Wicked and Beauty in the Beast. She was trying to get me to sing harmony on "For Good" (From Wicked) which is a hard song and I don't know it! IT'S NOT HAPPENING ELIZABETH.

3. I'm not over Will, but it's getting better. I talked to Elizabeth about Will (poor Elizabeth had to sit through that), and I realize that it comes and goes. Sometimes I feel really sad about it. Sometimes I have these crazy fantasies where he drives up to Appleton to tell me that he loves me and he was soon wrong to treat me how I did . . . and then I kick him out on his ass and tell him he's not good enough for me. (That's the best part of the fantasy.) However, the strongest feeling of them all is this profound sense of relief. I'm just so glad to not be in that relationship anymore. I never have to listen to him talk about how great Street Fighter/Arnold Schwarzenegger/Megadeth/etc. is ever again. Which is a relief.

4. I love my siblings. Last night my parents were still at the conference so Emily, Josh (Em's bf), Paul, and I all played cribagge while everyone but me was drinking. Paul got drunk, for the first time ever. When we played Apples to Apples he kept playing the card "penguins" over and over again. Then I told him he would never win with the card "bongos" so when he got a create-your-own-card when Josh was judging he put down bongos. This probably sounds really stupid and irresponsible, but it was funny at the time. I'm probably a terrible big sister, but I can't stop my siblings from doing anything.

Anyway, that's enough of my life for now. I love and miss you all so much it hurts. I'm so happy this blog lets me hear about your lives.

I will leave you with something that Elizabeth said to me when we were drinking wine in her basement and I was talking about Will. There's a quote from the movie Ever After that goes, "A bird may love a fish, but where would they live?" She offered this alternative to me.

"A bird may love a fish, but what will they talk about when that fish is a robot?"

- <3 Cerasi

Return from Silence

Lovely ladies I miss you very much!

Sorry I have been so absent from the blog, but I have had troubles with the internet ever since I got home from IC and the internet completely went out on Tuesday. I just got internet back today after two hours on the phone (ugh!) with tech support and a new router. Also, the reception where I live sucks, so the most I can get here is two bars, but mostly I have to get away from my house to get reception, so sorry for the missed texts.

I start my internship Monday, so I can finally have some structure to my day. Unfortunately most of my friends here have moved away, have kids, or I do not speak to them anymore. Most of my days are spent reading books and watching films. My brother is somewhat of a comfort, but soon I am going to talk to my parents about moving away, maybe even to Boston, although I am leaning more towards IC currently. The stress of living at home with no friends and nowhere to go has gotten to me. I have unfortunately become accustomed to late night conversations with friends, sidewalks and entertaining community activities. For shame.

Tomorrow I will look over your blog posts and write my comments.

Sorry if this note is poorly written. Here is my apologies in the form of a funny YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bTbAsmPOKo

Sketch: Shiver

I realize I am taking over the blog.... 

So here's an explanation of this piece and a disclaimer:  I know I said I don't write fan-fiction, and really I haven't.  This could be considered such, but really it's because I found the treatment and usage of this character to be seriously lacking.  I expected so much more out of this character, and I thought it was there.  The author just didn't take him far enough.  This is a small sketch of him, when I liked him best.  (That would be tortured... and muscular.  Cerasi, I know you can appreciate this.)

As for the disclaimer: Cylon, you might not get it.  But that's your own damn fault for not reading.

Shiver

Book People

 Found this, thought you might be interested:

A Physical Archive of the World's Books

For what it's worth, I think we should archive them.  All of them.  Well, except Twilight, that doesn't have to be included... Ok, I guess if we are collecting all books ever published, we would have to.  But it would have to be made example of:  a large sign saying "write anything but shit like this, if you want anyone else to read it."

This has brought up another issue in my mind - would there (could there) be censorship in this archive?  In any future archive?  Maybe the curator just didn't like the book, or more dangerously, did not agree with it's message?  Do we (can we) save all literature?  How much is enough for preservation purposes?

No answers.  Just questions I hope we don't have to answer.  At least not soon.

Status Update from Madison Ave

So everything should be going swimmingly right?  I should be so pleased with myself now.  And it's not that I'm not pleased or happy that I'm psuedo-employed, but I don't feel challenged enough.  I've answered phones and posted mail for the past five working days.  I have not been given any creative prompts, projects, or plans (though I have asked, numerous times).  They said I would be given something, when something suitable came up for me to work on.  Ok.

But when I signed up for this, it was with the understanding I wouldn't just be answering phones.  And that's all I've been doing.  I'm sure this will change. 

I hope it will.  Professional life aside, I've been watching Mad Men.  Quite lovely.  You know, in a smokey, man-driven, sixties way.  It's all about the men in advertising on MADison Avenue- hence the name of the show.  I haven't finished the first season yet, but I'll give full review once I do.  It's interesting how women (and blacks and Jews and....) were boxed into particular roles even if they did work.  There's a guy talking about who writes copy and he says "Yeah, even some women write copy, but you can always tell.  It's usually not as good..."  or something to that effect. 

Guess I would have counted myself lucky to have the position I do now, if were the sixties.  I'm gonna call it - I'm REALLY GLAD it's not. 

The List

This is the first time I've been single in a VERY LONG TIME, and even though I'm not ready to date yet, I do want to think about what I really want from a potential partner. Just as a kind of way to clear my head. So I've made a list below (I'm sorry, this is personal and not creative) and separated it into my wants and my needs.

I'd love to hear your lists as well if you feel so moved to post below. :) Here we go.

Needs:

Stability-Watching my sister date a lot of bipolar people makes me realize that it's hard to date someone who can't take care of themselves. Everyone has problems, and I don't mind dealing with problems, but I want someone who is capable of helping me back.

Humor- Someone who gets my humor, who can make me laugh, and who I can make me laugh. I don't know why this isn't higher on other people's lists. It's so important.

Having Conversations, Not Arguments- This is probably the most important on the list. Especially after my time with Will "Guitar Hero is Just as Hard as Playing Guitar" Roberts. Sometimes when I bring something up I just think it's an interesting idea. I don't want to go on trial for it.

Emotional Intelligence- Someone not actively try to repress their emotions would be just fantastic.

Nerdy- At least in some way. It would be hard to date a non-nerd, I think.

SEX DRIVE- I am not kidding. For serious. Let's get on that.

Can Say They Love Me- 'Nuff said.

Patient/Caring Lover- I want someone that's willing to put in the time to make a good sexual relationship work. I also want someone that makes me feel secure.

Affectionate/Good with Moderate Amounts of PDA- I'm Greek, okay. We hug and kiss people all the time. I want someone who wants to hold hands with me in public. (Looking at you Will.)

Cool with Religion (also atheism)- I realize this one is insane. My experience with Jackson The Shouty Militant Atheist has taught me that I just don't have time for people that believe Christians are self righteous bigots. However, I'm also an atheist and don't want to be converted. So . . . I guess that'll be a tough one.

Cares About Social Issues- They don't have to be Mother Theresa, but I want them to care about the state of the world and its people. Someone who's into news and politics would also be nice.

Socially Liberal- I know this sound hypocritical after I just said open minded, but it would just be too hard to date someone that isn't a social liberal. I think I could be happy with someone who's fiscally conservative, but when it comes to LGBT issues especially I don't want to have to fight with someone all the time about that. It would be tiring.

Sensitive to Women's Rights- They don't have to be a feminist. I would love it, but they don't have to be. However, I don't want someone who's going to tell me a bunch of jokes about women all the time because they know it makes me mad. Even if they're being ironic. I just don't like it.

Likes to Watch Movies/Reads Books- I love watching movies so much. Honestly, it's almost more important to me than the book reading thing which is sad I know it. We have to be able to watch movies together otherwise the relationship just won't work.

Wants:

Likes to Dance/Sing- Will didn't like to dance and it always made me so sad. I'm not much of a dancer, but I still love to do it.

Romantic- Just a little. On anniversaries and Valentine's Day is enough. A bouquet of flowers and a card isn't too much to ask for once a year, is it?

Plays Video Games- this is less important than movies, but it would still be nice if they were interested in video games.

Does Something Creative- They don't have to write (I think it would be fascinating/hellish to date another writer, but it's probably better if I don't), but it would be nice if they played an instrument, painted, did wood shop, something.

Can Cook- Okay, this is hypocritical because I am not a fantastic cook. But I would learn. What can I say, I love a man that can cook.

Must Have (Surprise Third Category!):

I'm a Priority- This last one is the big thing I realized was missing from my relationship with Will. I don't want someone who tolerates having me around. I want someone who wants me around them. Who begs to have more time with me. Who misses me when I'm away. When I was talking to my mom, she figured out a good word for it; cherished. I want someone who cherishes me.

I think I deserve that much.

A partial review of Secrets

Ahoy, mates.  The time has come to discuss what I’ve been reading for the start of this summer.  It’s a doozy.  Ok, not actually, but I had to read a hundred pages to figure out how I felt about it – I’m gonna call it – not a good sign.  It’s The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay.  She’s an Australian and has lived in New York, which give credence to this tale about an 18-year old Tasmanian who is thrust alone into the Big Apple itself and finds an enormous, maze-like bookstore to work in.  Oh, and within the first chapter or so, her mom dies.  (She had only been raised by her mother, because her father – I believe – impregnated her and jetted.) Anyway, in Tazzie she lived with her mother’s only friend a bookstore owner… blah blah and Rosemary is randomly shipped off to New York. 

This is my first problem:  why in the hell does she have to go so freaking far away?  A story in Sydney would have been just as interesting, right?  Whatever, she is utterly alone in the big city, which is fine with her because the anonymity is preferable to the small-town nosiness she experienced in Tasmania.  Ok, but you’re literally a world away from everything and everyone you know. The molten core of the earth separates you.  And she’s is ok with this probably permanent arrangement?  WHY?

            Second problem: she had no friends there.  NONE.  No kid her own age was even mentioned.  Huh?  She went to school, but her mom ‘discouraged’ her from making friends.  (WHAT?)  Because they would be curious about where the hell her father is and might think her mom is a whore or whatever.  So no friends?  That’s the best remedy for this?  Stellar parenting, really.

            Third, not really problem, but weird thing:  she carries around her dead mom’s ashes.  Like took them to New York in a box, and continues to talk to them whenever she’s in her room.  I’m all for talking to dead parents, like at their graves and instead of praying or something, but actually TALKING, carrying on a conversation because you’re alone in NYC and don’t have friends… this is sad. 

            Ok, four:  she is totes hot for this guy at the bookstore, who was described attractively (like he sounds boink-able to me, I mean, I know I’d be thinking about it, but that’s me… as you all know)  But she reserves him as unattainable and throws all her desires his way, so that she doesn’t act on any of them.  She’s a little guy-shy anyway, oh and this guy, Oscar, is a super douche and creepy.  (Not as creepy as the albino that works there too, and has the hots for her… ahhhh)  Back to my point, she even observes, Oscar could be vicious and cannot connect to people properly.  Quite the excellent crush, huh?  Anyway, her pining is obnoxious.

            Five:  her character might be obnoxious too.  Again, I can’t really decide yet.  It took me awhile to firm up my opinions on the book itself: it’s ok, nothing fantastic, but not crap.  Perhaps on par with my writing ability.  

            Six:  tense.  I have nothing against past tense, especially in a novel, but in this book its getting to me.  I think time in general is not properly managed on a writing (words, as in quite basic) level.  It starts with, “This story begins before I was born…” which isn’t terribly offensive, just set up in a weird time to me.  She is remembering these things, but I’m not sure what point she’s remembering them from.  Distant future, when she’s old?  Sometime within the scope of the book?  That aside, some passage I read recently slipped into present tense.  What the hell?  It was general and some sort of summary of life and happenstance or whatever, not action, which would have been a grievous mistake, but still.  Also, the passage was unnecessary in general.  Summaries about (the author’s?) beliefs or realizations about fate and shit are boring.  Show me.  Make me believe it. 

            Seven:  (I’m sorry this is so long, but I guess it’s better than devoting the time to reading the whole thing…)  Show don’t tell.  I feel like there’s a lot of telling.  And I know some telling is necessary, maybe balance show and tell would have been a better phrase for the writing workshops to pound into my head… but I noticed there was a lot of telling in the first few chapters (which I found acceptable at the beginning of a novel) but it has stayed within the story as I go along.  Kind of annoying.

            Good things:  (By now you might be wondering if there are any, and there are, faithful reader!)  Pearl, a pre-op trani – so lovely, but not enough of her as far as I’ve read.  Herman Melville (I guess, he’s mentioned a lot and I feel like he will become more important since some manuscript of his is supposed to pop up and create drama –said back cover) because I have actually read some of him.  The bookstore – it’s a monster, and FULL of books!  Lillian – the spicy South American who sits at the counter where Rosemary lives, their interchanges are always interesting.  Hmmm, that’s shorter than I expected. 

                       

            Well, there ya are.  I’ve got 250 more pages, I’ll see if I change my mind on any accounts. 

Etc. And Some Drunken Poetry

I'm sitting in a Perkins at 1 a.m. For those of you who don't know what a Perkins is (which might be all of you, it's a pretty region specific thing) it's kind of like a George Webb. (Hahah, that's a chain that's only in Wisconsin. I crack myself up.)

Now that I know that it's open 24 hours a day I think I've found a place to do some late night writing. I found some old poetry that I wrote when I was drunk and I'm going to share it because I think it says a lot about all the poetry I write when I'm drunk.

Hope you guys are well. Miss you constantly.

It Hurts

Nothing more than drunken poetry

revelations from an altered state.

I see all options,

I see God, I see the Universe,

even if I can't find my way to the bathroom,

I am sketching out the numbers on my eyelids

that will help me find you again.

And I see the way the insides of my cells pour out,

when I am in an altered state,

the galaxy is suddenly in the palm of my hand,

and nothing is as clear to me as when

nothing is clear to me

little bits of fuzz cloud my vision and

no amount of space is set.

Iowa City is full of drunken revelations,

bits of knowledge brought back from an altered state

saying we are gods,

or men,

or amazing

or following brass deities of capitalism.

and I am so in love,

I am, I am so,

I am so in love,

with absolutely everything,

that it hurts.