sundry thoughts

Goal for the weekend: to finish my Spanish homework so that I can watch "Sherlock".  The soundtrack is pretty cool:




We have a Spanish test this next week, and a Spanish composition (rough draft) due this week.  Lots to look forward to.

* * *

Long-term goal:  to finish the research for my historical fiction book (first of a series) by August 2011 (if not sooner, but that seems doubtful). I'm aiming for a more serious, intense, and readable book, compared to previous stuff I've written.  The number one thing I want to avoid is letting it get melodramatic.  And this time, I don't plan to begin writing it until I know exactly what the characters are like.

Things I've learned recently:

• Writing for an audience/age-range is a must, if I want my book to have any relevance.
• Even plot-driven books can suffer from mediocre characters...
• ...and in the same vein, characters (and real people) have motives.  I have to figure out why they are bad, good, heroic, annoying, etc.
• I'm not very good at ending chapters, so I should outline them first.
•  Short, momentous conversations work better in short stories or films, than in novels.

Speaking of writing, I got my story request for the FicSwap 2010 event!  :)  It's an excellent story request, and I'm looking forward to writing it...

* * *

I'm currently learning Danse Macabre, arranged for violin and piano.  (The title sounds sinister, but the song itself really isn't scary.)  It's one of those short, elaborate, encore-style pieces, and has some great melodies. 

I think for my next violin piece, I would love to learn "Melodie", by Tchaikovsky.  It's the perfect song to listen to on rainy days:



As a piece of Sherlockian trivia, this song was used in the computer game Sherlock Holmes:  The Secret of the Silver Earring (which is a great game, by the way!).

* * *

The Celtic Thunder Christmas CD is waiting to be picked up at the library, so maybe I'll be posting about that soon.  :)  I can hardly believe Christmas is only a couple of months away.  I guess I should start thinking about buying Christmas presents and cards...     

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Concerning the blog button

You might have noticed that my blog button has disappeared from your blog/website.  I decided to take the old one down; and so as soon as I make a new one, I will post it.  :)

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To read:

Beowulf

Version:  Poem. 

Translator: Probably Francis B. Gummere, 1910. (Until the Tolkien translation is published.) I've been referring to BeowulfTranslations.net, an amazing site; and it turns out there are many more translations than I had thought. But I tend to prefer older translations. This other translation, for example, is from 1826, and it's really beautiful: Translation by J. J. Conybeare.

Why:  Beowulf is a classic.  Secondly, I'm hoping to study Old English someday.  Thirdly, Old English is just fascinating.  Looking at it, the words remind you of Latin and English, but they're very different as well.  On the other hand, when you look at an Old English word and then at its Modern English translation, sometimes there will be an obvious similarity.  And then you realize the depth of the history of English.  The differences between old and modern portray the complexity of the language, while those words that have not changed much are the ways in which you can truly relate to the writers of that older language.  And suddenly, they're not just some manuscripts written by medieval authors, but meaningful words written by real people.  Of course, they always were; but it is easier to know that when you can see a connection between the language they used and the language we use now.

Sorry, I didn't mean for that paragraph to be so long.  ;)  It's a highly interesting topic to me, though.  It's also sad to hear people talk about English as if it's an inferior language, as they sometimes do.

When:  Soon, hopefully.

Why I have not read it before:  I used to think of Beowulf with great timidity, as if it was somehow more vastly aloof than Shakespeare.  Not anymore.  Maybe Moby-Dick has inflated my self-confidence. ;)  Or maybe not.  I haven't yet read The Children of Hurin it its entirety, or even attempted The Scarlet Letter, so I still have a long ways to go.  :P

 * * *

If you have read Beowulf, what did you think of it?

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Real Hobbit casting news!

From TheOneRing.net:  "Meet Your Hobbit Cast"!!!!!!  What do you think of it?

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One day...

...orchestral sheet music will be read from an electronic device. The fonts, brightness, and size of music notes will be customizable.  The concertmaster himself will be able edit all the violinists' bowings simultaneously, via wireless connection to each electronic device.  Page turns will be operated with a simple tap of the musician's foot.  Dynamic markings will glow red as the electronic device determines whether you are playing quietly enough...or not. 

Until then, page turns are left to Marian, who finds them exceedingly awkward.  Real books are all very well.  Real sheet music is quite another thing.

If there is one thing better than playing in a live orchestra, it is hearing a live orchestra.  The music doesn't sound the way it should unless you are in the audience's shoes.  And it is much more relaxing to be a member of the audience.  Especially when it comes to those moments when you are playing at a rate of more than 2,160 notes an hour, or more than 8 notes per second.

As Mr Rochester says, "arithmetic, you see, is useful".

* * *

This summer I found a very pretty piece of fabric.  It's red and has a lovely pattern on it that imitates embroidery or something similar.  I'm going to make an 11 1/2 inch doll dress with it, but this time it will be Baroque, early to mid-1700s style, sort of like this 1740s gown.  I've never sewn something from that era, so it's about time!  :)  I'm really looking forward to sewing it, during Christmas break.

Apart from homework and other nice stuff like that, I've been working on one of those stories that you write without a definite plot outline in mind.  I really don't even know how it's going to end, or how long it will be.  And already one of the characters has turned out to be vastly more eccentric than I had imagined.  I've been experimenting with present tense, so that most of the description is in present tense and the dialogue/action is in past tense.  It actually sounds far less awkward than it sounds.  :)  I've also been writing poetry.  I usually write it when something's bothering me, and it's interesting to see how easy it is to write in rhyme when you're not feeling well. Writing poetry puts me in a better mood, too.

As far as reading goes, I've been reading a somewhat obscure book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, called Beyond the City.  It was written at about the same time he wrote A Study in Scarlet, or thereabouts, and there are definitely similarities to his writing style in the Sherlock Holmes series.  In some ways, Doyle is an underrated writer.  His writing is so efficient, vivid, and interesting.  The dialogue in his books may be the very best I've read.  A great example of how to write fiction.

Speaking of stories, Nina of Wickfield is having a writing event at her blog:  FicSwap 2010.  :)  I don't know yet if I can participate, but it sounds fun!

Do you like writing poetry?  Do you have any special projects planned for Christmas break?  And do you like real sheet music as much as real books?





P. S.  Apologies for the blog design.  I'm still trying to figure out how I want it to look.  :P

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Another New England photo

This one reminds me more of home, though.  At home we have more evergreens than fall trees, so that each glimpse of autumn color, in all its striking solitude, is made even more special.

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LPW: New England

Taken when we were in New Hampshire's White Mountains (I think).  The fall trees were amazing! 

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Arthur

This is one of our rabbits, Arthur; and my brother gets full credit for taking this darling photo.  :)  Arthur (originally King Arthur) is quite a character, and evidently he loves to eat petunias... 

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A new font and a new song

What's your favourite everyday, "academic", creative-writing font?  Mine is Georgia 11px, but my newest fave is Cambria, 15px, which I'm using right now.  It's been around a while, but it's fairly new to me.  :P  Cambria is underrated, in my humble opinion... 

Oh, and I found yet another favourite violin piece!  It's now on my list of songs to learn...



This piece (with orchestra accompaniment) was the encore of a concert we attended recently.  I don't care if a concert is already 2 1/2 hours long...I LOVE encores.  :)  Sometimes they're even better than the concert itself.  At this concert, they also played Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture, which was EPIC.  They played it faster than I'm used to, but it was really cool.  I think a great deal of the depth and detail of a symphony (or overture) is lost in recordings, so it's always interesting to hear orchestral music live. 

School has been keeping me "extraordinarily busy", so my blog posts will be much less frequent and probably impromptu (impromptu!  I don't even like that word, but oh well...).  But hopefully there will be at least twice as many new blog posts when Christmas break comes.  :)  Meanwhile I'll be reading and commenting on blog posts as often as I can!

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Historical costume: Queen Victoria

My first entry for the Historical Costume Inspiration Festival is a doll costume which I have posted about before--the yellow gown Queen Victoria wears to the King's birthday, in The Young Victoria:



I love this film, and I just had to recreate one of the costumes! I had all the fabric and trims for this particular costume, so I was really excited to try sewing it. 






The doll in the photo is actually an 11 1/2 inch Mary Poppins doll.  ;)  The dress uses three different fabrics--yellow fabric, peach-colored overlay fabric, and the lace.  I used different patterns from the Simplicity Museum Collection (to me, these are must-have sewing patterns!); and I tried to make it resemble the original pretty closely, using the fabric/trims I had.  :)  There are things I would do differently next time, but overall it turned out the way I wanted it to. 

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Writing contest!

Just to let you know, Story Weaver is having a writing contest:  Writing Contest: "Exit Scene".  The deadline is the 8th, and the maximum word count is 500.  I don't know yet if I'll have time to participate, but anyone who loves to write should definitely consider it!

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Book Review (short): The Metamorphosis

[let me know if there are typos or anything]

The Metamorphosis

by Franz Kafka

Edition:  LibriVox audiobook (public domain).  This was read by David Barnes, who also recorded Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.  His reading style is easy to listen to (not too slow or too fast or anything), and I highly recommend it. 
My overall rating:  5 out of 5 stars.  This would probably be on my list of must-read's.

"One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug."

When I first considered reading The Metamorphosis, I had mixed feelings about it.  I had heard it was a classic, and I knew the basic plot.  But was it just going to be another one of those dark, melancholy, speculative books with little or no definite meaning?  It's a short book (the LibriVox recording is only about 2 1/2 hours long).  I decided to give it a try and listen to it in the car, on my way to and from school.

The opening sentence above is, I think, far more interesting than a plot summary would be.  Also interesting is the fact that the title of the book is not what you think it is.  In other words, we're never told how Gregor became an insect, nor is his "insect self" the focus of the story.  The real "metamorphosis" in the story isn't about him at all.

Gregor never changes, but the story brings out his character, in lieu of character development.  From start to finish, he comes across as being a very ordinary young man, except for one fact; and that is his extremely selfless, forgiving love for his parents and sister.  Before and after becoming an insect, Gregor puts his family first.  At times he actually forgets his own problems; and instead he dreams of recovery and returning to work to support them, as he had dutifully done before.  He does not constantly pity himself.  In fact, he feels guilty, as if all their problems were a result of his own actions.

I think it is amazing (if not genius) how Kafka was able to take an idea which sounds silly and yet write a very serious and poignant story around it.  Really, though, the focus of the story is not the most unusual aspect (Gregor turning into an insect); but rather, the book is about how people treat Gregor, and each other.  If I were to describe the plot in detail, it would be giving too much away; what I will say, however, is that what this book portrays is very true, disturbingly so. The Samsa family represents a callous, self-centered attitude, something which is selfish even when it is seems to be doing good.  Gregor, innocent though he is, has to pay for it.

The thing to remember is that this isn't just fantasy.  These kinds of things, in essence, really can happen.  It is a depressing story, as I had expected it would be; but its message is so true that I think it's definitely worth reading.  Especially in a world where, unfortunately, people often take a very careless view of human life. 

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