My friend in plaid (life and times v)

(Oh, yes, I'm back already.)

• Listening to a lot of Owl City and Hvorostovsky today...trying to purge my mind from that wretched Britpop documentary we had to watch yesterday.  If anything would make me definitely not want to do drugs, it is that show, so bravo for that.
• Ten minute presentation next week, hooray.  I'm cool with public speaking, but my presentations are always dull - poor, poor audience. 
• I can't wait for Christmas.
• My sibs and I are on season 6 of Star Trek Next Generation.  We started with S3 (per recommendation of Amazon reviews), and while it became my brother's instant fave, I didn't warm up to it until the end of S3, with the appearance of the Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds".  Since then, I've been able to take it seriously and accept the new Enterprise.  In fact, I'm starting to like it better than TOS, would you believe. 
• Been reading Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables as well.  I like Holgrave and Hepzibah.  I feel like I ought to like Phoebe, too, but she's borderline Mary Sue.  At a glance, she's a lot like Hilda from The Marble Faun, but Hilda is a real loner, a little more human and credible.  It's one of those instances in which an author's character evolves and is perfected in a later version (e.g. John Thurston, Sherlock Holmes).
• I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! 

Read More

Hiatus

{I'm going to try to take a break from the blogging world (though will probably change my mind tomorrow).  Nothing major or personal; I just need to switch focus for a bit, maybe catch up on my reading list.  Good-bye, for the time being!}

Read More

When Not to Read

Excellent post over at Thoughts of a Shieldmaiden today - be sure to read it if you have a couple minutes. 

I'm really tired of all this rot about "reading levels" and such.  There's too often a temptation to pair reading level with content, and so parents leave it to schools, publishers, and other individuals (with their own agenda) to decide what is appropriate reading.  Of course, "appropriate" translates to anything that pushes the boundary without exactly going over it.  (I don't mind getting specific - I find it ironic that Twilight was lauded for being a "chaste" series, and yet the author's response to the Fifty Shades fanfic was "not my thing, but that's great!")

So....authors have a little bit of responsibility, too.  It would be nice to sit back and believe that YA books will be read by the right audience, but if you've ever been a bookworm, you know that kids who like to read will graduate to the next "level" as soon as they can.  On top of that, younger children want to be part of the same fandoms that their older siblings enjoy.  I'm not saying that some "darker" books don't have a place, but I would advocate getting rid of the YA category and placing books with darker themes in the grown-ups' category.  In the meantime, while we still have this gray-area YA variety, it's worth keeping in mind that somebody very young could end up reading your book, perhaps per the recommendation of their librarian (it happens).

Read More

History homework and The Hobbit

I just finished the rough draft of my history essay (topic: emancipation of the Russian serfs).  Eight pages wouldn't have taken long, if it weren't for the research and footnotes.  You know, that pocket guide book is everything it says on the tin!  The internet helps, though.  Also very grateful to my English 101 professor - outlining has worked wonders ever since.  Now if he'd only taught us Chicago instead of MLA...ah well, it doesn't hurt to know both!

Remember Zola, Ishiguro, and Forster?  It turns out that my elective course for next quarter (early American arts/lit/music/etc.), includes Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables as required reading.  So that will be four books total from my (official and unofficial) reading lists. I approve.

It's just as well, because all the reading I've been making time for is The Hobbit.  Did you hear tickets for it have already outsold Skyfall and Breaking Dawn pt 2?!!  There's still hope for society (if just barely).  I think the only thing I will "dislike" about the first movie is seeing it come to an end, most likely before Mirkwood. 

This is my second read through the book.  I'm not very well-read when it comes to Tolkien - is there any indication, in any of his writings, that Smaug is another version of Sauron?  Because The Hobbit reminds me a bit of Genesis, in that there's a serpent-like dragon and Bilbo goes from being an innocent hobbit to a ring-bearer, soon to be corrupted.  Maybe it's just me...   On another note, Richard Armitage will be amazing as Thorin, of that I am convinced.  It's fascinating to see how the treasure, more particularly the Arkenstone, reverts the relationship between Bilbo and the dwarves back to one of dislike, and imminent distrust.  Movie-firsters will be in for a shock, that's for sure!

One more thing - Tolkien was very smart and careful not to make the Ring as a "means justify the ends" tool, as many fantasy authors would.  With Boromir, he clearly illustrated that that is unacceptable.  Bilbo, on the other hand, is unaware that the Ring is evil (though Gollum ought to have given him the hint, lol).

Read More

Let's talk forever just to past the time

It's taken me some time, searching for a new calendar, to realize next year isn't 2012.  This has felt like one of the shortest years of my life, which means I am getting old. 

The election and my cold threw my writing schedule off - the last week has been all about taking naps and staying glued to the internet.  Now, both are about over, and fall quarter is getting close to finished.  Life might not run in circles, but it seems like it's come full circle.  I've had to rethink and deal with stuff from what seems like a long time ago, actually not long at all in the bigger notion of things.  I've started to take some comfort in the thought that years are short.  Of course, it means every new year makes the past further away, but it also makes it closer in memory.

I'm a nostalgic person by nature, never thought about my future as much as most people do.  This could seem like a disadvantage, but it can be quite liberating.  Every time something you've dreamed about comes true, you feel encouraged.  It was a dream, not a plan; plans are good at falling flat or short of expectations.  If your dreams stay dreams only, then at least you haven't lost anything.. 

© Bob Gutowski

Even at this age, I am no closer to being like everybody else than I ever have been.  It makes me smile to see how society promotes individuality, when it really doesn't.  If you are really intent on being yourself and following God, there's few that would back you up, and even fewer who understand.  And I, in my weakness, always want to run for human help whenever I feel really alone - that's the hardest thing to get over.

Following God wholeheartedly is always worth it, though.  It doesn't matter whether your best plans are flawless or pitiful; if you're willing to be stubborn about following Him, He will watch out for you, through depression and apathy and every evil.  He'll give you the strength you need to be true to Him.

Read More

Ready to be Ridiculously Happy?

Woke up to find this on Adam Young's blog.  Hope it makes it to his next album!

Read More

The Remains of the Day (1993) movie review

This is a deceptively simple story about an English guy, Mr. Stevens, who goes on his first-ever road trip in the English countryside.  Mr. Stevens is the butler of Darlington Hall, once a center for low-profile international meetings during the Inter-War Era.  As he looks forward to a reunion with Darlington's former housekeeper, Miss Kenton, he begins to examine his past and his life's question: "What is a great butler?"

I read the book for school, and while I like this movie better, it is really, really close to the book.  There was only one major change (the identity of the new owner of Darlington Hall), which was added for extra irony.  I'm not sure how the flashbacks worked for movie-firsters, but they seemed to be portrayed smoothly and clearly.  Cinematography was excellent, music was good, and the casting of Anthony Hopkins as Stevens and Emma Thompson as Miss Kenton was brilliant.

So, if it follows the book, why is the movie better?  To me, it was the fact that Mr. Stevens translates better to screen, than first-person narration.  In the book, Mr. Stevens came across as a bit neurotic and self-centered, constantly worried about himself.  On screen, Mr. Stevens is a really noble character, very loyal and self-sacrificing.  Perhaps he was this way in the book, and maybe it was the first-person perspective that ruined it.

Also, while the romantic subplot seemed to me to be the focus of the book, it was the political subplot that stole the show in the film.  The conflict of good intentions vs. reality, coupled with Mr. Stevens's point-of-view, was just heartbreaking.  (They omitted the part where he dismisses democracy, too, so that was interesting.)

At the end of the movie, you've got to ask yourself "why????" and be prepared for a debate.  One thing my mom and I agreed on was that Darlington Hall, in itself, limited Mr. Stevens's personal life, because of its particular prestige.  Unlike Baskerville Hall, for example, where things are more relaxed. 

The movie is rated PG for "themes," which is quite baffling to me.  I don't recall any objectionable content, unless you count kissing and smoking.  Probably, it was rated PG because it is a "boring" movie with very little action, and you have to understand the dialogue in order to appreciate it.  4 out of 5 stars as a movie, and 5 out of 5 stars as an adaptation.  Great movie for costume drama fans and history enthusiasts.

Read More

Happiness and Optimism

• My sister has so kindly agreed to go with me to see a Met Opera Live in HD production for my birthday!!!  Not just any opera, but Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masquerade Ball) with Dmitri Hvorostovsky!  I AM SO KEYED UP.  It's on December 8, at the movie theater, and as my birthday falls during the extended Christmas season, the timing is quite timely.  ❤  I'm not very familiar with this opera, but Verdi and Hvorostovsky is always great music (who cares whether or not he's considered a "Verdian baritone"--I mean, he's Hvorostovsky!). And it's much more fun to go with somebody than by myself!
• My dad tutored me in Java programming today, and I finished the (beastly) classic Pig Latin problem!  Don't laugh...it caused me over a week of grief...I'm so grateful for Dad's patience and help!  That means tomorrow afternoon I can (with a clear conscience) work on my history essay AND FILL OUT MY BALLOT!!!!   

DID I MENTION I GET TO VOTE?!?!

I have a feeling it's going to be an awesome week.

Read More