Taylor Talks

New Blog

2011-05-08T22:50:00.000+01:00

Just an FYI for all my followers here:

Due to the need for something resembling an official website, I've moved my blog to tmlunsford.wordpress.com. Come follow me there. I promise I'll be more regular about posting :)

It's Raining Men: Part 3

2011-02-28T08:30:00.000Z

Today, we’re going to look out how many high school girls are portrayed with having SOO many more options than we (or any of our friends) ever had.

Once again, Susan = Italics

Grease: As if the ‘50’s and ‘60’s in America didn’t have enough weird and disturbing things occurring, let’s place this turbulent social and political frenzy as the background to two instances of high school romances gone array, and put the whole stories to music.

Sandy represents everything that a young woman shouldn’t, she actively pursues a boy who clearly uses her for her appearance, and only begins to value her once she morphs into a slut. Classy, Danny. Sandy could have legitimately led an extremely June Cleaver life with the dummy and been moderately happy with his mindless stare, but then she wouldn’t have gotten to fly a convertible in the air at the senior fair (Did anyone even have a senior carnival …ever?). No, the only choice for the magic of celluloid and American dreams was Danny. Who can resist the allure of “Summer Nights” and “Hopelessly Devoted”? Not six year old me…even if I didn’t understand all of the rather appalling sexual innuendoes.

Stephanie in Grease 2 is more of an interesting situation as she begins her life as the rebellious chick in pants and refuses to compromise her desires for the uptight, English hottie, Michael. She has the idiotic Johnny worshipping the ground she walks on, but she chooses to “unconsciously” string him and Michael along as she slowly discovers her own identity beyond the satin pink jacket. Either way, she gets a high school king. Does her “cool rider” requirement make her demandingly bitchy, or somehow better than Danny because of her gender? That’s a question for another day on a different blog. The point is that you really can’t go wrong with upbeat music, swinging dancing, and clean-cut cuties. Grease is still the word.

Glee Girls: While I absolutely adore all of the girls on GLEE (except for uber-bitch Santana), I’m going to focus this particular discussion on somewhat rivals Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray. Quinn originally starts off as the queen bee with all the options. Not only does she have football stud Finn Hudson eating out of the palm of her hand, but she’s pregnant with Noah “Puck” Puckerman’s baby (although she quite untactfully lies about that for most of season 1). Then, once she’s lost Finn and turned down Puck, she finds the adorable Sam (of the abnormally large mouth). But she can’t be happy with just Sam. Oh no. She has to recycle Finn. At least she’s being green, right?

Rachel Berry isn’t the type of girl you’d expect to have options. She obnoxious to an almost scary degree. But that doesn’t stop her from attracting Finn. And Puck (although he seems mostly to enjoy the fact that she is a fellow “Jew”). And the decidedly attractive and talented Vocal Adrenaline star Jesse St. James. Sadly, Jesse’s motives were not pure and he ended up egging the poor Miss Berry. In truth, it seems that showbiz and Finn are the only real Options for Rachel.

Side note: has anyone else noticed how incestuous these GLEE relationships are getting? Oh, wait, it's high school :)

Hermione:

Finally, a true smarty pants heroine who embraces the nerd within and still gets options. Gotta love that. Her guys, though somewhat of a different breed than the guys mentioned previously are nonetheless wonderful for all of their quirks and emotional baggage.

Let’s start out with an honorable mention for the title character of the series, Mr. Harry Potter. While the Boy who Lived and the Girl who Studied never actually started dating, there was the opportunity for such a relationship to develop in the earlier books, but didn’t, to the dismay of some (ME!!!-T). Still, she got to call him a best friend and ally, as well as be the much needed female presence in the trio of adventure buddies around Hogwarts.

Onto an actual boyfriend, enter here the moodily famous Quidditch player, Viktor Krum. He briefly appears in the actual scene of the narrative during the Triwizard Tournament, and takes a shine to our favorite bushy-haired bookworm. While Hermione seems extremely flattered with his invitation to the Yule Ball and his proposal to visit him in Bulgaria, Hermione and her faithful friends know that this is all a small speed bump on the way to Weasley/Granger bliss.

As for our favorite fuddy-duddy ginger, Ron makes his love for Hermione known through his naïvely jealous reactions to Hermione’s interest in Krum, and the good old “tease ‘em ‘til they know that you love ‘em” technique so popular among boys from 11-100. Hermione had options, but there was really only one spaz to balance out the uber smarts of our wunderkind. Weasley is our King!

Tomorrow: Into our comfort zone we go- Literary ladies with options.

It's Raining Men: Part 2

2011-02-27T09:30:00.003Z

Today, we (Susan and I) discuss the bitches who have viable options, but True Love biases them towards one over the other.

Italics= Susan

Bella:

I know, I know. The Twilight Saga has gotten a rather bad…okay, completely atrocious rap, but don’t try and lie by saying that you haven’t either read the books or seen at least one of the movies. Bella, with all of her anti-feminist characteristics and her lack of personality and basic agency (especially in the movies), is presented with two extremely good-looking options who are both desperately in love with her.

Don’t get me wrong, Edward can be an over-protective creeper with serious boundary issues and an over active martyr complex, but he is honest to goodness, quaffed head over sparkly heels in love with Bella. Plus, the guy is LOADED with cash, has a very accepting family, and is a vampire without the icky mythological, soulless issues that Buffy’s fanged friends seemed to have. What’s to hate? I’d be upset if he left me too…if I was seventeen, wasn’t super comfortable with myself, and wasn’t as well-versed in feminist theory as I am.

Now for the werewolf of every preteen girl’s dreams, we’ve reached New Moon’s star, Jacob Black. Exotic, kind, good with cars, not dead, and conveniently present and muscular, Jacob is pretty much the perfect rebound for the absent vampire Romeo. Sadly, we audience members and Bella got used to the easy confidence that a hundred years lends a guy, as well as the eternity of possibilities the Edward presented. Ultimately, the fact that Jacob imprints on Bella and Edward’s oddly named child leads one to believe that wolfie was only attracted to Bella’s ovaries, which is slightly more worrying than Edward’s creeping. Sorry Jacob, Edward’s the guy for Bella…glitter is apparently better than fur, so it’s time to put the dog out.

Meredith Grey: The dark and twisty heroine of Grey’s Anatomy has Options (George, Finn, McSteamy, McDreamy), but despite brief distractions, only one of them is an Option that matters. As for Buffy and Angel, it was and is always going to be Meredith and Derek. First love in this case is the one that is true. Could Meredith have been reasonably happy with George or Finn? Maybe. Probably. But she wouldn’t be completed. Derek (along with being perfectly coiffed, adorably handsome, and a BRAIN SURGEON) gets that she was scary and damaged by her mother’s seriously messed up choices. And after a few obstacles, you know, your standard relationship hurdles: the ex-wife who’s not really ex, almost being blown up by a bomb, being dead for a whole episode, breaking up because you can’t breathe for the person, they get married on a post-it note. And even then, they’ve still got their fair share of problems. But together, they can overcome a hospital wide massacre, a miscarriage and fertility issues. Because True Love conquers all, right?

Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan: The good doctor, while a bit socially inept, attracts a lot of guys. Over the course of the show, she’s dated many attractive men, sometimes two at a time. But the one constant relationship in her life has been Special Agent Seeley Booth. For six seasons now, they’ve been playing the “will they or won’t they” game. Meanwhile, they’ve formed a “surrogate” relationship where Booth and Brennan know more about each other than they do about anyone else. Booth has sacrificed his life numerous times to save Bones and vice versa. Despite Booth’s “gamble” and 7 months separation, compounded by an extremely unlikable girlfriend (Hannah), double B seem to finally be on their way to realizing there’s only one Option: each other.

The Women of the “Who”-niverse: The writers of the new DOCTOR WHO series have made sure that the companions have options to turn to. The first (and in my opinion best) example of this is Rose Tyler. Rose served as companion to Doctors 9 and 10, falling in love with both incarnations. But she had options. If she wanted to, she could have gone back to earth and been relatively happy with the ordinary Mickey Smith. He was more than just a tin dog after all. She and Captain Jack could have at least had a pretty steamy affair. However, when the chips were on the table, it was always the extraordinary Doctor. She sacrificed everything for the Time Lord, even her own reality. And despite the semi-weirdness of the whole cloning factor, she eventually got her man.

Next up in order of favoritism is Gwen Parker of TORCHWOOD. Throughout the series, Gwen has an ongoing relationship with Rhys and eventually marries him. Poor schmuck is the only normal element in the girl’s life. In the Hub, she has to deal with a lot of scary-ass aliens, not to mention a co-worker (who she briefly dated) who is brought back from the dead and Captain Jack Harkness, former Time Agent and resident immortal. That’s right, dude can’t die. No matter how you try to kill him (gun, knife, hanging, concrete) he comes back to life (thanks to Rose Tyler). While Jack is openly omnisexual (meaning he’ll do just about anything that breathes), there is a blatant sexual tension that exists between Jack and Gwen from day one. Gwen is one of the few people who can stand up to Jack and call him on his bullshit and he challenges her like no one ever has. Unfortunately, as of the upcoming season, Gwen is still married to Rhys and they have a kid. But I trust in Russell Davies and fate J

Amy Pond gets a brief mention because she does technically have options. While obviously infatuated with the 11^th Doctor (and if you’ve seen Matt Smith, you understand why), she also has the lovably bumbling Rory, a definite throwback to early Mickey. But unlike her predecessor, Amy chooses the normal guy. Instead of leaving him behind, she brings Rory along with her on her adventures with the Doctor and is practical enough to go ahead and marry the guy, knowing that a man like the Doctor can’t be tied down by just anyone.

Tomorrow: Options in the wonderfully scary world of High School

It's Raining Men: Part 1

2011-02-27T02:51:00.000Z

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. School has been crazy, plus I've been writing like a madwoman. Novel 2 is finished, Novel 3 started, plus 2 novellas are in the works.

Joining me as a guest blogger for the next several days is my lovely (and witty) roommate, Susan.

Ever watched a movie, tuned into a TV show, or read a book with a romantic element and thought “Damn, I wish I had the options that (Insert heroine’s name) had. I would not have nearly as hard a time choosing/just being happy with my life as she did.” We two lonely bibliophilic roommates, Susan and Taylor, term this series of nagging thoughts and lovingly envious emotions as the “Bitches with Options Syndrome.” It’s not that we don’t absolutely adore most of these heroines; it’s just that every one of these gals seems to have multiple alternatives upon whom to bequeath her love and favor. These choices of men display an array of positive and negative qualities that we will soon expound upon, but the point is that they are there, ready to love and be loved. For some girls it’s raining men…for others the high pressure system that is living in a liberal arts university community where the boy/girl ration is roughly 80/20, there’s been a twenty one year drought that doesn’t show any signs of retreating. Therefore, here’s our list of some of our favorite ladies and their awesome options, because its better look where the grass is greener and critique it, than judge your own gravel lot.

Today, we start off with the girls who just have too many options. We'll move on from there :)

Italics- Commentary by Susan

Sookie Stackhouse: Options? Girl’s got more options than she can say grace over. The candidates: Bill, Eric, Alcide, Sam, Quinn. Any normal girl would be satisfied with one of those options. But no. She’s got all 5.

Ok, so Bill never makes it as a real viable option. He’s got all those nefarious motives. And he’s got this awful habit of assuming Sookie can’t understand the decisions he makes. Yeah, she’s blonde, but that doesn’t mean she’s stupid. He could’ve stood a chance if he had been truthful with her. But no. He’s got to go and be all secretive and lie to her about hmm…everything? The same could be said for Quinn. He had the same jealous/possessive problem that Bill had AND he worked for Felipe de Castro. Men too stupid to see a good thing when they had it. Also not smart enough to move on once the girl says “no.”

Sam and Alcide are genuinely nice guys. They have stable jobs and, for the most part, seem to actually care about Sookie. However, dudes have issues. LOTS of them. Sookie has enough of her own issues to deal with that she doesn’t need two-natured problems making her life harder on top of that.

Which leaves Eric (*sigh*) (*swoon*)

Granted, he can be a bit domineering (ok, a lot). But he’s hot enough to get away with it (hello, shower scene?). And he at least explains his behavior. Eric, for all of his machinations, always does what’s best for Sookie and for both of them as a couple. He’s also the only one Susan or I truly believe would willingly die for Sookie.

Buffy:

Arguably the crown jewel in the brilliant career of Joss Whedon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer never failed to give all of the ladies (and roughly 10% of the viewing gentlemen) something to ogle at from week to week as the Scoobies averted the apocalypse time and time again. The beautiful and brooding Angel, the dependably handsome Riley, and the devilishly attractive Spike…saving the world must stock up some seriously potent karma points. Still, let’s attempt to examine these prime examples of eye-candy somewhat objectively in order to sort these options into more manageable doses of hotness.

Enchantingly mysterious. Occasionally evil. The first love. The most epic can’t eat, can’t sleep, with stars so crossed it made Romeo and Juliet’s romance look like a TV romcom, the Angel/Buffy relationship kept our eyes glued to the screen and our hearts thudding madly as we saw their soaring highs and tragically romantic lows. I mean, yeah she did kill him once, and he did kill Ms. Calendar (to be honest, who really liked her anyway?) but not even the fires of hell could separate their love. Angel represented everything that Buffy deserved in a man: virtually indestructible, caring, completely understanding, and enough contact with dark side to make humorous quips while killing demons with her. Sadly, he was such a good character Joss stripped him from our grips to give him his own spinoff…rude.

Riley ended up being an epic disappointment. He did prove that a supernatural badass like Buffy could have a “normal” boyfriend. Unfortunately, he took normalness to new extremes. The guy had zilch in the personality department other than a goofy smile and tossable early ‘00’s hair. Buffy even admitted that she already knew that they didn’t have the fire of her and Angel even BEFORE she went on her first date with Riley (You know, in Something Blue, season 4 , episode 9…so maybe I do own all of the series on DVD). Suffice it to say that Riley just couldn’t handle all that was Buffy and had to stoop to a level of whining about it while her mother was in the hospital. Go back to Iowa, you big fail.

Ah now we’ve arrived at Spike. Hilarious from day one and a super hottie from minute one, Spike kept us lovingly hating him even when he legitimately was trying to kill Buffy & co. When they finally got together it was an extreme relief it was a total “YES!” moment, but somehow their odd (and rather raunchy) relationship always lacked the complete tidal wave of passion and devotion that Angel brought to the table. The first bite is the deepest, and even the last episode of the series saw Buffy and Angel keeping up hope for their relationship…should they live long enough, of course. At the end of night, our dark haired, fanged, moody boy wins all.

While not an actual relationship of Buffy, Xander Harris must receive an honorable mention because his complete crush on Buffy began ten minutes into the pilot and stayed true through all of her relationships, through his relationships, and about a dozen apocalypses. Here’s to the relationship that never was, and two thirds of the most awesome friendship ever written for the small screen.

Honorable Mentions: The ladies of the WB. The writers for CHARMED and GILMORE GIRLS certainly gave those women options. (Just listing serious relationships)

CHARMED

Piper: Jeremy, Dan, Leo

Phoebe: Clay, Cole, Drake, Jason, Leslie, Dex, Coop

Paige: Shane, Glen, Richard, Kyle, Henry

GILMORE GIRLS

Lorelai: Chris, Alex, Max, Jason, Luke

Rory: Dean, Tristan, Jess, Logan

For the most part, all of these options were viable and could have flourished into Happy Ever Afters. In CHARMED, they did (Leo, Coop, and Henry). But Dan Rosenthal left if wide open for the GGs. They STILL had options when the credits rolled for the last time.

Tomorrow: Too many GOOD Options and Options that only really need one (Supernatural and normal)

Voices in My Head

2011-01-12T03:36:00.000Z

I’ve resolved to try to blog more regularly now that the school year has started up. We’ll see how that goes…

Right now there’s a circus full of voices in my head (character voices that is), carrying on conversations, trying to get attention. I just want to settle on one of them for a bit, so I can actually get some work done, but they have other plans for me.

In Ring One: Aidan Cavanaugh and Kate Burns - 1816. Right now Kate is infinitely frustrated with Aidan because the stupid man won’t open up and tell her about his past. He’s found out everything he possibly can about her, but he won’t share more than basic details about himself. As punishment for his stubbornness, I’m about to inflict him with nightmares of his life as a soldier. But I’m not quite sure where to begin…

In Ring Two: Jamie McKenzie and Charlie Baker - 2010. Jamie and Charlie met one night in London, a week before Charlie had to move back to Texas. Now they’re trying to conduct a long distance relationship via the Internet. Getting this relationship off to a good start is going a bit slower than I’d like.

And in Ring Three: Cal Michaels and Prue Harrison - 2010. Cal and Prue are the newest voices in my head. I haven’t written a word of their story yet, but they’re already getting louder and louder, demanding attention. I’m still planning their story out. Cal owns a matchmaking company, but doesn’t believe in love and Prue is a wedding planner who refuses to give up hope that true love exists. Oh yeah, and Cal might be an alias for Cupid…

Who will take center stage is anybody’s guess. Until one wins, I’ll keep bouncing back and forth and hope MS Word can't get whiplash.

Tomorrow or Thursday I’ll update about my semester. It’s shaping up to be berry interestin’.

London Recap

2010-12-17T16:02:00.002Z

London Recap:

Time away from home: 17 weeks

Cities visited: 11 (London, Windsor, Bath, Brighton, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Inverness, Lewes, Chawton, Sunningdale)

Castles/Palaces seen/visited: 14 (Buckingham Palace, Palace at Westminster, Kensington Palace, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Castle, Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Blair Castle, Hampton Court Palace, St. James’s Palace, Lewes Castle, Royal Pavilion, plus two others I can’t remember the name of)

Literary Sites visited: 17 (The Eagle and Child, The Elephant Café, Christ Church College, Blackwells, Hatchards, Jane Austen’s House in Chawton and Bath, The Pump Room, Charles Dickens’ House, River Ouse, The Globe, The Rose, The Conan Doyle, Mayfair, 7 Dials, Bow Street, Peter Pan Statue, Walter Scott Memorial)

Celebrities Seen: 12+ (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Lloyd Owen, Roger Allam, Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Will Poulter, Matt Cardle, Rebecca Ferguson, Aidan Grimshaw, and more that I can’t remember)

Plays Seen: 18 (The 39 Steps, Romeo and Juliet, Design for Living, Comedy of Errors, Tiny Kushner, Henry IV Part 1 & 2, Merry Wives of Windsor, Les Miserables, Wicked, Tribes, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Tempest, Faust, Hamlet, Blood and Gifts, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Trips to Spain cancelled: 1

Days of Snow: 4

Hours Spent Traveling(by bus, plane, train or car): 100+

Miles walked: Too many to count

Overall, this was a fantastic semester. A few hitches along the way, but I still had a blast. I think it was good for me to live away from home for so long. It gave me a taste of what life will probably be like after May. It also made me realize that there is a difference in knowing you are going to be some place indefinitely and having an exit date. I know that I have grown as a person and my understanding of the world has shifted and changed, which I guess was probably the point of the whole thing J

Frost

2010-11-30T11:35:00.000Z

In honor of the first snow of the year here in London, my last Writing in the City creative piece!

PS I go home in 10 days!!!! (Before that though, I go to Spain on Saturday until Tuesday)

Cold. Cold that seeps into your bones.

Night. Night that comes before you’re ready.

As I sit by the window, I hide from the frost outside.

Barren. Barren trees that hibernate for the winter.

Solitude. Solitude that protects us from the cold.

As the fire crackles, I hide from the frost outside.

Glitter. Glitter from the frost that coats every surface.

White. White that falls from the sky to join the frost.

As I shrug on my coat, I hide from the frost outside.

Steam. Steam from my breath that dances in the air.

Roses. Roses that color my cheeks as they greet the cold.

As I step outside, I embrace the frost.

Frost. Frost that comes with winter.

Winter. Winter that lets the world sleep.

As the earth sleeps, the Londoners embrace the frost.

Soundtrack of the City- Josh Groban Remix

2010-11-18T00:02:00.002Z

So, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Josh Groban. His new album, Illuminations, came out on Monday and I adore it. So, since my brain won't shut down and I still have two more creative pieces to get done for my Writing in the City class, I've done a remix of my Soundtrack of the City poem with lyrics from the new JG album since it's all I'm listening to right now (ok, except for occasional moments when I need a few Glee songs or Christmas music).

There's a pale winter moon in the sky

Coming through my window

Who puts the rainbow in the sky?

Who lights the stars at night?

Woosh woosh (Please Mind the Gap! Doors Closing.)

A lua que esclarece esse sol sem descansar jamais

Amar o quanto precisar que ame

Over mountains and sky blue seas

On great circles will you watch for me?

Lately all your sweet rhymes recreate me,

now comes the time when I'll need your truth to see.

sous un ciel bleu, ciel sans nuage

retournons la-bas

Shuffle, Click, Shuffle, Click

I drew my line across the sand

And set my flag in no mans land

You were the secret I loved keep

the name I would only sing in my sleep

Hoonk Hoonk! (Beep Beep Beep!)

Tu soffri come soffro

Quando è l’ora dell’addio

This is the time of our great undoing

This is the time that I'll come running

You see these hands?

They're millions strong

Life goes on, and on, and on

City of Ghosts

2010-11-13T22:01:00.000Z

I know. I know. I'm terrible. It's been WAY too long since I updated. What can I say? Life here has been crazy, and, as is typical for this time of year, school has sucked away my desire to write anything. November sucks. BUT, having to do homework means I've written more for my Writing in the City class.

This poem is inspired by our trip to the Tower of London to see the Ceremony of the Keys. This 700 year old ceremony marks the closing of the ancient castle/fortress/prison each night. Most people don't know about it and it's a relatively short ceremony, but going to it allows you to see the Tower at night, which is seriously cool/mildly creepy when you think of how many poor souls were tortured/killed there. Hence, the poem.

CITY OF GHOSTS

London is a city of ghosts.

Night falls early and they come out to play.

Look to the ramparts and roofs.

That’s where they stay.

The mists roll in and the air grows crisp.

Among us move the witnesses of the past.

What have they seen?

These people whose lives were gone all too fast.

They’re not a frightening lot.

Lives lost can’t be anything but sad.

Perhaps they bring warning for those of us still here.

We live in a world that is mad, mad, mad.

Walk the city with them.

Listen to their tales.

They are the heart of the buildings.

They’re still here when all else fails.

Eye of the Storm

2010-10-19T07:41:00.000+01:00

A poem I wrote for my Writing in the City Class about Hyde Park

Peace. Comfort. Breath.

Verdant green. Soothing chocolate. Calming colors.

Walking along the path, the chaos of the city disappears.

People walk past, in twos or threes, alone.

A gentle noise. A peaceful hum. A silent purr.

Listening to the quiet, the chaos of the city disappears.

Children play, ducks swim, dogs run.

Across the congested road, around the crowded corner, below in the Tube,

Buzzing activity is all around, but here, the chaos of the city disappears.

Cool grass. Gentle breeze. Nature’s perfume in the air.

Breathing in, breathing out, eyes closing

With the rhythm of the park, the chaos of the city disappears.

Forget work. Forget worry. Forget whatever.

Being one, being there, being part of it,

Here in the Eye of the Storm, the chaos of the city disappears.

A bench placed in a particular spot in Hyde Park
by the Serpentine because Rudolf loved it.

Random List 2: Literary BFFs

2010-10-18T07:15:00.021+01:00

One of the blogs I follow had a guest spot asking “Who Would be your Literary BFF?” so that got me pondering (shocker, I know). So, rather than working on my novel, as I should be (in all fairness, I’ve written 11,000 words in the past 10 days, so that’s not too shabby, but still), I made up my own list.

1. Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Lizzie and I might be too much alike to get along, but I think we could have great fun together. We both enjoy reading and going on tramps around just to enjoy the solitude of it (I’m particularly fond of the latter activity now that I live with five other people). I also appreciate someone who can be snarky with me, especially about ridiculous people.

2. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery – In my head, Anne and I have been friends for the past 13 years or so. We go on rambles through the Haunted Woods and let our imaginations run wild. I think of Anne as my dreamy alter-ego. When I’m feeling particularly fanciful, I’m channeling my inner-Anne.

3. Skeeter Phelan from The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Again, a snarky friend. Skeeter can only put up with so much B.S. from stupid people and I can TOTALLY sympathize. On top of that, she’s a writer too, so we could sit around and talk about the trials and tribulations of writing.

4. Ella from Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – Again, another long-term literary BFF. Ella’s sassy patience has always made me smile. She’s bright, funny and knows what she wants. I hate indecisive people.

5 Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser from Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon – I don’t know if we would necessarily be BFFs, but she would definitely be an interesting person to be friends with. Between the time-traveling and her knowledge about herbs and such, there would never be a lull in conversation.

6. Honoria Cynster from Cynster novels by Stephanie Laurens – I love the no-nonsense, quiet strength of the Cynster matriarch. She deals with a family full of stubborn, opinionated men without batting an eye. I would love to learn her ways from her, because God knows I need all the help I can get.

7. Margaret Hale from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell – Sometimes I already think I am BFFs with Margaret in real life. Her quiet, but fierce personality reminds me of my BFF Katrina.

8. Jo March Baeher from Little Women trilogy by Louisa May Alcott – Jo probably would have gotten me in a lot of trouble, but she would’ve been a great BFF. We could stay up late together writing and bounce ideas off each other.

9. Ellie Harrison from Avalon High by Meg Cabot – Another sassy, no-nonsense girl. She also loves to read just as much as I do. I don’t know about the whole running thing, but being friends with a reincarnation of the Lady of the Lake would be fun, right?

10. Lucy and Peter Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis – Peter, well, quite honestly I would want to be BFFs with him and possibly date him. Mostly I would want to be friends with Lucy because she thinks like me and is into the whole believing is seeing thing. She’s a strong personality, which I like, but she’s also very philosophical.

Who would your literary BFFs be? Are they life-long friends or new ones you just met?

Touching Greatness

2010-10-17T17:40:00.000+01:00

Anyone who knows me knows exactly how big a Jane Austen fanatic I am. I can’t really remember a time when Pride and Prejudice wasn’t my favorite book. If I could write six books that are half as good as hers, I will be able to die happy. I’ve posted numerous entries about my adoration of Jane, a woman before her time who still confounds literary scholars as far as categorization goes.

At the very top of my To-Do list while I was here (Ok, really my To-Do list for life) was to visit Jane Austen’s House in Chawton and on Thursday, I checked that off the list!!!! My friend Susan and I hopped a train out to the little town where the British branch of the Mommy Mafia (Tara) lives and she drove us down into Hampshire to make our pilgrimage to visit Jane. Hampshire itself is beautiful. When you think of stereotypical English countryside, you’re probably summoning up images of Hampshire.

Susan and Me in front of Jane's House

Jane’s house is wonderful. They’ve done a wonderful job of preserving the cottage she lived in with her mother and her sister up until a few months before her death. If the furnishings weren’t original, they were reproductions or furnishings that belonged to some member of Jane’s large family (she had 6 brothers and a sister). Along with a ridiculous amount of memorabilia once owned by the Austen family, they also had a very cool collection of hand-stitched dresses that are reproductions of Regency fashions.

But the best part, it must be said was The Desk. Set off to one side of the dining room, they have Jane’s actual writing desk where she wrote ALL of her novels. It’s positioned next to a window that overlooks Winchester Road, a major coaching road at the time. So Jane would sit there every morning and write. Or, if she had writer’s block (because I’m sure even Jane got writer’s block from time to time – it’s actually a known fact since there’s little evidence of her writing in the 10 years between leaving her childhood home at Steventon and settling in Chawton), she could look out on the road and the pub across the street and observe the people that went through. I can just see her sitting there, making up little stories about the strangers she saw, or gathering up gossip about the people she knew.

Back to the best part- I got to touch The Desk (!!!!!!) It was so cool to get to touch the desk used by one of my literary idols. I’ve only ever done that once before (Laura Ingalls Wilder’s desk at Rocky Ridge Farm), but I was quite honestly too young to remember it very vividly (sorry Mom and Carrie). In fact, we may have just gotten to see the desk. At Jane’s house, you can touch it. It was so awesome! Amazing! Wonderful!

Afterwards, we went into the little shop they’ve made out of one of the outbuildings that came with the house and, after MUCH deliberation, I got a coffee mug and a copy of Persuasion (which is now tied with P&P as my favorite book), as well as a key chain and magnet to remember my pilgrimage. Once that monumental decision was made, we went and had lunch at the pub across the street which has been there since the 1600s.

I must say, it was one of the best days I’ve had since I’ve been here (Thank you, Mommy Tara and Susan!).

Mommy Tara and Me in front of Jane's House!

P.S. Just noticed this is my 27th post- my lucky number! SOOO fitting :)

Memories, at the corners of my mind!!!!!

2010-10-13T23:22:00.001+01:00

COMPOSED A FEW MILES ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY, ON REVISITING THE BANKS OF THE WYE DURING A TOUR. JULY 13, 1798

Tintern Abbey

FIVE years have past; five summers, with the length

Of five long winters! and again I hear

These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs

With a soft inland murmur.--Once again

Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,

That on a wild secluded scene impress

Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect

The landscape with the quiet of the sky.

The day is come when I again repose

Here, under this dark sycamore, and view

These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,

Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,

Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves

'Mid groves and copses. Once again I see

These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines

Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms,

Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke

Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!

With some uncertain notice, as might seem

Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods,

Or of some Hermit's cave, where by his fire

The Hermit sits alone.

These beauteous forms,

Through a long absence, have not been to me

As is a landscape to a blind man's eye:

But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din

Of towns and cities, I have owed to them

In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,

Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;

And passing even into my purer mind,

With tranquil restoration:--feelings too

My friend Jon and Me at Tintern
Summer 2006

Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,

As have no slight or trivial influence

On that best portion of a good man's life,

His little, nameless, unremembered, acts

Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust,

To them I may have owed another gift,

Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood,

In which the burthen of the mystery,

In which the heavy and the weary weight

Of all this unintelligible world,

Is lightened:--that serene and blessed mood,

In which the affections gently lead us on,--

Until, the breath of this corporeal frame

And even the motion of our human blood

Almost suspended, we are laid asleep

In body, and become a living soul:

While with an eye made quiet by the power

Of harmony, and the deep power of joy,

We see into the life of things.

If this

Be but a vain belief, yet, oh! how oft--

In darkness and amid the many shapes

Of joyless daylight; when the fretful stir

Unprofitable, and the fever of the world,

Have hung upon the beatings of my heart--

How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee,

O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods,

How often has my spirit turned to thee!

And now, with gleams of half-extinguished thought,

With many recognitions dim and faint,

And somewhat of a sad perplexity,

The picture of the mind revives again:

While here I stand, not only with the sense

Of present pleasure, but with pleasing thoughts

That in this moment there is life and food

For future years. And so I dare to hope,

Though changed, no doubt, from what I was when first

I came among these hills; when like a roe

I bounded o'er the mountains, by the sides

Of the deep rivers, and the lonely streams,

Wherever nature led: more like a man

Flying from something that he dreads, than one

Who sought the thing he loved. For nature then

(The coarser pleasures of my boyish days,

And their glad animal movements all gone by)

To me was all in all.--I cannot paint

What then I was. The sounding cataract

Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,

The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,

Their colours and their forms, were then to me

An appetite; a feeling and a love,

That had no need of a remoter charm,

By thought supplied, nor any interest

Unborrowed from the eye.--That time is past,

And all its aching joys are now no more,

And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this

Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur, other gifts

Have followed; for such loss, I would believe,

Abundant recompence. For I have learned

To look on nature, not as in the hour

Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes

The still, sad music of humanity,

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power

To chasten and subdue. And I have felt

A presence that disturbs me with the joy

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,

And the round ocean and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man;

A motion and a spirit, that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still

A lover of the meadows and the woods,

And mountains; and of all that we behold

From this green earth; of all the mighty world

Of eye, and ear,--both what they half create,

And what perceive; well pleased to recognise

In nature and the language of the sense,

The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,

The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul

Of all my moral being.

Nor perchance,

If I were not thus taught, should I the more

Suffer my genial spirits to decay:

For thou art with me here upon the banks

Of this fair river; thou my dearest Friend,

My dear, dear Friend; and in thy voice I catch

The language of my former heart, and read

My former pleasures in the shooting lights

Of thy wild eyes. Oh! yet a little while

May I behold in thee what I was once,

My dear, dear Sister! and this prayer I make,

Knowing that Nature never did betray

The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege,

Through all the years of this our life, to lead

From joy to joy: for she can so inform

The mind that is within us, so impress

With quietness and beauty, and so feed

With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues,

Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men,

Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all

The dreary intercourse of daily life,

Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb

Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold

Is full of blessings. Therefore let the moon

Shine on thee in thy solitary walk;

And let the misty mountain-winds be free

To blow against thee: and, in after years,

When these wild ecstasies shall be matured

Into a sober pleasure; when thy mind

Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms,

Thy memory be as a dwelling-place

For all sweet sounds and harmonies; oh! then,

If solitude, or fear, or pain, or grief,

Should be thy portion, with what healing thoughts

Of tender joy wilt thou remember me,

And these my exhortations! Nor, perchance--

If I should be where I no more can hear

Thy voice, nor catch from thy wild eyes these gleams

Of past existence--wilt thou then forget

That on the banks of this delightful stream

We stood together; and that I, so long

A worshipper of Nature, hither came

Unwearied in that service: rather say

With warmer love--oh! with far deeper zeal

Of holier love. Nor wilt thou then forget,

That after many wanderings, many years

Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs,

And this green pastoral landscape, were to me

More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake!

1798.

Obviously, I didn’t write that. But Wordsworth’s poem about visiting Tintern Abbey with his sister Dorothy five years after his initial visit is a great description of how I felt returning to Oxford yesterday with my friend Susan.

My friends Ben, Jen, and Jon
outside the Eagle and Child
Summer 2006

For those of you who don’t know, I spent three weeks in Oxford the summer before my senior year, studying at the St. Hugh’s Summer College. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I lucked out and got to go on the trip with one of my best friends and we met some really amazing people from all over the country (Georgia and Pennsylvania specifically). I now consider one of the best times of my life. I fell in love with the city, in love with the freedom I felt studying in a country I loved with a great group of friends around me.

Susan on the Harry Potter Stairs
at Christ Church

Ever since, I’ve wanted to go back to that time. When I would get annoyed with life or the people around me, I would draw on those memories to lift my spirits. College wasn’t as scary because I’d experienced it before (right down to the uber scary Oxford don who served as my tutor). But when the time came to go back, I was a little scared. Would it be different? Did I build it up to be better than it really was? Could I go there without my friends?

Going to Oxford yesterday with Susan was definitely a bittersweet experience. I couldn’t go back to those wonderful memories and relive them, but I did get to make new memories. I got to see Oxford through Susan’s eyes and really enjoy experiencing the city for the first time because she was. I got to play tour guide and share my memories with my friend. Much to my surprise, I still remembered how to navigate the town. I could still find my way to The Eagle and Child (where I finally got to eat in the room where the Inklings met). I hadn’t forgotten where Blackwells bookstore was. I got us to Christ Church without getting lost. Oxford was just as I remembered it.

Oxford Group 2006

I first read “Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth in preparation for my time at Oxford. They assigned it to us, presumably because we would be visiting the Abbey itself. But now it’s taken on a whole new meaning for me. We can never go back to those perfect moments in time that we love to cherish, but we can move forward and build on those times. They become integrated into who we are and how we see things. Memories, like friends, become a part of us, even as we become further separated by time.

Memorials

2010-10-07T00:27:00.000+01:00

It's midterms week here in London, so I haven't really been on many adventures. To show you that I haven't disappeared entirely, here is a poem I wrote for my Writing in the City class.

Memorials

Ghosts look on at the cold, cold stone

Leaders lauded for skills money honed

Faceless names, nameless faces, forgotten in the mist

Lonely graves scatter the world

Never to be thought of, honor never paid

Granite statues of the few, the overly proud

While blood-stained fields enfold

Those who gave their lives for others glory-sake

Frozen marble reminds those left

Allows them to forget the price of war

Behind the victorious valor prized by power

Soundtrack for the City

2010-09-27T22:15:00.000+01:00

Woosh woosh (Please Mind the Gap! Doors Closing.)

Hoonk Hoonk! (Beep Beep Beep!)

Shuffle, Click, Shuffle, Click

Deal for you! Only Fi’ poun’!

Can you take a picture?

….

To your left is Buckingham Palace

Oi! Watch it you idiot!

‘scuse me, Pardon me

Which way to the Tower of London?

Good service on all lines!

…

Evening Standard?

Do you need help, love?

I’ll have a pint of Guinness, please!

There’s no business like show business

Life goes on, and on, and on

…

New York is known as the city that never sleeps, but what city ever really sleeps? The sounds of London are unceasing. They ebb and flow like the tide of the Thames, but they’re just as constant and that iconic river.

Cars whiz around the city, engines purring along, punctuated by the occasional horn. People walk by, alone, in twos, threes, fours. During the day, mobs of tourists can be seen shuffling along behind a tour guide, chattering to each other in their mother tongue. Babies cry, toddlers jabber. School children squeal, set free in the parks in their school uniforms. Businessmen and women stride along, barking orders into cell phones, always in a hurry to get from one place to another.

How do people cope with the constant buzz of the hive that is London? The only answer I can seem to find is music. Everywhere you look people have earbuds in, listening to iPods, mp3 players, or whatever device they have. If there’s no one to talk to, music blocks out the noise and allows them to become an island unto themselves. Londoners seem to prefer the isolation personal music devices provide. Books or newspapers leave room for the possibility of conversation. Having little pieces of plastic stuck in your ear, blasting music negates that possibility. Nobody can connect with you and share an experience with you as they can with a book or a newspaper. There’s no cover to inspire conversation. There’s only you and your music.

I’m as guilty as anyone of this, perhaps more so. Not only do I pop in my headphones for a tube ride or a walk by myself, if the tube ride is more than two stops and I have a seat, I’ll pull out my Kindle as well, another tool of anonymity. I often see other islanders and wonder what their soundtrack for the city is. Do they see the city accompanied by classical music, as it might be in a high brow drama? Or do they hear the upbeat strains of Katy Perry or Justin Bieber? Is their city a moody emo-indie band or old-school rock and roll?

My soundtrack for the city is as manic as the city itself. It contains 125 songs, lasting a total of 7.9 hours (I’ve yet to listen to it straight through). Among the many artists it encompasses are: The Cast of Glee, Alanis Morissette, Michael Buble, Blue October, John Mayer, James Taylor, Elton John, and, my favorite, Josh Groban, of course. Needless to say, there is a VERY wide range of music for me to experience the city with. Walking home from class, I might be more inclined to listen to something more mellow, but edgy like Norah Jones or John Mayer. On the way to the theatre, I prefer to listen to songs from musicals like Wicked or Les Miserables. When walking to my particularly early class, I find that I need music from Glee or classic 90s bands like Hootie and the Blowfish or Counting Crows in order to get my system jumpstarted.

Perhaps the other islanders use music as I do. I typically leave one ear empty of headphones in order to experience both the city’s soundtrack for me as well as my soundtrack for the city. I prefer my music to enhance the city, not detract from it. So, while being an island, I am still one with the city and the people around me.

Scotland the Brave

2010-09-20T23:58:00.001+01:00

Scotland. Wow. Just wow.

We spent the past 4 days exploring Scotland and it is just too beautiful for words. The short version of our trip: many, many, many hours spent in a moving vehicle surrounded by gorgeous scenery punctuated by climbing really, really steep inclines in really cold/windy/slightly rainy conditions.

Arthur's Seat aka inactive volcano

The long version:
Day 1: We left London from King's Cross for the almost five hour train ride to Edinburgh (We took the route of the Hogwarts Express!!!). Once we got to Edinburgh, we met our tour guide (little did we know he would be THE most annoying part of our trip) and went on a brief bus tour of the city. Edinburgh is a magnificent city, full of hills. My friend Elise decided we needed to climb the inactive volcano just outside the city.

So, after having lunch at a pub (and being served by a rather attractive waiter) we bundled up and began our trek. And boy, was it a trek. There are sooooo many hills within the city of Edinburgh. You never hear about them, but they are definitely there. Then, we got to climb some more steep inclines (it was a volcano after all). But the view was sooo worth it (as you can see here):

After that, we met up with some friends to have drinks at The Conan Doyle, a pub on the street where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born.

Me in front of the view from the Wallace Monument

Day 2: We got up really early to leave Edinburgh and make our way into the Highlands. Our first stop was the Wallace Monument in Stirling (FREEEEDOM!). Just FYI, he didn't look like Mel Gibson (he probably had red hair and stood at least 6'4) and he didn't wear a kilt. After yet another really steep trek, we reached the top to be rewarded by really picturesque views (and really bracing winds).

Hamish taking a break

On our way to our next stop, we got diverted by a tree in the road. Part of our detour to us past Hamish the Hairy Coo and his girlfriend Heather. Hamish was befriended and saved from slaughter by local school children. He's now 17 years old.

Armed and dangerous :)

After lunch, we went to Fort Augustus on the banks of Loch Ness to the Clansmen Centre for a demonstration of "authentic" Highland life (pre-1745). My friend John and I were dressed in semi-authentic Highland garb (we looked a wee bit ridiculous, but I told myself it was good research). Life in the Highlands was not nearly as romantic and appealing as its made out to be in romance novels :(

Susan and me by the Loch

Loch Ness was quite pretty, but there was no sign of Nessie, although according Chatty McChatterson (our tour guide who would not stop telling stories- very badly I might add- with the bus's microphone up WAY too loud), there is sonar and pictoral evidence enough to hold up in court that she does exist.
We spent the night in Inverness, the only city in the Highlands, in a hostel that could only be described as being in possession of character. Inverness is a very charming little city, although most of us were too tired to fully enjoy it.

Kristi and me in front of the memorial Cairn,
set up by the Victorian to honor the clansmen
who died here.

Day 3: After a quick breakfast at the hostel, we drove just outside of Inverness to Culloden Battlefield, where the Jacobite Rebellion of 1746 made its last stand. I'd only ever really heard the English version of most events in Scottish history, so it was very interesting to hear Chatty McChatterson's Scottish Nationalism POV. I had a few issues with his presentation of facts, but it was still interesting to hear.

After Culloden, we drove to Blair Castle, the hereditary seat of the Dukes of Atholl (the only man legally allowed to have a private army in the world). The castle was very pretty and had a lot of interesting pictures, but it was a bit weird wandering around someone else's house and looking at their family pictures.
When we left the castle, we drove down to the Blair Atholl whisky distillery and learned how they make whisky. I enjoyed hearing about the process of making whisky (and our cute tour guide there- much better than Chatty McChatterson), but I did NOT enjoy the taste (blech!).

Elephant House

We drove back to Edinburgh that night and my friends and I went to eat at Elephant House, a little cafe overlooking Edinburgh Castle where J.K. Rowling wrote most of the first Harry Potter book. It was very cute and had a great atmosphere. The walls in the Loo (bathroom) were covered with notes to Rowling and quotes from Harry Potter.

Elise and me just outside the castle gates

Day 4: This morning we got to get up and leave the hotel. We went and toured Edinburgh Castle, which is still a working garrison. It reminded me a lot of the Tower of London, except they had a way cooler exhibit for their crown jewels. After that, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and took a really, really, really long train ride back to London.

Overall, it was a very fun trip and one of the most aesthetically pleasing places I've ever been in my life. In a lot of ways (attitude, pride, etc), Scotland reminded me of Texas. Cowboys were really just displaced Highlanders.

Anywho, it is now time for me to go to bed. This is a non-stop, action packed week, so I'll try to update more towards the end of it.

Cheers!

Adventures in and out of London

2010-09-05T12:32:00.000+01:00

Good grief, but life around here never stops. So many things to talk about, so little time. Hmmm, what to start with?

Going back to last week, Bath and Stonehenge were fun. Stonehenge is somewhat of a disappointment, as it was the last time I saw it. You just get to walk around in a circle around the rocks, looking at them from 10 feet away, trying really hard not to get blown away by the wind that is an inherent part of the Salisbury Plain (where the stone circle is located). Still, it is a beautiful site, especially in contrast to the agricultural life going on in the fields right beside the location. We did wonder if sheep raised in pastures next to Stonehenge bring a better price than regular sheep…

Me in front of the Pump Rooms

Bath is a gorgeous city. Everything is very close together and, unlike a lot of areas of London, Bath has retained much of its Georgian (last 1700s-early 1800s) architecture and atmosphere. The main attraction of Bath is the supposed healing properties of the water there. Wealthy people would drive down to Bath and go to the Pump Rooms to drink a glass of the water or go next door to the baths and submerge themselves in it in hopes of being cured. (Having tried a sip of the warm, sulphery water, can I just say GAG!)

The Royal Crescent, where all the really, really rich people live :)

Jane Austen's House- Number 13 Queen's Square

Jane Austen Centre

Me in front of one of the Roman Baths-
I wouldn't want to swim in there

We spent a good part of our time in the museum devoted to the Roman Baths, but my favorite part came on the walking tour. We not only got to see the Royal Crescent, where parts of the ITV adaptation of Persuasion were filmed, but we also got to walk by the house on Queen’s Square where Jane Austen lived for a majority of her sojourn in Bath! Personally, I would have rather taken the money they spent on our admission to the Baths and gone to the Jane Austen Centre, but they didn’t give us an option L

Poor lonely little ruins

On Wednesday, we went on a walking tour of The City with our British Life and Culture teacher, Professor Fosdal. The City is what Londoners call the 1 square mile area that is the original city of Londinium, where the Roman’s set up the first real settlement. It is now the financial center of London. There is very little evidence of the Roman origins of the City now with all of the big (and often ugly) office buildings that house the corporate cogs of London. We did however see a very sad sight. Today, most discoveries of Roman structures unearthed by construction are catalogued, then recovered to preserve them. This has not always been the case. In the 1960s, they discovered the remains of the Temple of Mithras on the site of a new building. Rather than relocating the building or recovering the find after archeologists has examined it, they simply picked up the remains and moved them 30 feet away. Now they sit next to the building, looking very sad and forlorn and out of place.

My view of the stage at the Globe

Thursday night, we saw our first play at Shakespeare’s Globe. The Comedy of Errors is blessedly one of Shakie’s shortest plays because we were groundlings, which meant standing for over 2 hours. The play was very funny and well done. It was the play that went on tour this summer, so the company was much smaller, and many of the actors did double and triple duty in different roles. Despite being sore and ready to collapse at the end, we had fun.

The Royal Pavilion

Friday, we went to the beach. Brighton, to be specific. Brighton has been one of the favorite resort towns in England since the late 1700s when the Prince of Wales (later George IV) decided he wanted to build a palace there. Ok, not just a palace. A gaudy monstrosity of decadence and indulgence would be a better way to describe the Royal Pavilion. We weren’t allowed to take pictures on the inside, but that’s probably a good thing. So many garish colors and gold opulence might have broken my poor little camera.

Me and my roommates Chanea and Kristi at the beach

Being a resort town, Brighton is primarily centered on the beach. Professor Fosdal made us take off our shoes and wade (or paddle) into the ocean (which was REALLY REALLY COLD!!!!). Unlike nearby beaches, the Brighton beaches are rock beaches. Rock beaches are a lot more painful on little feet than sandy ones, especially feet that were abused the night before by standing up for 2 straight hours.

The pier at Brighton

Along with the beach, there is a pier, much like ones you might find at Coney Island or the Jersey Short, complete with overpriced games, sketchy looking roller coasters, places to consume alcohol, and even a mechanical bull. Despite its somewhat cheesy exterior, I enjoyed the views from and of the pier. It was a really cool place to watch people. Some people were caught up in the frenzy of the games and rides, but others simply sat in these beach chairs and just watched the ocean for hours on end.

Well, I suppose I should probably get back to my homework now.

Cheers!

Busy, Busy Dizzy

2010-08-30T17:05:00.001+01:00

Weekends around here are busy/crazy. That’s not an excuse for not blogging (ok, it is) but it is also a fact. There always seem to be a million and twelve things going on. Now that classes have started, homework occupies a decent chunk of time.

On Friday we went on a trip to Stonehenge and Bath, but I will save that blog for when I can have the corresponding pictures to assist with the recounting of the adventures.

Saturday started out very lazily. We slept in, ate a bit of breakfast/lunch (we got up around 10 or so), then got ready for the day. Most of the group opted to stay in and do homework (yes, homework. On a Saturday!), but my intrepid friend Hayley decided to join me in exploring Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, as far as British weather goes. The sun was shining, birds chirping, and Londoners were taking full advantage of it. There were people EVERYWHERE. Picnics were going on at comfortable intervals all over the park. People walked around enjoying the day, soaking up some much needed Vitamin-D. As we ambled along the Serpentine (the small man-made river that runs between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens), we saw dogs frolicking in the water, blissful to be out of the house.

I FINALLY got to search out the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens! I’ve wanted to see it since my first trip here, but have never quite managed it.

After that mission was accomplished, we wandered over to the very lovely quartet of fountains at the head of the Serpentine by Marlborough Gate. By this point we opted that it was time for a bit of homework, so we settled in to do some reading/homework.

Being my mother’s daughter, I couldn’t help doing more people-watching than actual work. One of my favorite parts of London is getting to observe the various cultures and conglomerations of people. In one small place, there were families (with adorable and heathenish children alike), couples, friends, strangers. There was evening a wedding party taking photos around the fountains. Listening to the conversations of the grass-loungers around us, I heard many different dialects and accents, most of them not British.

Living with the same 21 people and only interacting with them 24/7 can get a bit old, so on Sunday I went to visit the England branch of the Mommy Mafia, the lovely Tara Allen and her family. This required me taking the tube by myself for the first time ever (moderately scary) and figuring out how to get a ticket to take a train out to the little town they live in, about 50 minutes from Waterloo Station. (Just FYI, Waterloo Station is scary, busy, and really confusing). But I was completely victorious and was rewarded with good company, homemade cookies, wonderful Thai food (chicken pananaag- Yum!) and advice on how to make finicky and confusing British appliances to work.

Today is a day for reading for British Life and Culture class (Watching the English by Kate Fox) and attempting to work on my sadly neglected writing. My novel is going well, but my Angels and Demons story is proving to be a difficult undertaking.

Tomorrow or Wednesday, I will try to post about Stonehenge and Bath, as well as update pictures. The internet here at our lovely flat is too temperamental to attempt to upload a significant amount of pictures.

London Midweek Photo Update 1

2010-08-25T13:15:00.000+01:00

The Royal Albert Hall- one of the many monuments to Prince Albert, all within walking distance of our flat!

Greetings from the very quiet resource center here at CAPA!

I've only been here 5 days, but it feels like I've spent much more time here. Since I last blogged, I've officially settled into the flat, got a UK sim card for my phone, and started classes. Also mixed in there was our first UK grocery shopping trip and our first play.

As far as classes go, I've only been to two out of four so far, but I'm quite excited about them. Shakespeare with Dr. Kilfoyle is going to be fantastic. After Capstone, I was a bit burnt out and jaded towards Shakie (as our Theatre professor fondly calls him), but this class is renewing my love for the Bard. We've already started in on Romeo and Juliet and are going to see an all female cast perform in tonight at the Camden Fringe Festival (review to come later). After R&J, we move on to The Tempest (one I haven't read before), then we'll spend time with Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream. After that we got for a history play or two (Henry IV Part 1&2), followed by The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, and King Lear. Dr. Kilfoyle is trying to convince us that we need to put on a small production of our own in November, as the city seems to be lacking in options for about two weeks, but we're not buying it.

Theatre class started yesterday. Our professor, who asks that we call her Janine (I still find it incredibly weird to call professors by their first names), is quite a character. She is adept at many different dialects and accents, which she demonstrated for us. Over the course of the semester we're going to just about every kind of theatre production she could find in London. The one I'm most excited about is Les Miz!!! (25th anniversary year, in the original theatre!). Last night, we went to see The 39 Steps, a comic play based off of the Hitchcock movie of the same title. Didn't realize it at the time, but the lead actor appeared as Francis in Pillars of the Earth. It was quite funny, made more so by the fact that it was performed by a cast of 4, 3 men and a woman. The theatre we saw it in was pretty cool too. Located right by the Statue of Eros in Leicester Square, it's actually built underground, so instead of climbing up to the nosebleed section, you climb down to the stalls.

The weather here is absolutely fantastic. We've had a bit of rain, but nothing too terrible. I am soooo not missing triple digit heat and humidity. All of me loves living here, except for the blisters on my feet. They're not too happy at the moment, especially since I love walking around. I planned to spend yesterday morning in Hyde Park, but my body decided I needed to sleep until noon instead, so I'm planning an excursion there tomorrow after my 9:15 Writing In The City class.

And now, the pictures I promised. There aren't many as I'm trying to soak up the city rather than experience it through a camera lens.

Monument to Prince Albert that was painted black up until about 20 years ago b/c it had to be protected from WWI/WWII bombings.

Lexie and her awesome Dutch pancake with nutella.

Our small and rather messy room (3 girls in one room makes for interesting mornings)

Our living room/kitchen and my flatmates Hayley and Anna

I promise to try and have more pictures for next week. This Friday we go to Bath and Stonehenge, so I'll undoubtedly have more pictures from those adventures.

London from a Bus

2010-08-21T20:52:00.000+01:00

Greetings from our lovely (but TINY) flat in Kensington!

After a two-hour orientation this morning at the hotel, we went on a wonderful private tour of Central London. Our tour guide (Eric) was quite funny and full of knowledge of the city.

Some interesting facts we learned today:

- Affluent people live in the West of London and socioeconomics grow less well-off as you move East. The reason? Because in the West, you get fresh, country air, whereas if you build East you get the more pungent City smells. Part of the reason London won the 2012 Olympics was because most of the events will be held in the East so that they can revitalize the neighborhoods and boroughs there.

- Dad, there’s very little mowing in London because there’s no room to have yards. The only serious mowing occurs in the parks.

- Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are known as the Lungs of London because there are so many plants and so much open space.

- The Knightsbridge area got its name because two knights fought to the death over who got to tax a bridge. (Seriously.)

- As the tour guide said “We win, we nearly win, or we just don’t talk about it.” The American Revolution is just a page in front of Napoleon.

- The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral (which is actually 3 domes) served as a rallying point for Londoners during the Blitz, because as long as it was still standing, Britain was still fighting.

- Barristers are the dudes who wear the wigs and robes and they work in the civil courts.

- London never stops. Even after the Great Fire of 1666, it develops, gets better, and gets bigger.

I will admit to completely nerding out as we drove through Mayfair, getting to see all of the places that I’ve read about in my romance novels (Grosvenor Square, Berkley Square, Hatchard’s Bookstore- which I plan to visit soon).

We’re in a really great neighborhood in Kensington. It’s about a ten-minute walk to the CAPA center where we’ll have classes and maybe a 30-minute walk from Kensington Gardens. We went to a pub this evening for dinner (which was really more like snacks) and drinks with some of our professors.

Now we’re just back, hanging out in the apartment, getting ourselves sorted out.

I’ll try to upload some pictures by Wednesday. Tomorrow is going to be spent shopping, getting cell-phones and stuff like that.

Cheers!

London Calling

2010-08-20T20:39:00.000+01:00

Well, I’m finally here. I’m in London!

Getting here was exhausting, to say the least. 10 hours on a plane, in the middle seat, behind a family with twin toddlers made for a very, long day, especially on top of my connecting flight to Houston being delayed. But I’m now sitting in my hotel room just outside of Heathrow Airport, relaxing.

To stave off sleeping and avoid jet lag, we all decided to use our Oyster cards (see: Tube passes) to go into Central London and explore a bit. We started out in a larger group, but by the time we actually got into the city there were just 6 of us. We didn’t particularly want to actually do a lot, so we went on a very long wander around Westminster.

Most of you will be shocked to hear that I was actually the one navigating (and not getting us lost on top of that). But after walking around for 4+ hours, we were pretty wiped out, so we ate at a pub and came back to the hotel.

Can I just say I love London? There is so much history just everywhere and it all blends in with the modern seamlessly.

Tomorrow we have orientation and then a bus tour of the city before we move into our flats.

P.S. I already have blisters (Ouch!)

Summer Excuses

2010-07-06T23:36:00.000+01:00

So...I'm not going to lie. I've been too caught up in writing and researching my new novel to keep up with this blog for the summer. Just to show that I haven't been slacking off, I present....(dramatic drumroll) the cast for the trilogy that I've been working on. The first novel starts in March of 1816.
First, the women:

Sarah Bolger as: Miss Katherine Burns. Heroine of the first novel, Kate, at 24, doesn't plan on every getting married. She's spending the Season as her cousin's chaperone when she meets a mysterious man who will forever change her life.

Kirsty Mitchell as: Lady Beatrice (last name TBD). Kate's best friend since childhood, Lady Bea is a feisty, adventurous sort whose hidden soft spots will be revealed in the second novel of the trilogy.

Rachael Caprini as: Miss Cassandra Armstrong. Kate's romantic dreamy cousin learns the harsh realities of love in the last novel.

And now, the men. (Not gonna lie- I had a ton of fun casting this part :D)

Henry Cavill as: Colonel Lord Aidan Cavanaugh, the Marquess of Pierston. Aidan never expected to inherit the title. He spent most of his life in the middle of India in an army camp. Now, with Kate's help, he must learn to navigate the dangerous world of London society. The Warrior

Joe Manganiello as: Lord James Hartwell, Marquess of Hartham. James is the heir to a dukedom, but he joined the army from a sense of duty. In the second novel, he returns home to the land he loves. The Farmer.

Chris Egan as: Lord Robert Grey, the Earl of Blaze. Rob lost his parents at an early age. Raised by his grandmother, he's always been a ladies' man. His quick wit and his smooth words win him the hearts of women and other politicians alike. The Politician

So, I probably won't post much until I'm in London. August 20th, get here soon!

April is the Cruelest Month

2010-04-28T17:51:00.000+01:00

I hate the month of April. In the world of a college student in Central Texas, it means lots of allergies and lots of paper writing. Over the past month I have written over 50 pages of academic papers, not to mention a couple of scripts for class performances. Want to take a guess how much novel writing has gotten done? Anyone? Anyone? If you said not a whole heck of a lot, you would be correct. I miss creative writing! Right now, I feel like the most creative sentence I would write would be "Once Upon a Time."
But, just to prove I have been writing, I've decided to provide examples of the tortures they inflict on unsuspecting English majors in college. I promise I will write more this summer and next semester (when I'm having marvelous adventures in London instead of being chained to my desk chair).

"In particular, I want to address how the romance novel has affected women writers. During the early days of the novel, what we would now consider romance novels were outlets for female writers to explore on what terms marriage should occur and the role of choice within those terms. Helene Cixous commissions women in her essay "Laugh of the Medusa”, telling them, "Write, let no one hold you back, let nothing stop you...Smug-faced readers, managing editors, and big bosses don't like the true texts of women--female-sexed texts. That kind scares them" (Cixous 2041). Writing within the romance genre allows for female-sexed to reign supreme and explore different facets of the readers’ psyche. As a part of this, I also want to discuss the idea of androgyny and gender identity within the romance novels. Romance writer Linda Barlow asserts in her essay "The Androgyny of the Writer" that, “The various elements contained in [romance novels] function as internal archetypes within the feminine psyche. This includes the hero, whom I see not as the masculine object of feminine consciousness but as a significant aspect of feminine consciousness itself” (Barlow). The inner gender dichotomy happening within the mind of the reader allows for conflict and personal resolution in the outer gender dichotomy of the marriage plot that is happening in the novel. From this discussion, I want to move on and explore the male-female relationships that are modeled and matured within the lexicon of the romance novel, both in the novels themselves and in the discussion surrounding them." ~ an excerpt from my Literary Theory and Criticism paper over Feminist Criticism and the Romance Novel

"As a woman, there is not much Volumnia can control since; socially and politically she is subject to the will of men. But as a mother, she has a surrogate that she has taught to listen to and put into action her own personal agenda This sentence and the below highlighted one are essentially the same point, maybe make them neighbors or cut one to avoid repetition without growth. When she sees her son for the first time upon his return after the war, she tells him, “I have lived/ To see inherited my very wishes/ And the buildings of my fancy: only/ There's one thing wanting, which I doubt not but/ Our Rome will cast upon thee” (II.I.197-202). She speaks of his accomplishments as if they were hers . She has spent most of her life raising this man;him andnow he has fulfilled what she sees as his duty to her: he has brought glory to himself and to Rome. As a woman, her worth isn’t measured in the same way as a man’s. Her one job in society is to raise her child. Raising a child without a father makes his success or failure even more her responsibility than other mothers. Martius’s return to Rome isn’t just his triumph- it’s hers as well. All of his achievements are partially hers because she made him the man that he is." ~ an excerpt from my Capstone paper about the role of women in Coriolanus and King Lear by Shakespeare.

My life is soooo exciting, isn't it?

Count down to summer and getting to see my wonderful friends and family? 4 days.

We Are What We Read

2010-04-01T05:46:00.000+01:00

We are what we read. Well, if that's the case I am a hopeless romantic with Victorian ideals living in a world who has lost faith in all of those.

Over the past several months, I have joined in the blog reading craze. Today, in one of the blogs I follow, literary agent Nathan Bransford asks readers what they think is the most influential book of all time. As part of his build up to this, he references another blogger who listed the books that most influenced his world-view. This got me thinking about what would be on my list. Which got me thinking about the people who wrote them.

I have read many books over the course of my arguably short life. My parents started reading to me at a young age and I would fall asleep to the sound of storybooks on tape. As soon as I learned how to read on my own, I hit the ground running and haven't looked back. Throughout my career as a reader, I have developed an affinity for certain writers. Several of these writers have stayed with me for many years and now, as I embark on my career as a writer, I have begun to notice how they influence my ideas as both a reader and a writer.

In no particular order:

Dad: Some of my earliest memories are of visiting my father at the local newsroom where he worked. Being a reporter seemed like such a glamorous job (I have since learned that it is not). As a grew older, I began to recognize that my dad was really good at his job. In a time when most reporters would rather sensationalize a limited number of facts, my dad maintained the old-school ideas about factual, un-biased reporting of stories that people need to know about. As I go through my own writing, I hope I can have as much care for details and the same gift for storytelling that he has.

Jane Austen: My heroine! It is no secret to anyone who knows me that Jane Austen is one of my favorite writers. I can't help but admire a woman writing in a man's world about women. The English major in me has a whole list of reasons why she's a brilliant writer. But, rather than bore you with that, I'll keep it simple. Jane Austen wrote stories that were socially relevant and she created what has evolved into the modern romance novel. Austen's characters are regular young women who work through and against society to marry the men that they love. She made room for uncomplicated happily-ever-afters and love that wasn't bought and paid for. Some people might rebel against the formal language and the trappings of Regency society, but that's what creates some of the romance of the tales.

C.S. Lewis: Disney may have introduced me to the world of fantasy and myth, but C.S. Lewis made me believe in the power of imagination. On the surface, the premise of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is quite absurd. Four kids find a hidden world in a wardrobe? Where it's always winter and never Christmas? And the animals can talk? I primarily read realistic fiction, specifically historical fiction, but this series and this author hold a special place in my heart. I remember when I first read LWW, I was totally consumed by the story. Lewis has a powerful gift for story-telling that I can't help but admire. At heart, they're simple stories, but the extent of the world he created never fails to astound me. I know a lot of people will say that Tolkein did even more and wrote longer books and even created a language, but he never caught my interest like Lewis. Lewis reached out and made me part of the narrative. Even today, my little cousin insists (when watching the movies, as she is to young to read the books yet) that she is Lucy and I am Susan. I think the sign of a good author is one who can absorb the reader like this and keep absorbing them every time they read it.

Louisa May Alcott/Laura Ingalls Wilder/L.M. Montgomery: I grouped these three ladies together because they were pillars of my childhood experience as a reader. On top of that, they are the ones who planted the idea of becoming a writer in my young brain. All three of them projected themselves into their main characters, so they all eventually became writers. I was enchanted by the imagery of Jo March sitting up in her little garrett writing late into the night and by Anne Shirley walking by the Lake of Shining Waters imagining stories. When I was 9, we took a road trip to Missouri and visiting Laura Ingalls Wilder's farm house there. The coolest part was seeing the desk where she wrote all of her books. All I could think of was: did she know how many lives she would touch? What would it have been like to be her? Now I sit at my own little desk to try and send my books out into the world.

Charles Dickens: I don't have much to say about Dickens, except that I am a huge fan. Academically, he and I have become good buddies and I anticipate getting to know him much better over the course of my career. I love the range of his works and the honesty he uses to present life in Victorian England. He very rarely pulls his punches, but he always manages to rescue his characters for a happy ending. And yes, he can be a bit wordy, but that's what creates such great images, right?

On to the modern writers!

Meg Cabot: The brilliant, hilarious Ms. Cabot is one of the authors who has been a part of my reading list since I was a pre-teen and never really left it. I love her quirky, unique way of telling stories about real girls who deal with real issues. Not only does she tell her readers that they can be princesses and strong women, but she creates a balance between feminism and realism. I also admire her ability to creatively tell a story. In one group of books in particular (The Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, Every Boy's Got One), she tells the entire story through e-mails, journal entries, inner-office memos, and personal notes. She has a huge writing range and appeals to such a variety of readers. I want to be her when I grow up!

Nora Roberts: What I admire most about Nora Roberts is her longevity. The woman has been producing NY Time Bestsellers for almost 30 years! Like most writers, she's had some books that aren't so great and kinda formulaic, but overall she still maintains a standard of being a compelling, interesting writer. I go through phases where I read her voraciously and then I move on, but I always come back. Right now, I'm especially addicted to her Bride Quartet that she's writing. She knows her readers and she knows how to grab their emotions and make them a part of the story. Emotions are the key component to being a romance writer and she is a master.

Stephanie Laurens/ Gaelen Foley/ Eloisa James: I include these three together because like the triad of writers from my childhood, they are the pillars of my historical romance reading experience. These women (to me) embody what it means to write historical romance. They use such vivid details and create characters that come out of the book and plant themselves in the readers' mind. They have honed the craft of writing romance into a fine art. Writers like them are taking romance out of the 1970s bodice ripper stereotype and into the 21st century as one of the fastest growing genres in the world (I will address this in a later blog after I do a bit more research). For several years, I have read them simply as a reader, enjoying their novels (some of which I literally couldn't put down). Now, I have begun to study them as a writer. I can only hope to be half as good as they are, but I'm going to try my hardest to meet the standard they've set.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips/Catherine Anderson: These two ladies are my favorite contemporary romance writers for two main reasons. One: Their ability to create modern characters with integrity and honor that don't give way to modern cynicism about love. It's easy to buy into romances that are happening in historical novels because they don't live in the same world that we do. Contemporary romance requires even more convincing and negotiating with readers' acceptance of the characters. Two: Rather than jumping from fictional world to fictional world, most of their careers have been spent writing in a sort of serial form. SEP introduces characters as minor players in one novel and gets you attached to them, then she develops them into main characters you are already rooting for without having to force a connection between reader and character. CA takes this a step further and uses family as a connection. I also can't help admiring the social issues CA tackles in her novels. Her heroines aren't perfect. One is a paraplegic, another is blind. Several of them are abused. They are real.

Possible future additions to the list or who I'm reading now: Lauren Willig, Janet Evanovich, Sarah Hoyt/Elise Hyatt

What writers have influence you? Who are you reading now?

My Oscar Wish List vs. Who Will Actually Win

2010-03-08T01:33:00.000Z

I will admit to having not seen too many of the nominated films this year between school and a general lack of interest in most of them, but the ones I did see, I enjoyed. I am voting against Avatar because every year I’m anti-whatever-gets-the-most-nominations-and-I-haven’t-seen

Commentary:
- Watching Neil Patrick Harris opening and I must say WIN!!!!

-       Molly Ringwald and Matthew Broderick are adorable! I love that the Academy decided to do a John Hughes tribute! Hughes was brilliant at getting people and making life funny. He is missed.(“SAVE FERRIS!” ” It’s really human of you to listen to all my bullshit.”) Pardon me while I tear up a bit.
-       The chick who played Uhura looks like she’s pooping purple froth or something.
- Oh, Ben Stiller. Was the Avatar dress-up game really necessary? Yes, we know you’re funny (not really), but did you really need to be blue?
-       Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner look bored and sound rather unintelligent and flat (Kristen Stewart more so than Taylor Lautner). It’s appropriate that they introduced the horror segment. Was it really necessary to have them present anything? On the other hand, it could be the only way they will ever make it on the stage at the Oscars, if they’re current projects are any indications of acting caliber. (Same goes for Zac Efron)
-   James Taylor for the In Memoriam segment is classic! Always the saddest part of the show
-       Points for innovation on the Original Score presentation, but overall it just didn’t quite work. Most of the music was not hip-hop, break dancing/tumbling worthy. Ballet might have worked a bit better. It’s hard to reconcile the style of dance with the music. Up kinda worked, but not really. Avatar worked, mainly because it was the only piece with distinctive drum beats.
-       Almodovar and Tarantino: it would utterly terrifying to spend even one minute inside their heads. Seriously weird, but smart dudes.
-       What is with all of these actors and the totally unattractive facial hair? Why Colin Farrell? Why???
-       The costars introducing the nominees for best actor is soooo sweet! I love it!
- I want to be as classy and elegant as Kate Winslet when I grow up!
-       Were four presenters from the Twilight Saga really necessary? Ok, Michael Sheen was appropriate and Anna Kendrick had to be there. The other two soo didn’t.
-       MEMORIES! AT THE CORNERS OF MY MIND! (That was for you, Mom). Barbra looked quite classy tonight. Yay for aging gracefully!
- Overall, a rather tame show this year, especially compared to the Hugh Jackman extravaganza last year. Funny and fairly on time, but tame.
- And predictable. I guessed every single one of the winners. That NEVER happens. That's how predictable this year was. Hopefully next year will be better. Music was quite good!

Best Picture: SECOND CHOICE WON!

Like: Up (second choice Hurt Locker)

Will: Avatar
Yay Hurt Locker! You came from behind to beat the technology giant! Socially relevant movie: check!

Best Actor: CORRECT

Like: George Clooney or Colin Firth

Will: Jeff Bridges

Hmm…edgy, angsty character: check! Colin Firth should have won for his sheer adorability and George Clooney should have won for putting up with being teased all night. Still, very nice acceptance overall. He said man too many times though. What's wrong with dude :)?

Best Actress: CORRECT

Like: Meryl Streep or Helen Mirren

Will: Sandra Bullock

I’m still skeptical about the movie itself and have not seen it, but I can’t help but be happy to see Sandra Bullock get an Oscar. She’s been one of my favorite actresses for a long time. She’s quite hilarious and brilliant. To console myself, I’ll think of this as a career Oscar.

Supporting Actor: CORRECT

Like: Stanley Tucci or Christopher Plummer (Go Captain Von Trapp!)

Will: Christoph Waltz

Was anyone else totally and completely confused by his acceptance speech??? It felt like I was watching a mini Tarantino movie: it kind of made sense until it just didn’t.

Supporting Actress: CORRECT

Like: Penelope Cruz

Will: Mo’nique

Sigh. This award season was rather predictable. Edgy movie with virtual unknowns aka underdog? Win! Kudos for the Hattie McDaniel shout-out.

Director: LIKE WON!

Like: Kathryn Bigelow

Will: James Cameron

My little inner-feminist is doing an extreme happy dance! YAY! First female director to win an Oscar!!!!!!!!! It’s about damn time!

Original Screenplay: Correct

Like: Up

Will: Hurt Locker

Let’s face it. Hurt Locker is just the kind of film the Academy likes. Anything edgy and dealing with controversial current events is an instant favorite with them.

Screenplay previously published:

Don’t really care, didn’t see any of the movies

Art Direction: CORRECT

Like: Anyone but Avatar (loved all the other movies)

Will: Avatar

Oh, Avatar. Yes, you were pretty and everything, but must you hog ALL the awards!

Make-up: LIKE WON!

Like: Star Trek or Young Victoria

Will: Young Victoria

Yay, Star Trek! You at least got to win something! Really fun movies very rarely get any recognition at the Oscars.

Costume Design: CORRECT!

Like: Nine or the Young Victoria

Will: The Young Victoria

How could she not win for mid-19^th century costumes for a movie about a “dead monarch”? And she even looks like a costume designer! Corsets always mean a win for the Oscars!

Original Score: LIKE WON!

Like: Up

Will: Avatar

Take that Avatar! Yay for the little animated film that could! Very pretty, sweet, appropriate music! Good speech too!

Original Song: CORRECT

Like: Either Princess and the Frog song or Nine song

Will: Crazy Heart song

It wins points because it was performed by Colin Farrell, but it’s so predictable for the edgy-angsty song to win. Nine’s edgy-angsty song was so good! Why couldn’t it have won?

P.S. That was so early for that award to be presented! I guess after last year’s horrible amalgam, they just opted to make it a normal award instead of a show-long process. Sigh

I miss the show-long process, it gave the audience a chance to actually experience the songs and maybe develop an attachment to them.

Animated Feature: CORRECT!

Like: Up

Will: Up

I’m sorry, but Up was just too adorable not to win! Pixar did an amazing job putting it together. I know, I know, it was kinda depressing, but it was so sweet and heart-warming! Why can’t all movies be that good?

What were your predictions? What did you think?

Un-Sung Heroes of my Childhood

2010-03-05T05:04:00.000Z

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about books I read as a child. Barnes and Nobles new “rating system” has made me realize how many books that I loved as a child have fallen out of favor with the current generation. There does not seem to be nearly as much a sense of nostalgia among teachers today. My teachers in elementary school always made it a point to read to us. Usually the books they chose weren’t whatever was new and hip; they chose books they considered to be classics. By the same token, whenever I asked my school librarian for recommendations, she would immediately steer me to similarly classic books. These books helped shape who I am today (a creative Victorian with a strong sense of feminism). They provided me with good, solid outlines of characters to immulate. I'm not fully versed in current elementary-level literature, but most of what I've seen appears to be geared more toward action, adventure and fantasy or superficial fluff about very materialistic characters. While that's all well and good, not all of these books provide the same ground work for a love of reading that my friends and I were privileged enough to have.

So, in a fit of nostalgia, I’ve made a list of some of the favorites among my friends and me, and reviewed some of my top favorites.

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott- Most girls are told they should read Little Women at some point, but very few move past that and read this book. While I adore LW, I actually love LM more. This tells the story of Jo and her husband and the school they run for boys and girls in her aunt’s old mansion. It is a quite old-fashioned book, but I love the simplicity of what is expected of the children. They are good because they want to be and if they misbehave, their misdeeds are used to teach them how to do better instead of as reasons for harsh punishment. The capers that the kids get up to are amusing and refreshing. I always wanted to grow up to be like Jo March Bhaer and run a school full of lively children while being a successful writer. Jo was my idol- she was smart, witty, patient, and creative- and I’m still working to be as much like her as I can. I think this is a great book to remind kids of the simple joys of childhood that are missing from today’s society.

Mr. Tucket Series by Gary Paulsen- If you’re looking for a good, old-fashioned adventure tale, this series is great. Really, this author is great for adventure. Gary Paulsen writes these tales of boys out in the wilderness surviving on their own. In the Mr. Tucket series, Francis Tucket is separated from his family on the Oregon Trail and survives being a prisoner in an Indian camp, as well as learning to make his own way as a young man of the west, all the while searching for his family.

Stepping on the Cracks by Mary Downing Hahn- This World War 2 story was always fascinating to me. I not only loved the characters, but I also loved the complexity of the problems they ran into. Life in WW2 mid-western America was highly patriotic with nearly every family having someone off at war, but these two girls had to confront how to react to a deserter. Should they help him because they know he’s a good person? Or should they turn him in because he wouldn’t make the sacrifice their brothers willingly were making? While I enjoyed the rest of the series as well, this book packs an emotional punch that shouldn’t be missed.

Dear America/Royal Diaries series- While American Girl books were my gateway drug to historical fiction, the Dear America and Royal Diaries series were my brand of choice for most of my elementary school years. The groundwork for everything I know about history, I gleaned from these books. They made the people and places real for me. They also provided strong female role models who provided examples of perseverance, courage, and strength. The stories of these young women and their places in history became vivid and alive and I wanted to know more. I found myself spending hours researching the events that I read about. They helped to foster I life-long love of history, as well as of reading.

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary- This was one of the first chapter books I remember reading. I love reading about the mischievous Ramona and her practical sister Beezus. It was just a fun, enjoyable book. Reading books like this made me want to read more. (Side note: I am greatly disappointed in the casting choices for the upcoming Ramona and Beezus movie)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine- I can’t resist a good Cinderella retelling and this book went above and beyond. Characters that in the children story were flat and rather uninteresting became quirky and complex and alive. Ella had to save herself from herself, as well as taking on her evil step-sisters and a misguided fairy. She didn’t wait around for the prince (who was decidedly charming and funny) to save her. She took care of herself and still got her happily ever after.

Some others that were popular back in the day:

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Orphan Train Adventures by Joan Lowery Nixon

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan

Babysitters’ Club by Ann M. Martin

Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery

Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler and Jared Lee

Chicka chicka Boom Boom! By Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert

Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine

Boxcar Children series by Gerture Chandler Warner

Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene

Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon

Superfudge by Judy Blume

Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Ryland

BFG by Roald Dahl

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

What was your favorite book in elementary school and why?

All You Need Is Love

2010-02-10T05:05:00.000Z

Just a bit of housekeeping: If you're reading this, PLEASE sign up as a follower! Thank you! Now, on to business:

So, to continue my exploration of love, I’ll move on to movies. I was not nearly as appalled by the lists I found for movies as I was for books. Most of the couples/stories were not nearly as dysfunctional or problematic as the ones so highly prized in literature. Since there was not sufficient material for me to rant about, I’ve decided to just make a list of some of my favorite romantic movies and why.

Love Actually (2003)- This is just an awesome movie. Not only does it have like 80% of my favorite British actors and actresses in it, but it also shows great examples of a lot of different kinds of love. There’s unrequited love, young love, surviving life after love, love that transcends language, unconditional parental love, and love that throws off social expectation. One of my favorite story lines is the story of Liam Neeson’s character, Daniel, and his stepson, Sam. Sam’s mother just died prior to the story starting, so Daniel is trying to figure out how to raise his stepson without his wife. The development of the father-son dynamic is just adorable, especially as Daniel helps Sam navigate the perils of his first crush. My other favorite story line is the story of Colin Firth’s character, Jamie, falling in love with his beautiful Portuguese housekeeper, Aurelia, who doesn’t speak a word of English. Despite the language barrier, these two oddly matched people fall in love. The basic message of this movie that love comes in many forms, but everybody needs it in their lives.

Forrest Gump (1994)- (This one’s for you, Dad) Forrest Gump once said, “I'm not a smart man... but I know what love is.” And he did. He remained devoted to the same woman since the day he met her on the bus on the way to his first day of school. Forrest’s love for Jenny is the epitome of unconditional love. No matter how horribly she treats him, he still trusts her and his love never wavers. That love for her lasts even after she’s died from cancer, as he continues to tell her everything about his life with their son. Forrest Gump has the innocence to be able to give love to everyone who touches his life. He loves his mama. He loves his best friend, Bubba. He loves Lt. Dan. He probably even loves all of the people he tells his life’s story to. But the best love (in my humble opinion) is between him and his son, Little Forrest, because Little Forrest is the only one pure enough to accept his love without reservation.

When Harry Met Sally (1989) – “And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night.” That quote pretty much sums up the relationship between Harry Burns and Sally Albright. First they hated each other, then after not seeing each other for several years, they met and became friends. And eventually, they were so close that they didn’t know what to do without each other. I think the dynamic in this movie is fascinating. On paper, they don’t make sense. He’s this cynical, pessimistic realist and she’s the compulsive, optimistic perfectionist, but somehow, because they’ve become such good friends, it just makes sense for them to fall in love. She makes him think and he makes her have fun. What could be a better recipe for a happy relationship?

Beauty and the Beast (1991) – Sorry to disillusion you, Mom, but growing up this was probably my favorite Disney movie. I love the fact that the bookworm gets a happy ending. And, once again, unexpected love grows out of friendship. The feminist in me likes that the Beast must learn respect and consideration before he can win Belle’s heart. The romantic in me likes that in the end, she breaks the spell and they live happily every after. It is a children’s movie, but I think it is also a great example of love seeing past the physical and being about what’s inside of the person.

Sabrina (1954 and 1995) – aka The Ugly Duckling falls in love. Only it’s not who you expect. On paper, David Larrabee, is the perfect Prince Charming. He knows all of the right moves, he knows how to look at a girl just right, and he’s got heaps of money. Can I just say, BORING? His older brother, Linus, on the other hand, is much more complex and interesting. On the surface, he’s a cold-hearted bastard who only cares about making his business bigger and better. But, as is usual in these cases, he’s got a bit more to him than meets the eye. It takes a while, but eventually, both he and Sabrina see that they would be happier in their odd, more complex relationship, than they would be if she married his dopey younger brother and he kept himself locked up in suits and ties.

The Quiet Man (1952) – This movie, which could only be described as a masculine chick flick, is an odd example of love, but it works. The conflicts between old, Irish traditions about love and marriage clash with new, American views about love and marriage and a whole heap of fun ensues. At some points, it’s hard to tell if Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara) actually loves Sean (John Wayne), but in the end, she does. Theirs is a stubborn love, but its true and that becomes evident when, even after being dragged through town and field, Mark Kate still kisses her husband and goes home to make him dinner. Sexist, but still, a great ending to a really, really funny scene.

The Princess Bride (1987) - “And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva...” Sorry, had to be done. Despite the fact that Buttercup is a complete moron, I love this movie. It is wonderfully silly and highly entertaining, plus it does tell the story of a love that (in theory) is quite epic. Westley goes through such an insane ordeal, all so he can keep his word and return to the woman he loves (although I don’t know why). Along with this typical love story, there’s also the great relationship between Fezzick and Inigo and the love that the grandfather feels for his grandson.

Pretty Woman (1990) - This is one of the first full-fledged chick-flicks I remember seeing. Somehow, outrageous hooker Vivian works her way past detached, reserved Edward’s defenses and her own and they fall in love. It’s a fairly standard Pygmalion-esque story, but I still love it. Especially the fire escape scene at the end. Classic!

The Holiday (2006) – I didn’t expect to like this movie, but I love it. It is one of the only Jack Black movies I can actually tolerate. But more than that, it presents two really sweet romances. Jack Black’s character Miles shows Iris, played charmingly by Kate Winslet, how to break out of her shell and become a strong, independent woman, with the help of old-school screenwriter, Arthur. On the other side of the world, the too-independent Amanda falls in love with Graham and his daughters, despite herself. She has to learn to trust and to listen to her feelings. On top of that, the interaction between Jude Law’s character Graham and his daughters is precious!

The Phantom of the Opera (2004) – Ok, all in all, kind of a tragic story. But, at the same time there’s a very sweet element to Erik’s love for Christine. I mean, I totally get why she chooses Raoul over Erik, but at the same time, I can also see just how much love Erik has for Christine. He craves affection and wants so badly to spend forever with Christine, but it’s an impossible love. He is too corrupt and too removed from society to be able to temper his feelings and carry on any sort of real relationship, and in the end, he realizes this. But, he continues to love her until long after she’s gone.

What romantic movies would make your list and why?

"For you alone I think and plan"

2010-02-09T04:28:00.000Z

When researching for this blog, the lists I found when searching for “great love stories in literature” appalled me. 85% of the lists were filled with couples whom I would say were decidedly in lust or infatuated with each other. When I think of true love, I think of the C.S. Lewis quote, “Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” Most of the couples our society appears to consider part of the greatest love stories in history most definitely do NOT fit into this definition.

In response to this, I’ve devised two lists. The first will be comprised of the couples that society thinks of as part of the great love stories. The second will be comprised of the forgotten souls that are actually part of the great love stories.

Society’s List and why I think they leave something to be desired:

Romeo and Juliet from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare- sigh! The couple that everyone immediately thinks of when you say “love story.” Even as an 8^th grader, reading this for the first time, I knew that they were most definitely not in love. Romeo starts off the play in love with Rosalind, pining over her. Then less than 12 hours later, he claims to be in love with Juliet. He only really seems to care about himself. The same goes for Juliet. She knows the guy for less than a day and agrees to marry him. That’s not love. That’s infatuation. What’s more its juvenile infatuation. Then they go and completely ruin their lives for each other. Literally. The one improvement West Side Story made on this tale was that Maria at least had the guts to keep going after Tony got killed. Got killed, not committed suicide like Romeo the Idiot. Juliet then proves an even bigger idiot than Romeo by killing herself. What’s the point? Romeo is just horny, narcissistic, and fickle. Juliet is whiney, willful, and wimpy. The End.

Catherine and Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte- I’m sorry, but anyone who thinks Wuthering Heights is a love story has either never really read the book or been smoking something. If anything, it is the opposite of a love story. It’s a hate story. Heathcliff is a manipulative, abusive, cruel bastard who makes everyone around him miserable. There are literally no redemptive qualities in him. He spends the entire story scheming to get what he wants and abusing the people he’s supposed to care for. And Catherine. Good grief. She’s a whiney, willful (hmm…sensing a pattern here), and self-centered brat. She goes around throwing fits when she doesn’t get what she wants and playing people against each other to get what she thinks is the best deal for herself. I’m sorry, but that is most definitely NOT a love story.

Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell- Rhett and Scarlett have a very similar relationship to Cathy and Heathcliff, except they at least have some good qualities. Rhett appears to at least care for Scarlett in some way and tries to do what he feels is best for her, even if he’s too selfish to succeed at times. And Scarlett is too wrapped up in thinking that she loves Ashley to really love any of her husbands, but Rhett especially. Really, Scarlett is too wrapped up in Scarlett. She is one of the most self-indulgent creatures I’ve ever come across. And in the end, she pays the price.

Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte- I don’t have as much a problem with these two as I do with the others. To a certain extent, it’s at least obvious that they have some sort of affection for each other. But you add in his secret, mad wife being kept in the attic and her weirdly controlling cousin and you get a few flaws in the make up. And then there’s the whole bit about him having to lose his sight and the use of his arm in a fire in order for him to be “redeemed” enough for them to be together. I’m sorry, but all in all, they’re just a bit too dysfunctional to be considered a “great couple.”

Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald- Gatsby and Daisy really are carbon copies of Cathy and Heathcliff, but I felt they still needed to be brought up. Like Rhett, Gatsby at least seems to care for Daisy somewhere deep down inside. He just doesn’t know how to go about it. But it is really difficult to see why he likes her. She’s bratty, self-absorbed, and manipulative. She plays with people for amusement and only wants what she wants. She doesn’t care about Gatsby at all.

Now for My List. The real love stories.

Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen- Now this is how a love story is supposed to go (and I’m not just saying that because I’m basing my own novel off of it). They’re separated by circumstances eight years before the start of the novel. She’s persuaded to reject him because he’s not what her family wants for her. Then he comes back and over time they realize they’re both still in love with each other. But it’s not an instant “I love you”, “I love you, too” type thing. It’s gradual. First he trusts her and depends on her. Then she turns to him over someone else. And eventually, they admit they’re feelings in a mature, thought out manner and accept whatever fate brings them.

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen- Ok, so I’m a bit of a Jane Austen addict. But the woman knew how to tell a good love story. Again, it’s not an instant love thing. The affection grows gradually over time. She realizes that he’s not such a bad guy. He helps her family. She accepts his proposal. It’s the little gestures, rather than the big ones that make a difference in this story. They reveal that Darcy is a kind, compassionate man underneath his frosty exterior. And they show that Elizabeth does have a softer side that she hides underneath her wit and brains. In the end, they reach a natural climax to their story and get married because they love each other.

Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare- These two are an odd couple and I wasn’t sure if I should include them on the list, but they’re two of my favorites. They fight back and forth for the entire play, but somehow end up in love anyways. I think that’s probably what made me put them on this list. There’s such passion in their relationship. You can just imagine them still bickering when they’re 82, but the bickering won’t matter because they truly care what happens to each other. He’s willing to fight and possibly kill his best friend for her, for heaven’s sake. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.

Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from The Anne of Green Gables Series by L.M. Montgomery- I know most people wouldn’t even think to include Anne and Gilbert on a list like this, but I’ve loved their relationship since I was a little girl. They were friends first, then slowly they fell in love because of their friendship. They depended on each other as they grew up and that constancy led to a marriage that lasted more than 50 years. Sure, they bickered and picked at each other, but in the end, they were always there for each other.

Margaret Hale and John Thornton from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell- Again, not a couple you would normally find on a list like this, but I can’t help it. They’re one of my favorites. The whole novel is full of little indications of how they feel for each other, but they’re both too stubborn to come out and admit it until the very end, when they’ve both grown enough to be able to fully appreciate they’re feelings for each other.

To me, these last five couples are what love has the potential to be if we care more about the other person than we do ourselves. The jaded part of me thinks that society elevates the other couples because they're selfish and self-indulgent and don't try to really love.

So, readers, what do you think of my lists? Who would you have put on your list?

Accidentally In Love

2010-02-04T06:20:00.000Z

February, as most of the Western/English speaking world knows, is the month in which Valentine's Day occurs. Ah, Valentine's Day- or Singles' Awareness Day as I like to call it- a day for lovers to express their true feelings for each other (usually through over-priced, commercialized items, but that's a subject for an entirely different blog).

In honor of this auspicious holiday, I'm looking at how love is expressed in our society. First, I'm going to look at one of the most ancient expressions of love- music. (I'll go into books and movies and poetry in later blogs)

Music is generally used when words alone aren't enough. I, personally, am a big fan of romantic, lovey-dovey music. I have fantasies of Josh Groban or Michael Buble showing up at my door and serenading me before asking me to run away with them. I adore the old Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole songs that used to fill the air at my great-grandmother's house.

But love songs are changing. I looked up several different "Top 100" lists of love songs and the songs in the top 10 ranged from "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's to "Your Song" by Elton John. I was quite surprised that old standards like "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Unforgettable" weren't even close to the top. In defense of the oldies but goodies, I somehow doubt that my great-grandchildren will ever listen to "Hey There Delilah."

But I digress. Love is the most common theme in modern music. Lost love, searching for love, celebrating love. Sometimes words by themselves just aren't enough to express an emotion as powerful and timeless as love. So what songs do you think of when you want to express love?

Here's my top 10 and why: (in no particular order)
1. "Love Song For No One" by John Mayer- I always feel drawn to songs like this. It's like the artist is sending their love out into the void, just hoping that someone will send it back to them.

2. "So She Dances" by Josh Groban- One word comes to mind when I hear this song- adoration. The sensual inevitability of the love in this song never fails to wrap me up like a warm hug. I also loves how it weaves this love story just like a dance, flowing over and under and around.

3. "As Time Goes By"by Jimmy Durante- I love this song because it cuts through the surface elements of love like a kiss or a smile and gets down to the most important part- being happy and making that one special person happy. I think a lot of that is lost today, which is really quite sad.

4. "Everything" by Michael Buble- This is how I think true love should be- the person you love should embody every good thing in life. And on top of that, there's such awe expressed in the chorus. This type of love never becomes a habit- it is always a blessing and, more importantly, a blessing that will endure.

5. "Come What May" by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman- True love should survive everything (even horrible things like tuberculosis and licentious rich dudes and death). Love should last forever- Amen.

6. "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra- I don't exactly know why, but I've always found this song incredibly romantic. This love could exist for the length of one dance or it could last for eternity and whichever way it goes, the memory of that night will endure.

7. "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis Presley- Sometimes, falling in love is just inevitable. Logic and life have no say in it. Some things just can't- or shouldn't- be stopped. And no outside for can change that. It is simply a part of the natural order.

8. "If I Loved You" by Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones- I've always loved this song because it is a denial of love even as it describes a very substantial form of love. And at the same time, it addresses the very real fear that we'll miss out on love. If there really are soul mates, then if we wait to long, we could lose out on our chance at happiness forever.

9. "Something There" from Beauty and the Beast- Love between friends is usually gradual in developing, but in my opinion, the most enduring love there is. Love involves a level of trust that I think demands friendship and this song expresses that magical moment where it becomes obvious that the affection of friendship has grown into true love.

10. "Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows- Hmm...love can just sneak up on you when you least expect it. Go figure!

What songs would be on your top 10 love song list and why?

Procrastinating: Episode 1

2009-12-08T02:27:00.000Z

On this episode of Taylor procrastinating paper writing: A list of 100 Books the BBC thinks that people haven't even read 6 of. How wrong shall I prove them?

An X means i have read it.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte X
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling X
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X
6 The Bible X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman X
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X

Subtotal: 9

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy X
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot X

Subtotal: 4

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

Subtotal: 3

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens X
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis X
34 Emma-Jane Austen X
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen X
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne X

Subtotal: 5

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell X
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown X
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

Subtotal: 4

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen X
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens X
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Subtotal: 2

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas X
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding X
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Subtotal: 2

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens X
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett X
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce X
76 The Inferno – Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray X
80 Possession - AS Byatt

Subtotal: 4

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens X
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker X (the book that the paper I'm procrastinating is about)
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert X
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle X
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

Subtotal: 4

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas X
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo X
SUBTOTAL: 4

TOTAL: 41

Almost half. I'd say that's fairly respectable for a 21 year old.

The Literary Hit List of Libby Brown: Entry 2

2009-10-30T02:07:00.001Z

Target: Mr. William Collins

Location: Rectory at Rosings Park
Source of Origin: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Object: eliminate the target without alerting family

Stats: 5’5”, brown hair, brown eyes, slight build

Crime(s): brown-nosing, pompousness, disturbing the peace, pontificating, cruel and unusual punishment by way of Fordyce’s sermons, general annoyingness

Potential Hazards: Lady Catherine De Burgh, Mrs. Charlotte Lucas

Deadline: 20:00 Blooklandia Standard Time

This message flashed across my computer screen one minute before I felt myself being pulled out of my world and into Booklandia. Merlin, in all his wisdom, insured that I was dressed to fit into the Austenite Province. The Pen shrunk so it could be tucked up my sleeve. I hiked out of the thick forest I had landed in.

How the hell was I supposed to kill this guy? I knew all about him from having read Pride and Prejudice a million times. He was an annoying, self-important prat who I wouldn’t mind seeing the end of. I couldn’t fathom living with him every day for 200 years. But how to get close enough to do it?

In a stroke of genius, I scooped up some mud and rubbed it on my cheeks and my dress. With my clean hand, I mussed my hair until it was thoroughly tumbled. There. I should look pitiful enough for the minister and his wife to take me in. Hiding behind a tree, I watched the house for a little while to make sure the coast was clear.

Once I had confirmed that Mr. and Mrs. Collins were in their respective parlors, I crept up to the door. Calling on my inner Scarlett O’Hara, I knocked on the door and promptly pretended to faint. I lay there for a few minutes before I heard voices on the other side of the door.

“Did you hear Lady Catherine’s carriage?” an anxious man’s voice asked that grated on my every nerve.

“No, husband,” a long-suffering woman’s voice replied. “We do have other visitors besides Her Ladyship.”

“But none so important, so influential. Especially since we are perpetually stuck here in this rectory. We must do our best to not anger her in any way. Oh dear, we’re already keeping her waiting!”

“Not every knock on the door is the right, high and honorable Lady Catherine,” Mrs. Collins groused.

The door swung open.

“Oh, you poor dear.” Mrs. Collins knelt down beside me, chaffing my wrist and patting my cheek. “Husband, go and fetch some water.”

A second before I planned to open my eyes, a wave of water splashed me. Spluttering, I jerked into a sitting position.

“What on earth made you do that, Mr. Collins?” His wife put her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly disgusted with her inept husband.

“Well, um, it seemed the most effective manner of reviving the young lady from her state of incapacitation. And you did ask me to bring you some water, my dear.”

“I don’t think she meant for you to try to drown me,” I muttered.

“I’m terribly sorry. I do think we should move inside. It would be most unseemly for Lady Catherine to come and see such a…lowly creature sprawled in our front yard. Really, my dear, you must take her into the house immediately.” Mr. Collins looked like a junky looking for his next fix, all jumpy and nervous and constantly glancing at the road from Rosings. You would think he was expecting the King to descend upon us and banish him for allowing a poor girl to faint on his doorstep.

“Can you stand up? I’ll take you into the parlor while I send the maid to summon the doctor.” Mrs. Collins gave me a kindly, apologetic smile, clearly embarrassed by her husband’s outright rudeness.

“Oh, yes indeed. Our physician also services the great Lady Catherine de Burgh, whom I’m sure you’ve heard of. This rectory abuts her estate and we are great favorites at Rosings.”

“Really, there’s no need to send for a doctor. I just need a place to rest and a bit of food. I’ve been walking so long.” I tried to play it up the best I could. I’ve never been completely brilliant at the whole acting thing, but I did pretty darn good at pretending to be the weak, fading female. I let Mrs. Collins help me up and lead me into the downstairs parlor.

“You rest here, dear, while I go and fix you a plate of food. I’ll only be a moment.”

“How do you stand him?” I burst out.

“Who? My husband? Oh, I don’t know. I suppose he’s just sort of a habit for me now. We’ve lived together for so long I don’t really remember how not to. I suppose he’s my cross to bear.”

Once she was gone, I took the opportunity to scan the room for something that might help me get rid of that annoying man. One of the only indications that the room was lived in at all was the copy of Fordyce’s sermons that rested on the table beside the chaise I was sitting on. I immediately remembered Mr. Collins's fondness for the ridiculous sermons from P&P.

Suddenly, the Pen began to vibrate in my sleeve. When I pulled it out, it grew to its normal size. Taking the hint, I grabbed the book and pierced one of the pages with the Pen. It flashed a sickly green for a moment before returning to its original state. Shrugging, I sat the book down and quickly snuck out of the house.

Hiding underneath the parlor window, I glanced up over the sill. Just as I hoped, Mr. Collins was totally unconcerned with my disappearance. In his obliviousness, he sat down and instinctively picked up the book. Less than a minute after he opened it, he began to twitch. His eyes rolled around and around in his head and his skin turned an otherworldly green. Clutching at his throat, he tried to stand up, but ended up falling to his knees instead.

Within a few moments, he collapsed on the floor. Just as I started to formulate a plan for disposing of his corpse so poor Charlotte didn’t have to look at it, the body of Mr. Collins began to disintegrate in a cloud of green smoke.

When his wife came into the room barely a minute later, there was no sign that either of us had been there.

I know it’s wrong to be ok with killing a man. But he was a fictional man who had been tormenting that poor woman for 200 years. It felt right. I almost enjoyed watching him die.

But would I enjoy all of my hits this much? Time would tell. Was I a monster for enjoying this? Only my soul will tell.

IMO: The Last Song By Nicholas Sparks

2009-10-29T03:43:00.000Z

I just have to get this out. Ordinarily, I love a good Nicholas Sparks book from time to time. Sometimes I just need a good overdose of sappy love, even if 75% of them have horribly sad endings.

I just started reading Mr. Sparks's latest novel and it's fairly standard fare for him. Except for one thing. Every chapter has to tell you who's POV it is set in. I understand that most of the reading public isn't comprised of geniuses, but I think if you start a paragraph off saying "Will ran down the beach" or something to that effect, they get the picture that it is from Will's point of view. Why do we need to be told? None of his other books have done this and it's very annoying and making it hard for me to get settled into the story fully because I'm so annoyed.

Just thought I'd put that out there. If I can get past this, I'll post a full review once I've finished.

Random List 1: Favorite Jane Austen Heroines and Heroes

2009-10-26T02:40:00.000Z

My brain is trying to process stuff right now, so I decided to make a random list. This one is in keeping with the epic paper about Jane Austen I'm currently working on.

Favorite Jane Austen Heroine: (In order from favorite to least favorite)
1. Elizabeth Bennett
2. Anne Elliot
3. Fanny Price
4. Elinor Dashwood
5. Emma Woodhouse
6. Catherine Moreland

Favorite Jane Austen Hero
1. Mr. Darcy and Captain Wentworth (I can't choose between them)
2. Mr. Knightley
3. Edmund Bertram
4. Henry Tilney
5. Edward Ferrars

In the Big Inning

2009-10-22T03:28:00.000+01:00

When was baseball first mentioned in the Bible? Genesis 1:1 In the BIG-inning!

I've read a lot lately about the strength or importance of first paragraphs. In the spirit of this and because I'm too lazy to do an extensive blog entry this week, I'm going to post the first few paragraphs of both of my novels and see what everybody thinks. Any feedback is heartily welcomed!

A Steady Wish (my first novel)

It is a truth generally acknowledged that a young woman is going to have a romantic ideal from an early age. We’re bombarded with movies filled with images of Prince Charming rescuing the damsel-in-distress and carrying her off to the castle to live happily ever after- although we never really know what that means. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been fascinated with romances. Part of me has always thought that romance was in my blood; I am descended from at least four generations of high school sweethearts. Even when I was too young to form coherent sentences, I would sit for hours watching these movies where the beautiful girl fell in love with the beautiful boy and they went on to (supposedly) lead the perfect life together.

I just realized: I’ve done a lot of talking, but you don’t know who I am. Well, my name is Margaret McGregor, but I go by Maggie.

In college, I was an English major and I absolutely love reading and analyzing and examining stories. However, as much as I enjoyed my world of books, I decided something during the summer between my first and second year in college: I needed to get a social life. Well, technically, I had somewhat of a social life, so more to the point, a romantic life. That’s right. I was 19 years old and had never even been on a real date.

For The Rest Of Our Lives (my second novel)

A stack of books was attacking her the day he first walked into her store. As usual, she was trying to carry too many books over to the fiction section to shelve. Just as the bell jingled to alert her of a new arrival in the store, she lost her grip on the precariously balanced books and they went flying.

“Fudge monkey!” She immediately bent down gather up the scattered volumes.

“Are you alright?” He noticed that she didn’t look up at him as he knelt to help her. A becoming blush stained her cheeks as she reassembled the stack into a more sturdy structure. She was short, barely reaching his shoulder and of a moderately slender build. Her curly, red-brown hair fell into her Irish green eyes, obstructing his view of her face.

“I’m fine,” she said breathlessly. “Just clumsy, is all.”

“You’re not hurt?”

“Oh, I’ve taken worse tumbles than that. You’d think working in a book store would be safe, but it has its perils.” She took the last book from him and stood up, resuming her route to the fiction section. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Um, no, not really.” As her embarrassment died down, she began to notice him. His voice was lyrical, a mix of the Old South and a British accent. When she turned around, she was struck by how tall he was, at least in comparison to her petite stature. Standing at maybe 6’4”, he had close-cropped dark, honey blonde hair. His sea blue eyes were set in a strikingly well sculpted face with a firm looking mouth that had the smallest hint of dimples around the edges. “I’m new in town and I always like to familiarize myself with the local bookstores. I’m a great reader and I like to support the local economy.”

“Well, I am Charlie Anders, one of the proprietors of The Kentington Korner. Welcome to Kentington, Mr…”

“Just call me Jack.” He smiled down at her and her knees went a little weak. “Well, it looks like you have a lovely establishment here, Ms. Anders. I hope to see you again.”

Just as quickly as he entered the shop, he left it. Charlie couldn’t help but stare after him, puzzled.

Just A Bit Of Silliness, Part 1

2009-10-15T23:40:00.000+01:00

Oh, where has all the imagination gone?

Last night, I was watching Finding Neverland and I was struck by how much fun it looked like the boys were having with their imaginations. Most of the kids I know would very rarely improvise pirate costumes and create these elaborate stories bout their adventures. The most I’ve seen of modern imaginations is manifested in very realistically based games such as “school” or “house.” And these manifestations are not regular occurrences.

As much as I love television and movies, they have greatly stunted the growth of many imaginations. Video games are even worse. They allow the player to enter the world of someone else’s imagination and play there for a while, but totally eliminate the need for the player to develop their own imagination. A majority of children today prefer to have other worlds presented to them on the screen of a TV rather than cultivating new worlds in their heads. This summer I worked as a nanny and when I tried to get the girls to stretch their imaginations, they were at a loss. I had to lay out what they were doing and what they were supposed to imagine. They had no clue how to make up a game outside the realm of the familiar.

I was not one of these children. Growing up, I, along with my friends, created a world full of original imaginations as well as our favorite fictional characters. Rather than just being entertained by our favorite characters from books, TV, and movies, we interacted with them. They were our friends and family, our playmates and confidants.

Even the books that encourage imagination have fallen by the wayside until very recently. I was very sad to learn that many of the elementary schoolers in my acquaintance have not read Where The Wild Things Are. The advent of the cinematic version of this book is both a blessing and a curse. Allegedly, this movie will help sell more copies of the book, but at the same time they kind of ruin the mystique and imagination surrounding the stories.

As a child, I wanted to be Max and go out to where these odd creatures roamed. I wanted to take part in the “Wild Rumpus.” I had no tangible visualization of what this would be beyond the illustrations, I just knew that is would be great fun (at least it was in my imagination). Now, children can turn to one person’s interpretation on film and not have to try to imagine what the Wild Rumpus would be like.

It makes me pity the current generation, because they are being robbed of these opportunities to imagine books into their won reality. While I really do enjoy books being turned to movies, I still go back to my own versions in my imagination. I still see my own versions of Bella and Edward when I read Twilight. I walk through my Cair Paravel when I read The Chronicles of Narnia. Even after seeing the movie, I will still see my own Wild Rumpus when I read Where The Wild Things Are.

Imagination is a wonderful gift that is becoming stunted and suffocated in American Society. When kids complain of boredom, parents should hand them a book or give them a destination to pretend to visit instead of sitting them in front of the TV or video game. TV is all well and good, but imagination is something that is with you forever.

So, Let imaginations grow! Let the Wild Rumpus BEGIN!

The Literary Hit List of Libby Brown: Entry 1

2009-10-06T02:48:00.000+01:00

As a writing exercise, I've decided to write a sub-blog as a girl who goes into the world where fictional characters live and work as an assassin that takes out the most annoying characters in literature. Any suggestions for future targets are welcome!

This blog will chronicle my adventures in Booklandia.

I made my first trip to Booklandia two weeks ago. I hadn’t meant to go there. It just happened. One minute I was curled up in my grandmother’s old chair and the next I was falling on my butt in the middle of a field. I t could have been a field anywhere, in any country. I didn’t begin to suspect I wasn’t still in my world until I saw what looked like a griffin fly overhead.

“Where the hell am I?” I said this aloud because sometimes talking to yourself is the only way to have an intelligent conversation.

“This is Booklandia.” The voice was that of an older man and it came from directly behind me. I turned around to see a wizened old man in flowing blue robes standing serenely behind me. “The land where the fictional characters of your world live on until we are forgotten.”

“You- You’re not Merlin, are you?” As I was asking this I was running over possible explanations for my presence here. Maybe I had too much to drink and blacked out. Yeah, that was it!

“Well, of course I am, girl. I created this world ages ago to give fictional characters a place to live.”

“Right, sure you did. Then what am I doing here? Last time I checked, I’m not a fictional character. Wait! Am I dead? Please tell me I’m not dead. That would really suck.”

Merlin huffed. “You’re not dead, you silly girl. I brought you here.”

“Why would you bring me here?”

“Well, technically speaking, you brought you here, but I chose you when you were a little girl to be the Cleanser.”

“The Cleanser? What am I, face wash?” Yes, I was being a smart-aleck, but I had an excuse.

Merlin rolled his eyes at me. “Would you mind letting me explain? Is that too difficult for you to manage?” I bit my lips to hold back any response I might have made.

“Thank you.” Merlin conjured up two armchairs and indicated for me to sit down. That’s right, I was sitting in fluffy pink armchairs in the middle of nowhere with freaking Merlin.

“Now, as I was explaining, you are the Cleanser. I have waited over 1,000 years to find the right person to carry the Pen of Balance.”

“The Pen of Balance?” I tried really hard not to laugh, but it sounded so ridiculous that I couldn’t help it. Merlin raised an eyebrow and I eventually got control of myself.

“The Pen of Balance is a pen that I have created with the power to…exterminate fictional characters.”

“Why would you want to kill fictional characters?”

“Well, there are some characters that are social menaces and they only get worse with age. They do nothing but disturb the peace of the other characters and put everyone in a decidedly unhappy frame of mind. I’ve spent the last ten centuries riding herd on them and trying to keep them in check, but I saw that I would have to find someone from your world to solve this problem once and for all. So I chose a voracious young reader and granted her the powers of the Cleanser.”

“Why can’t one of the heroes here take care of them for you?” I finally had a legitimate question!

“Because they are part of the fabric of Booklandia. For the most part, heroes and villains live in peace here and very few people die. Only someone from your world can ultimately kill a Booklandian. Believe me, if these people could have been killed, they would have been.”

I had to stop and consider this for a moment. “So you want me to kill fictional characters for you?”

“In a word, yes. Although, I should warn you that you really don’t have much choice in the matter. The powers I put in you when you were five years old will keep pulling you back here until you embrace your destiny.”

“Do I have to live here?”

“Oh, no, you couldn’t reside here permanently. That would negate your powers completely. You will only be called back here when I have sufficient evidence to justify a hit, for lack of a better term.”

“I don’t have to go through any sort of special training, do I? I mean, don’t most chosen warriors have to go through some training course to use their powers?”

“You’re powers will come more from instinct than anything else. Whatever ability you require Booklandia and the Pen of Balance will provide. But your knowledge of books will be of great use to you along the way.”

“Well, that’s convenient.” I sighed in resignation. Who was I to argue with Merlin? “So, where is this pen?”

“Right here.” A sleek, silver pen the size of a woman’s sword appeared in my lap. The tip looked like an old-fashioned pen-nib.

“So this is what they meant when they said the pen is mightier than the sword.”

“I will contact you through the pen when I have need of you, so it must be with you are all times. It will shrink to normal size in your world to avoid detection. You must tell no one of this.”

Then, he gave a flick of his wrist and I was back home in my chair.

I’ll just say it for all of you- WEIRD!!!!

To be Defiant or Not to be Definite about being Defiant

2009-09-30T00:22:00.000+01:00

Definite: clearly defined or determined; not vague or general; fixed; precise; exact

Defiant: characterized by defiance; boldly resistant or challenging

As an avid fan fiction reader, I’ve noticed one of the most commonly misused adjectives is the word “defiantly.” Many people use it in place of the correct word: “definitely,” such as when they say, “Sure, I’ll defiantly do that.” What they mean to say is “Sure, I’ll definitely do that.”

My question is: why? I got a pretty standard, public school education and I know they taught us the difference between the two. If they were synonymous or even spelled almost identically, I could understand, but these are two words with two very different meanings.

Definite has a positive connotation. If something is definite, then it is going to happen. It is fixed in our minds as a fact of life or a natural course of events.

Defiant has a more negative connotation. James Dean looked at the world defiantly. If something is defiant, it goes against things that are definite; it disputes reality and challenges the wills of others.

Sorry, that is a rant that has been needing to come out for years. I am definitely defiantly against the misuse of the word defiantly.

P.S. FINALLY! A new John Mayer album comes out November 17th!!!!

What is the world coming to?

2009-09-28T04:15:00.000+01:00

Apparently, to make it as a writer these days, you need a blog. So, I have given in and started a blog.

I went to a Writers' Workshop this weekend and picked up all sorts of wonderful tidbits like this from the brilliant women running the workshop. There is a lot of stuff about the publishing world that I was totally clueless about, but now that I'm not so in the dark, I plan to try my hardest to make it.

This blog will chronicle my endeavors to enter the publishing world and to grow as a writer. It is going to be a long, uphill battle, but I'll make it the end...hopefully...

More when my brain isn't too full to function...