It's time I told the truth...

This post inspired the following entry.

I haven't really been honest about something. So, here it goes.

I hate the Twilight series. I had read the first book and thought of it as boring, unimpressive, peopled with unrelatable and flat characters, and fraught with lost opportunities. I have zero interest in reading the other books for the same reasons. I think the series' success is unjustified. The vampires sparkle. I watched the film online... and it wasn't even funny, it was just awful.

I mentioned to my manager the other day that I saw the movie. She asked me an interesting question: "if you didn't like the book, why did you see the movie?" I told her because I wanted to laugh at it. Now, it makes me realize that I should've left well alone. Moved on after reading the first book, instead of jumping onto the hatred bandwagon.

Look, there are better things to read and see. But, it's not my place to be so damn judgmental on people's choice of entertainment. If Twilight and the rest of the series tickles them pink, let them have it. I have my things and I'm pretty damn happy.

If you read the post I linked, you'll read that there are whispers of Edward and Bella's relationship being... well, unhealthy. I don't know what to really say about that. I just hope when girls read the books, they don't take what's been said and done as dating advice.

If reading this book has taught me anything, it was to make my characters stronger. Aren't books (even bad ones) supposed to teach writers how to write?

I do extend an apology to my very good friend, who is also a big Twilight fan. I'm sorry that I hadn't been really honest.

I leave you, listening to Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere"...

-Lindsey

I call it. *see below*

I probably said it already in my last posts, but anyway... Happy Thanksgiving!

Yeah, I call it. I can't finish La Reine Margot in time. But hey, I got very far. Chapter 42 of 66. My sis will likely succeed with Jane Eyre. Go sis!

My next post will be a book review. I leave you, listening to Fleetwood Mac's "Isn't It Midnight"...

-Lindsey

LOLwhut?

What is this f***ery?!



When I told my mom about this, she said, "Are they [Hollywood] running out of ideas?"

Apparently, this movie is coming out NEXT YEAR. Uhm... missing the point there, dudes who are responsible for this.

And plus, WTF on The Shining trailer music. I was expecting elevators gushing blood to appear any minute!

Hollywood needs to stay the hell away from stuff like this. Many cultures believe something big is gonna happen on December 21st, 2012. And somebody thought it would make a great action movie... God help us. *headdesk until forehead draws blood*

/random rant

It's mah birthday!

*dances the happy dance*

It was a good one too. My mom baked me a cake and then my family and I went out to a restaurant.

My sister, who is awesome, bought me a few nice things: Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (CD), Rush's Moving Pictures (CD), The Complete Persepolis (book), and Dead Until Dark (book). Thanks, sis!

While we were shopping, she bought a copy of Twilight. She's going to give it a try. Poor thing... but it will be funny as hell XD She'll likely finish it in less time than I did (it took me five months).

I changed my icon, yet again. It's of Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison. I have a crush on him. Man, I have a weird taste in men XD (but hell, I have a thing for guys with curly hair...)


Happy Thanksgiving, folks!

-Lindsey

P.S.: Expect yet another post in three... two... one... now, check above this one ^

Somewhat obligatory update

O, hai!

New icon: The Summit by Michael Parkes

Way behind on La Reine Margot. Wouldn't be surprised if I don't finish it before November 30th. Also reading Their Eyes Were Watching God for class. So many books!

I also bought The Secret History. Ya know, the book people say is better than Special Topics In Calamity Physics? Lord help me, I was in a masochistic mood. Wait until I read American Psycho... :/

Also got new glasses. I look awesome.

Yea, my birthday's in three days! Can't wait to go out and eat with my family and eat homemade cake.

Okay, enough from me. I leave you, jamming out to the Police's "Contact"...

-Lindsey

Could someone please...

give Katy Perry a copy of the DSM-IV? 'Cause, apparently she needs to be schooled on what bipolar disorder is.

Dang it. Now that stupid song is stuck in my head. XP I'm playing Goldfrapp as loud as possible, but it's not working. Oh wait... it is. Thank Jesus for electronica.

Oh noes! D:

It seems my favorite Silent Hill forum is down. Hope things are okay. I love that site, the people are classy and super-friendly.

I also completely forgot about my blog on Gamespot, which was mostly for gaming. I think I'll start talking about that here. Nothing against GS, but it makes things easier for me. *looks at games* Holy smokes, I have Max Payne 2! I forgot about that one! I also have Mirror's Edge and other games. I also plan on buying the latest Tomb Raider and Fallout 3. And all those untouched PS2 games. I got a busy holiday ahead of me!

Wow, uhm... there's, I guess, no more to say for the moment. So, I leave you, thinking about books...

Regards,
Lindsey

List of favorites: literary edition!

Okay, I had it. Those text boxes with my favorite writers and poets need to go. They're cluttering up my page and stuff. Instead, I will devote this entire post to nothing but favorites. For now, I'll stick to literary topics.

Favorite Writers:
Madeleine L'Engle
Richard Matheson
Charlotte Brontë
Ray Bradbury
Flannery O'Conner
Dean Koontz
Shirley Jackson
Thomas Harris
Edith Wharton
Stephen King
Kate Chopin

Favorite Poets:
Robert Frost
Walt Whitman
William Blake
Anne Bradstreet

Favorite Books (top ten):

1. A House Like A Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle
2. What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
5. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
6. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
7. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
8. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston LeRoux
9. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
10. Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor

Favorite Genres:
Psychological suspense/thriller
Psychological horror
Gothic
Amateur detective mystery
Character studies (but the characters must be interesting, dammit!)

Favorite Literary Criticism Tools:
Comparative (I once used this method to prove how Toni Morrison's Beloved was also a supernatural horror novel)
Reader-Response (I think they don't empathize this enough in practicing literary thinking)
Biographical (and they say writers don't use any bit of themselves in their work... pffffff!)
Psychological (what were they really thinking?! XD)

Favorite Characters (ever!):
Jane Eyre (from the eponymous book)
Polly O'Keefe (from A House Like A Lotus)
Margaret Lea (from Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale)
Will Graham (from Red Dragon)

Uhm, I can't think of any more categories. So, I leave you, listening to Matthew Sweet's "Divine Intervention"...

Regards,
Lindsey

P.S.: The strange smell mystery has been solved. It's wood burning in people's fireplaces. Huh, never would've made that conclusion.

And hey, what do y'all think of the icon? It's of my gal, Tina Weymouth. She rocks a serious bass.

I guess there is such a thing...

I started on a new paper journal and I just don't like how it works at all. It has inserts of artistic-looking author quotes. The quotes I dig, but it's the lined paper. Some pages have the lines spaced out to accompany only about ten lines a page! I'm thinking I'm going to fill this one up real quick. Yet, it is discouraging. Man, I hate it when that happens.

I should be honest, I got real behind on La Reine Margot. I'm throwing back and forth the idea of calling it. On top of that, I'm reading Eugene O'Neill's plays and the spoken vernacular is driving me insane. The only time I would understand a word is if I see the play acted out. I may come across as politically-incorrect (i.e. "speak proper American English, dammit!"), but trust me, I'm not. What I really mean is it bothers me because I have great difficulty picturing how the dialogue is spoken. Of course, I could read it aloud. I should try that.

Okay, I'm not sure which avatar I want up. I have one I made myself. The picture is of a sign from Beaumaris Castle in Wales. I looked at it and thought "potential icon!" I immediately thought of Homer Simpson's immortal words and thus, you have the current icon.

It may switch back to Waterstone's Miranda or venture to Parkes' The Summit. Or Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison or Tina Weymouth. Or something else... ?

I leave you, wondering if it's my computer that's been making a funny smell... 0_O;

Regards,
Lindsey

Mark my words...

...Paramore's "Decode" will become a downloadable track for Rock Band and/or Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Just you wait, y'all. I sense it. With the Twilight film coming soon and the possible marketing ploys MTV might pull...

Addendum: not into the whole Twilight noise or Paramore at all... this is just a random thought.

Icon update!

My sister made me a lovely icon from the Waterhouse painting of Miranda from Shakespeare's The Tempest.

I'm also fooling around with layouts. Hope to find one that works.

I leave you, listening to Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies", slowly approaching its 666th listen. Aaah!

Regards,
Lindsey

A smattering of thoughts...

The first thing y'all might take notice of is that my icon had changed. My sister made it for me after I told her about my favorite line from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ya gotta love British humor.

Life is going well. I finished up my counseling. I was surprised it ended in about two months. I was thinking it would take longer. I also registered for classes next semester. Two are serious lit classes. Here's to it working this time... well, it will work or I'll be damned.

After asking around, I found some places that might sell a vintage Fender Mustang. My heart's been set on one since I played Rock Band 2 (one of the guitars you can buy for your avatar is a 1965 Mustang). I colored it to look like the one David Byrne had (dark red with a pearl guard).
This guy at a guitar store near my house told me that Mustangs regained popularity because Kurt Cobain used one. I was somewhat aware that Cobain used one, but not of the popularity thing. Go fig, me still being unaware of trends. Plus, since it's a small guitar, it works out because of my current space issue.

Still reading La Reine Margot. About three days' worth of reading behind. It's a hard read, but I'm still enjoying it.

I bought Mirror's Edge recently. So far, it's a pretty good game, but there are timed parts. Dammit. I also canceled my preorder of Tomb Raider: Underworld due to monetary constraints and the fact that I have zero interest in it. I downloaded the demo. It sure looks nice and it's nice to see that Lara still controls badly. Ha!

A little-known fact about myself: I grew up on country music. I got into rock on my own (well, sort of). We're talking Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Randy Travis and Nanci Griffith. My parents were into rock: my mom loved Fleetwood Mac and my dad loved Genesis, CCR, the Moody Blues, Phil Collins, Dan Fogelberg, and Fleetwood Mac.
Yet they never bothered to really expose me to all that. Sure, my mom had issues with Madonna (especially during the Like A Prayer era), but otherwise, there wasn't anything that would warp my little mind. Over the years, I still gravitate to some of the older country (especially Nanci Griffith). Yet, most country music now is just horrible. It's trying way too hard to be rock.

I got into rock music when I was about eleven. A friend of my mom's gave me an extra copy of Fleetwood Mac's The Dance. I listened to it while we were staying with her in L.A. Obviously, fond memories were had. Later, I started borrowing my dad's Genesis and Phil Collins CDs. At the same time, my dad went through a Celine Dion phase that lasted until mid-2004. Obviously, even if we tried, my sister and I couldn't escape repeated plays of Let's Talk About Love. While all my friends were swooning over Backstreet Boys and Ricky Martin, I was jamming through my pre-teens to CCR's "Bad Moon Rising" and Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way".
Throughout my teens, I was exposed to Steely Dan, Prince, the Eagles, Tom Petty, et all. By then, I was a fairly hardcore Fleetwood Mac. When I turned 19, I rediscovered Genesis. Hardcore with them until about nine months ago when I sort-of rediscovered Talking Heads. The abridged version is that I bought Speaking in Tongues at a mall while visiting a friend of my dad's (what's with me discovering potential musical loves while on vacation?) and only got into "Burning Down the House". Fast-track to five years later, I buy some of their songs on iTunes and got hooked, bought their Best of and... well, the rest is history.

Whoa, time to resurrect the tag "hey a long post", which I wanted to read like this: "Hey! A long post!" but the tag system isn't very kind to punctuation.

Nothing else for now. I leave you, listening to the Nostalgic Critic's review on Tom & Jerry: The Movie. Hilarious...

Regards,
Lindsey

The votes are in...

Sen. Barack Obama is our newest president. *tries very hard not to freak out from excitement*

Check out the news here.

We witnessed history being made, ladies and gents. Way to go, everyone. Voters rock!

Congratulations, Senator!

I leave you, excited about the upcoming inauguration...

Regards,
Lindsey

Election Day!

Well, today's the big day. I already voted early, so to avoid the madness that is today's long voting lines. I'm looking forward to what the night holds, yet I am worried... for the obvious reasons.

I also am unsure on what to do for next semester. I'm debating whether to change majors, put up and shut up or do the semi-unthinkable: skip the semester. I'll know for sure tomorrow. Let's just say I believe the latter is about as likely to happen as hell freezing over.

As for NaNoReMo, I had a late start. I just got past Chapter 4 in La Reine Margot. I got crazy busy, but just so y'all know... it's a damn good read. Lots of intrigue and suspense.

As for hobbies, here are a few new ideas:
drawing (I did used to be a cartoonist)
studying literature on the side

I leave you, wondering who will be our next President...

Regards,
Lindsey