I had a post for you...

but my computer ate it. No seriously, I had it all typed up and ready to post yesterday.

I had accidentally restarted my computer and lost it. That's what you get when you write your post on Wordpad and don't save it.

I do recall it being about the end of the year and how I'm reacting to it. Well, something along the lines of how resolutions made on New Year's Day seems to set me up for disappointment. And that after all, I should do it when I should. I can't wait another day to reset, just only pick up where I left off.

I don't want to resort to platitudes. I can't even do that. Well, because, it's not even true that it's easy. There will always be stopping and going. That is how it's gonna be and will be. But giving up is admitting defeat and that is what malignant forces would want from us. I keep this in mind while I try to get myself to write something. I can't just start over again. Pointless. Just pick up where I left off and keep going.

If you're in the same boat as I am, I hope this inspires you in some way to finish/do whatever it is.

Merry Holidays!

Obviously, today is Christmas so... Merry Christmas to all my readers and random browsers!

Soooo... yeah. Had things happen. Therefore, no update since the 15th.

I'm announcing that the "25 songs..." and "24 reviews..." projects will carry on into the New Year. I think starting off such goals late in the game wasn't a wise move. Overall, I need to stop procrastinating so damn much.

In the next few days, I will release my end-of-the-year film (which will be pathetic) and book lists (which is also as pathetic). In all fairness, I'm starting to catch up with all this and I will be done by the time 2011 ends, of course.

I vow to do better. I need to review more contemporary stuff, but never abandon the older stuff. So here's to that.

Take care and see y'all at the usual time and place!

Sorry, not creative enough for a title today...

And so, today marks my 24th year of existing. So far, this living thing is interesting. I've learned a lot so far, done so many things, and encountered all different kinds of viewpoints and people. I look forward to more years of living and learning.

Hope your Thanksgiving and Black Friday were safe and happy ones. If your birthday was today also, then join me in reveling for about 30 more minutes.

Calling it now

I can't finish The Prince of Tides for NaNoReMo for two reasons:

1) procrastinated on it

2) the dialogue makes me want to whip out my red pen and edit it (I mean, damn!)

One common criticism I get on my writing is my take on dialogue. Totally fine, I've been working on it. Conroy makes me look like a stellar literary conversationalist.

So, I have a new goal: finish the eleven books I've been reading right now (including Just Kids) before the end of the year. The Prince of Tides can just go sit in the corner and think about what it's done to dialogue in fiction.

And stay there until I deem it time.

Go Patti Smith!

Joyous news! Smith's memoir Just Kids was awarded the National Books Award for Nonfiction. This is an excellent book, probably one of the best musician memoirs I've read so far. I originally read an excerpt (in all places) in Rolling Stone. Bought the magazine out on a whim and came across the excerpt, read it, and then I bought the book on its first day of release.

In honor of such an achievement for this amazing lady and equally-amazing novel, I shall reread it and review it. In addition, a bonus review of her prime album Horses. Expect this all on the first week of December!

~

Go here for information about the book and its author and watch a clip of Ms. Smith reading the book, along with a nice a cappella performance of "Because the Night":

An absence and social anxiety

I've been doing a horrible job keeping up with this blog. But it's not just that, I haven't written a thing (other than Tumblr blogs, but those are only twice a week). I've also lapsed on my reading.I only give myself enough time to surf the Web and do other random things, instead of things I enjoy doing. By day's end, I realize that I haven't done anything productive. I still haven't sent out a resume and cover letter for a potentially awesome job yet. I have to send in my chance before it goes away from me!

~

I had plans on checking out a local art show, see a few friends and all that, but after napping and assessing my overall mood; decided not to go at the last minute. I hate to do that, I really do, but sometimes getting up and going somewhere social takes a lot of effort for me. Not that I don't want to see friends, no no no! It's just... social events are really hard for me. I'm trying to get better at it, but sometimes it's harder if my mood is lower than usual. So, I'm very sorry to those that were expecting me. Whenever it happens again, I'll go.

~

I'm reading books on how to handle social situations, so I can quit being so damn scared of them. And also, how to watch and fix my moods. So dear friends, you'll be seeing more of me in the future.

No thank you, I don't want your pity. If you want to do anything, root for me. Because hey, I never thought I would ever stop biting my nails and I did.

Dude, I love the Internet.

*To those who are interested, I'm now posting on Tuesdays and Thursdays on my Tumblr*

So, as usual, I was faffing about on the Internet when I came across one of my new favorite blogs: Women Running from Houses. It got me to thinking about a long-lost book I saw/had many years ago. All I recall was the title had "fire" and "emerald" and there was a lady running from the house (hence why the aforementioned blog had me recalling it). Now that I think of it, this sounds like a request someone would make at my job. Aieeee.

Anyway, sure enough, 20 minutes of Googling led me to this. I'm so fucking awesome.

Now looking at it, the title is purple prose like whoa. But man... I kinda want to read it. It's gonna be predictable and ridiculous, but why the hell not read it?

Then, I decided to solve more childhood mysteries. Okay, I recalled a teen series with a character with the surname McVie. (I kept seeing results for Christine McVie. Kinda lulzy.) Annnnd survey says... boo-yah! Here's the trippy part: I never read the series, just happened upon an advert in an old book and remembered the last name (yes, because of the Fleetwood Mac keyboardist).

Thanks to the Internet, I can relive some wonderful childhood memories. Oh wait. Except this one. Uggghhh.

Quick thing

The three album reviews of recent (My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, The Red and the Black, and Easy Wonderful) will be included as part of the "24 Reviews...", since I didn't think to consider album reviews. The book review titles will not change, instead it will reflect how many of the book reviews I've done.

So far, overall, I have done 10. 14 more to go. Damn.

I may actually review Rock Band 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, have them count.

~

It's NaNoReMo time again! This time around, it will be The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. So far, it's a decent read with probably some of the worst dialogue I've ever read in a while.

~


Not much else here, see y'all on Friday...

Midterm Elections (in which I sorta reveal my home state...)

Man, I'm not the least bit surprised how the elections went on in my state. The winner came to the surprise of absolutely no one, yet I'm still flabbergasted. Why the world do all my state-bound peeps still want Rick Perry? Are Democrats too scary? Do you like his fantastic hair? What is it?

Joking aside, I voted Democrat because I'm tired of my state being one of the lowest in education. I'm tired of having to hear the governor make ridiculous claims that we could secede. Don't even get me started on the textbook nonsense.

While I didn't like the Democratic choice, but it was anybody but Perry at this point. I want better education for this state. We deserve it. It's great that my state is surviving this economical depression so far, but that doesn't change much for the well-being of many. People still can't get jobs, higher education is expensive beyond hilarity, and we're not handling the border situation well at all. We can do better than this and we failed by reelecting Perry.

To all those who hate me for voting for White: I'm sorry that I believe in silly things like giving everybody a chance to have a good life.

~

Side note: I'm not as well-versed in politics as I like to be, but I'm slowly making amends to that.

An interesting week so far... (with the help of an old friend: the bullet list)

Here is what happened in the last four days:

• I went to two concerts in one day: a small show by Ra Ra Riot (where my sister and I got autographs) and then a full-length show by Jónsi. Both excellent shows with great music.
• That same day, I discovered I liked Ra Ra Riot more than Arcade Fire.
• Rock Band 3 came out and I've been playing with my all-girl band "Isis In Darkness" (named after a Margaret Atwood short story). The keyboards are haaaaard.
• Before that, I've been playing Fallout: New Vegas as my character, a guy named Jeremiah.
• My sister bought me this and I'm happier than a clam in smooth, clean sand.
• I did stuff at my internship, including some work on a style guide.
• I saw this commercial, which made my week suck at first. And then finding out there were two more of these, OMGwat. I'm disgusted by it, aack. I mean, I nearly puked. Yeah, lead poisoning is serious stuff, but it's paint going into a baby bottle WTF. (After seeing it again to get the link, I'm a little nauseous and lightheaded.)
• At the same time, I was in a terrible mood for a week. Then I learned I'm due for my monthly period. And I got better. How does that happen?
• I finished Mockingjay, the last book of The Hunger Games trilogy. Man, it's like The Matrix all over again: we have to pretend the last two parts don't exist. Dammit.

No more boring things to relate. And so I go.

On the topic of e-readers and literature these days (from the bookseller)

So yeah, I work at a bookstore that is concentrating on selling e-readers, besides the usual I normally do. I got to try it out a while back. It's a neat little gadget, pretty easy to use especially if you already own a smartphone of sorts (in this case, iPhone). I'm a sucker for awesome gadgets, and e-readers do charm me for that alone.

There is a purpose for these little e-readers, they're for those who travel a lot and don't wanna carry a whole bunch of hardcover bestsellers. But I am concerned that it will be replacing the standard published book. If it does, I feel then that I have no choice but to go to e-readers, when having one right now is an optional choice.

Lemme clarify this: it's like the way we all rent DVDs. You almost have no choice but to rent online. In my town, there are no Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos. If I searched, there's a chance even Movie Gallery and other smaller stores like that aren't around, either. Yes, I've seen RedBox, but the variety is limited.

This Slate.com article points out how these days, one can Wiki practically anything and learn all there is to, let's say, major depression. For some, that is enough. But even as someone as pro-Wikipedia as myself, that is not enough. I can Wiki all about Talking Heads until my eyes bleed, but nothing beats reading entire books on them. Think of some of the best Wiki pages you've ever seen. Even then, those contain a "greatest hits" of information, if you will.

I've had customers tell me that they do own e-readers, but still buy hard copies. While that does comfort me some, not everyone is gonna be like that. There are gonna be folks who will embrace the technology and think nothing more of it. And there will still be folks who don't give two damns about books anyway, but that's not the focus.

But this article here also gives me some hope. To say the "literary snob is dead" would be appropriate. The writer points out that literature as we know it is dying, and it should. But also, it assures me who believes that e-books will not replace hard copies entirely. Like MP3s to CDs, it is just another option.

The article also talked about the situation going on at the New York Times Book Review, where Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner criticized the section for thumbing their noses at writers like them while praising Jonathan Franzen and his new novel Freedom. I agree with the situation, especially with chick lit. It's just as legit as any other form of writing. It deserves the same attention. So yes, down with the literary snob!

I keep finding articles that tell me different statistics, the percentage of those who have one and those who don't. Also, that Salon article mentioned something that I'm getting damn sick of: social networks. Having read The Shallows, the writer talked about how e-readers will be able to connect readers to Facebook on books, making it easier to socialize. Uhm, hi. Forgot about book clubs? Message boards? We already have something like that, you silly geese. It also doesn't help that I think social networking sites are (slightly) necessary devils. I'm all for connecting people with their reading, but this might be the wrong way to go about it.

On a lighter note, a fun reason why Kindles are not the best thing.

I'm excited about the future, but honestly I'm also as fearful. Anything is possible, but all I hope is that it is for the good. May we have the choice of either the e-reader or a hard copy.

Amen to that.

It's one of those times

For the last week or so, I've been low in mood. Few things truly excite me, with some exceptions (like writing poems, reading, and playing video games). I wanted to write a review of Traveling with Pomegranates but decided against it after reading some reviews (I have a thing where I don't write a review of something if I already read a published review).

I did enjoy the book, mostly relating to the daughter's POV for obvious reasons (we're about the same age, at least she in the book). I got back into playing Rock Band 2 and am enjoying Fallout: New Vegas. While I'm off my writing schedule (and other schedules), I feel like I'm having some free-time fun. Reading is relaxing and thoughtful, so is writing, but I needed something silly and fun. I should note that I haven't played video games in a long while. That spell will soon end when Rock Band 3 comes out next week.

So my mood has been a little better, thanks to realizing some obvious truths. I'm now living with a sense of wanting, that there must be an alternate to what I've considered common. I guess it's good to always strive for something better.

Here's the dealio...

A review of Guster's new album is forthcoming, as reviews of some books I'll be reading in the meantime. I'm inching closer to the end of Part 1 of Invisible. As I get closer, I came to an interesting realization: that there may be a Part 3. I probably will get an answer once I reach the milestone of Part 1.

This isn't much, but it's better than nothing.

I leave you with music.

"Invisible" is alive once again!

I've been hard at work for the last few days to get the end of Part 1 of the novel. I can't believe it. Nothing really inspired me to go on, other than this need to do it. It also helps that I read Stephen King's On Writing (I read it while working on Blues when I began to hit some rough spots). I've waited over two months to try again and this time, I swear there will be no breaks like that again.

Let's do this thing right.

Brace yourselves...

I'm working on the review for The Red and the Black (delayed that thing long enough, huh?) It will be posted on Friday, so y'all be looking out for that. I thought I could get it done, but like the other review, I couldn't finish it in time. These things can't be rushed, y'all.

I'm also stuck on what writing project to do. It may be back to Invisible, but I can't recall what I was doing or what was going on before I stopped a month or so ago.

Anyway, a review and more Invisible griping is coming y'all's way! Just remember to duck, getting smacked by all that would hurt like a f**ker.

In honor of Banned Books Week...

I'm currently reading Orwell's classic 1984. It is fast becoming another all-time favorite. It might even be a little better than Fahrenheit 451, though I do plan on reading that one once I finish 1984 so I can make a comparison.

Banned Books Week started Saturday, but you can catch up! Here's what you can do:

1. Read a banned book or two (find a list on the interwebz or ask your favorite book-reader friend for recommendations!)
2. Go hug a librarian, teacher, or bookseller (they're the reasons we can still get access to banned books)
3. Give a high-five to writers that you know (let them know that their voices are appreciated)
4. Go hug/high-five/bake a yummy cake/all the above those who fight for banned books to remain in libraries, bookstores, and in classrooms

Want some banned/challenged book suggestions? Here you go!

Fahrenheit 451
1984
A Wrinkle in Time (yes, I know, WTF world?)
The Harry Potter series
To Kill A Mockingbird
Looking For Alaska (yeah, lemme have John Green himself explain it)
Carrie
Beloved
The Handmaid's Tale (sadly, it was challenged in my hometown a few years back. Damn people.)

Happy reading!

Imagine A Title Here

In all honesty, I planned to skip writing a post tonight, but I made a deal to myself to update every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And so, here I am.

I have nothing much to say, despite my hopes earlier for something more substantial. I'm finishing a book on Shirley Jackon's life, which makes me want to revisit everything by her ASAP. But due to the growing stacks of books, a reread of her bibliography will have to wait.

And I rather not talk about writing. I'm too mad at myself at the moment about my discipline. But yet, I do know one thing for sure: I do miss it.

As usual, being lazy again...

After all the excitement of the other day, I haven't anything to follow up with. Just going through the motions with things right now. But I did want to post something today. Albeit ending up being just random rambles.

I may finish a short story tonight and try to get more into writing in my paper journal. I've been slacking off there lately.

Here's to something more substantial on Monday...

Whoa, Nelly! It's storytime!

Okay, no review today or anything about writing. Instead, I drove my ass up to a William Gibson book signing. It was about two hours (thirty minutes longer 'cause I got sidetracked several times). It took about the same time returning home only because most of the highway going into town was closed off for construction. The cool thing is that driving out of town was one of my goals. So yeah, three down and forty to go! (Yes, last time I counted, I did it wrong. This is why I'm an English graduate.) I should note that I never drove out of town before, not until tonight. And it was nearly four hours total, going to and from!

One more thing: I'm changing goal #34 to: making my own Talking Heads shirt. I need one in my life, so I shall create it.

~

Wait. You dunno who William Gibson is? Get schooled!

So yeah, after waiting twenty minutes, I got my copies of his latest and Neuromancer signed. Pictorial evidence, y'all:

He was pretty cool, and freaking tall too. Like over six feet for sure. He had this leisurely way of speaking, but if you watch this clip of him from the eighties, he's always talked like that:



I asked him what his favorite J.G. Ballard novel was (he mentioned the author during the Q&A, in terms of influences). He didn't have a definitive favorite, but said "all of them were good". That is a valid answer.

So not only did I achieve a big goal, I got to meet the guy who came up with the term "cyberspace". Ace.

Until next time, Hazmat-wearing ponies.

Some numbers to throw at ya!

So far, this year... as of today, I've read sixty-two books. Finished another about fifteen minutes ago (review on Wednesday). Out of that, only twenty I really enjoyed and would highly recommend.

I've also listened to fifty new albums in total. Out of those, only ten I really enjoyed and would recommend. Ouch!

And finally, I've watched forty-six movies. Out of those, fourteen I enjoyed and would recommend.

On a side note, this all doesn't count the ones I've listened to/read/seen before. These are new or newish.

Much like last year, I will list my favorites of the year, along with wrapping up "24 Reviews for 24 Years" and deciding my "Top 25 Favorite Songs".

~

Expect a review on Wednesday on my latest read. Until then, nuclear porcupines.

I have a legit reason for...

the lack of a review for The Red and the Black.

I got an internship. Yep, I did it. Got it. Will be doing stuff with this organization in town. Looking very much forward to it.

And wasn't that one of the forty-three things to do? Yep, it sure was! Number fourteen! The recliner will also be here next week, so there's that too (number eleven, by the way)! Forty-two things to go.

Well, I should've gotten the review done sooner but I didn't want to rush it. Like the Ghosts review, I had to write it in advance and then post it (instead of releasing it that Monday, but by the time it was finished, it was early Tuesday morning).

Anyway, the review is forthcoming. Y'all may have to wait until mid-September for it. In the meantime, I got things to start doing, so see y'all Monday.

Posting this thing, fifteen minutes until midnight...

No entry from Friday because I was eager to finish The Hunger Games. It was a fantastic book. I have plans to read the second one ASAP.

In the meantime, I'm also working on a review of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. I thought I could post it soon, but I can't rush this thing. Because of upcoming events (including an unexpected one), I may have to get the one for The Red and the Black done soon and post it early on Friday morning. I'll explain the Friday business once the obligatory "rest period" has passed.

In the meantime, please enjoy this Monday post. Oh, and a clip of a song from My Life in the Bush of Ghosts:

Movie time

Writing is going well, so there's that. Also... I'm in a movie mood. Watching The Big Lebowski right now, just finished Fargo. It's a Coen Brothers kinda night.

See y'all Friday...

Reading and an idea

I've been out for a while, been nursing a mild cold for the last few days. What I hate the most is the lack of energy I have to do pretty much anything. Work is like walking through fog.

So I've been trying to rest and prepare for some big things coming up this weekend. Also, been reading a few books. I just finished Rob Sheffield's Love Is A Mixtape. It is one of the best things I've read this year and it's a shame I waited this long to pick it up.

I'm also reading Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me. It's pretty intense so far, I may skip the movie. Not sure if I want to deal with all that violence.

Because I'm having a hell of a hard time motivating myself to write something and have an effing deadline, I'm gonna do something I promised a million miles ago... write reviews for My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and The Red and the Black. I will have them typed up and ready by next week.

As for other writing, I may begin an essay and then go back to either Invisible or that short story.

Man, pass me the matches. I need to light a fire under my lazy ass.

Some writing and life gripes

I'm working on the short story right now and man, my perfectionism (which is not OCD) is kicking in like whoa. All I want to do is go back and rewrite half of it, or give up because it's not turning out like I hoped it would. And it's 1,000+ words in, go figure.

~
One quick note: y'all, stop calling perfectionism OCD. It's not funny and you're not being clever! Look up what OCD is and learn that perfectionism =/= OCD.

*this comes from someone who has suffered OCD and is tired of this nonsense*
~

As for life stuff, I recently read this article and thought about things that had been going on in my life. I do honestly feel that I'm a seventeen-year-old in a twenty-three-year-old body. While I have made some big decisions (I'm basically paying for my insurance and my meds, buying big-ticket items without assistance, etc.) and moves (I've traveled overseas on my own, took care of most college matters without parental assistance, etc.) I still feel like I'm years behind everyone else. And yet, things are really tough right now. I continue to try, and I know some that are still looking for a job. It's silly to expect the new crop of twenty-somethings to mature the same way. I'm certainly not maturing the same way as my folks did. All of us are trying out another bag of tricks, that's all.

No, I'm not posting a clip of "That's All" by Genesis, or Keane's awesome cover of it...

Y'all can go for now... the show's over.

:P

Short Entries: Episode II: Attack of the Auuughs

Two things and then I must go... do things. Yes, that. Anyway.

1. Verdict on The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: it's okay. The story in itself is kind of flimsy, but then again, it is supposed to be a fable. Because of this, that may be why certain elements (e.g. "show-versus-telling") might be different from the storytelling I'm used to. However, I still have a problem with the book.

*Hark! There be spoilers!*

Maybe?

It's that damn law of attraction stuff. I'm all for the underlying message of the story ("don't give up and strive for your goal"), but when it got to the "world helps you to win" stuff... I gritted my teeth. What I hate about that is if that were the case, wouldn't everyone be in a good place right now? Sorry, I can't buy into an ideology that says only a few can win but only if you think happy thoughts. And also, if the underlying thought is: "be positive or all the bad shit that happens to you is your own damn fault", that's enough for me to discredit it.

To be fair, The Alchemist encourages action, while The Secret doesn't. I'll give Coelho that.

TL;DR version: book wasn't that bad, yet had shades of "law of attraction" nonsense.

2. Apologies in advance to my friend who likes True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse books (you know who you are). I tried to read Dead After Dark for the second time, but got barely past the second chapter and decided to quit. It's just not picking up. Sorry, I tried. I really wanted to like it.

That's about it. See y'all Friday...

Quick Hits (or I'm Lazy, Here's A Short Entry)

Currently, I'm reading The Alchemist. I have no idea how to react to this book, so I plan on finishing it tonight and making a final decision. Before that, I finished Steve Martin's memoir, which I enjoyed very much.

~

As for music, I finished Arcade Fire's latest. I wasn't overtly impressed with it (I still prefer Funeral and Neon Bible on odd days), but there were some great songs, especially the title track and this one:



This was my favorite off the entire album.

Oh yeah, and Guster's new song is great:



~

As for movies, I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Repo! The Genetic Opera. I loved the former, it was entertaining and very funny. In fact, I make plans to either borrow or buy the comics and read them. The latter was a poor man's Rocky Horror, most of the singing was horrible. It says a lot about a musical when only two of its songs are really good. But it is better than Grease. Then again, anything is better than Grease.

I'm probably gonna get attacked for not liking Repo. Ah, who cares? When Repo's purported sequel makes an unforgettable scene like this



I'll retract my opinion.

P.S.: Speaking of retracting opinions... after giving it considerable thought: Fear of Music by Talking Heads is not my all-time favorite album. It's actually Remain In Light. Whoops.

Small writing update

Okay, since I continue to cower at the presence of Invisible, I've decided to move on and tackle short stories. I had one planned for a while, taking place in Fargo, North Dakota. Based on a true event, this huge tornado (classified as an F5 about four years later, after Dr. Fujita initally created the titular scale) struck the city, tearing most of its northern area apart. This character, who ends up being the father of the male student from Invisible, watches his family become affected by the tornado.

I haven't decided on a title yet. Short story titles are usually hard for me to come up with.

Wanna see what I'm getting myself into? Check out this link. Great pictures, a documentary, and other fine details await your consumption!

Choose-Your-Own-Advent... Title

I was gonna write a review of Rebecca Stead's awesome Newbery-winning book When You Reach Me, but I doubt y'all want a week of reviews. But here is my truncated opinion: if you loved A Wrinkle in Time, you'll adore the hell out of When You Reach Me. It does the time-traveling business a bit differently, but it is endearing and very well-written. Certainly deserving of its award and any of its success. And yes, another book to recommend to kids. Awesome!

~

I have no idea why I stopped writing. Or preparing my resume and cover letter for a possible internship. I really need to get back on that. Also, start using the treadmill again.

~

I got into a movie mood. In the last twenty-four hours, I watched 1941, the original The Haunting, Alchemy: Dire Straits Live, and True Stories.

Truncated opinions ahoy!:
-I'm fully convinced 1941 was made by people high on narcotics.

-The Haunting was really good, enough to invalidate the existence of the horrid 1999 remake. And make me want to read the book again.

-Alchemy was a good concert, yet the solos went on foreeeeever.

-True Stories was weird as all get-out, but kinda funny. Especially since David Byrne looked like Haze Motes from the Wise Blood movie.

Not much else for today. Until next time... nuclear porcupines.

Some thoughts and an old review...

First off, the review. When I was more active on Gamespot, I occasionally wrote reviews of video games I had either recently played (or in the case of the second Tomb Raider), games I really liked. The last review I posted was one on Silent Hill: 0rigins on the PSP. It's funny to read it now and see that I still hold the same opinions as before. In a rare moment of awesome, it was recommended by four out of four people. Not bad. I never received any feedback, but what can you do?

Here is the link. Just promise me you'll open it in a new tab or window, then return to read the rest of my entry. Thank you! :D

I'm fond of this review because it shows that while I still had to grow more as a critic, I was on the right track. Wish I added more detail though.

Y'all are more than welcome to check out my other reviews, but this one just stood out more to me.

This makes me want to work more on becoming a critic. It's fun and of course, gives you the chance to try out new things!

~

I've been thinking over my life and found that I am stuck in a rut. Glad to have figured this out now and not, let's see, later in my life! To alleviate this, I made a list of forty-three things (based on the website of the same name) to do before the end of 2011. I'm gonna share them with y'all:

1.    Move out
  This one is obvious. I'm still living with my folks and I love 'em to death, but I need to move on. Preferably to another city.

2.    Get a better job
  This one is probably the shocking one to most of y'all. I have talked about how much I love working as a bookseller. I do, that hasn't changed. But I need a consistent amount of hours and better pay in order to... you guessed it, move out! It may be possible that getting another job may not need to happen, but I can't place all my chips on that hope.

3.    Start dating
  I've confessed at least once that I've yet to date. I'm looking forward to the "meeting new people" part, not so much of the drama-llama stuff that could happen. Eh, it's a necessary evil. Just guys will learn quickly that I have zero tolerance for the drama llama.

4.    Become socially skilled, becoming a butterfly not necessary
  Thanks to that introvert book I've been reading, this may be an already accomplished goal. Yet, I need to test myself and be consistent. But I have faith it'll work.

5.    Go to San Francisco and stay a week
  Maybe not a week, but still. 

6.    Go to a writing conference
  I'm unsure if I want to go with someone I know or go by myself.

7.    Start attending church or do a charity thing
  By church, I mean a UU one.

8.    Unless ill, donate blood often
  I think I can donate every eight weeks, but I have to check on that.

9.    Get a tattoo
  This is another one that may surprise people. Yeah, been thinking about it for the better part of the year. Right now, I have a design idea but stuck between two places to put it: on my right foot or under my upper left arm.

10.    Read all my unread books and/or sell ones I no longer want
  Kinda explains itself, really.

11.    Get a recliner
  I'm happy to say that this will happen, likely in September, when my custom-order recliner arrives!

12.    Get published seven times
  I tell myself that if I do, it'll look sexy on my resume and my graduate school application. It'll give them the illusion that I'm not just a lazy dork who keeps a blog!

13.    Enter seven contests
  Gotta start getting competitive and all, right? This also has the same desired achievement as the publishing one above.

14.    Intern at [literary organization]
  Yeah, ain't telling ya which one. There's a local one that I've been meaning to intern with. Get the experience and see what it's like to be there.

15.    Take guitar lessons (alternative: learn “Heaven” by Talking Heads)
  I mean, I could take lessons. But, by and large, I taught myself to juggle and braid. I am also a mostly self-taught writer! So why not teach myself? That is why there is an alternative.

16.    Make four new friends
  Just more people to know, that's all.

17.    Register as a bone marrow donor
  This has been something I've pondered over for the better part of a year. An issue with insurance prevented me from doing this a long time ago, but now since insurance is not really a problem, I may register at the end of the year. I already have a semi-rare blood type, so my bone marrow type may be as equally semi-rare!

18.    Travel to New York City and stay a week
  There are tentative plans for my family and I to go, but we'll have to see if plans change. Either way, I'm going. Somehow...

19.    Stay in touch with my current friends
  As an introvert who is wary of Facebook, hates MySpace, and thinks Twitter is lulzy yet cute... I have trouble keeping up with friends on social networks. I'm more of an email, phone, and in-person kinda person (yeah, contrary to my nature). So I vow, friends that read this blog, you may be hearing from me soon and more often!

20.    Get a gun license
  This is kinda random, but I would like to know. For self-defense and of course, the hopefully-it-won't-happen zombie apocalypse. Seriously, I would like to know how.

21.    Have two awesome birthdays
  Makes total sense. I should have fun turning 24 (this year) and 25 (next year). 

22.    Take the GRE and other grad school tests and do awesome at them (not perfect, but awesome)
  Since graduate school is likely, I'm hoping 2012, I should prepare to take the dreaded tests. Hopefully I could get away with just the GRE.

23.    Get an iPhone or a better smartphone
  My current phone is a giant little pain in the ass. But AT&T's plans are kinda blah, or so I heard from other iPhone users. So I may convert to something good on my current plan with Verizon.

24.    Apply for grad school (after getting scores back)
  Besides the scores, I need to start writing letters, getting letters of recommendation from people, and of course... submit writing samples.

25.    Finish the first draft of Invisible
  At this rate, I may be into next year and wrapping this up. It's a slow process.

26.    Finish the first draft of Wind
  Same goes with this one, though I foresee its completion in late '11.

27.    Get to the second draft of Blues
  That's right. Two years after it's originally written, Blues will get its second draft. Silly, I know.

28.    Have a collection of at least twenty short stories
  What I mean is have at least twenty short stories that I could shoot into the world.

29.    Have a collection of at least thirty poems
  Same as above, only replace the obvious words.

30.    Drive to a place out of town
  This may occur sooner. But it is more getting confidence that I can handle out-of-town traveling.

31.    Get a new pair of glasses (alternative: try contacts, if my prescription doesn’t make them expensive)
  I have a feeling the alternative will be too expensive, but I will ask regardless. My glasses will be two years old in November, and I make it a thing to change them at least once every two years.

32.    Join a message board (alternative: rejoin a message board)
  The alternative will happen more likely than the former due to the fact that I already have one in mind that I would love to return to. I may also join a good writing one for the lulz.

33.    Try my hand at vlogging
  Not sure how I'll go about this, but it will involve buying a camcorder, which was something I always wanted. Of course, I will let y'all know when it happens.

34.    Freelance at least twice
  This may change to something else, but you never know...

35.    Go out to eat with co-workers at a bar/pub
  I mean, why not?

36.    Make a long, hard list on things about yourself including beliefs and so forth. Don’t be afraid to list all the good and the bad. It is best to know yourself.
  This does explain itself, but to further add on it... I feel like I don't truly know where I stand on a lot of things. I also want to show that, yes, I am actually not a bland and silly person. Proof to show myself on the hard days.

37.    Establish a habit to where I write at least 2,000 words a day; also edit at least seven pages of something else.
  Well, there ya go. The editing thing is new, I need to start doing that.

38.    Establish a much better budget
  I'm slowly figuring out how to work with my money, so this could be an upcoming victory. Until then, I'm having to save up for October. Guster's new album, Rock Band 3, and Fallout: New Vegas are all being released within weeks of each other. How exciting! :D

39.    Switch to [new bank] and get their [sweet credit card]
  I dunno if switching banks would be necessary, I have to check on that. Otherwise, I would love to get this bank's really awesome card. It sounds like something I could get behind.

40.    Say goodbye forever to [my current credit card]
  I haven't had too much trouble with my current credit card. Well, other than it not being accepted everywhere and it becoming a game of "Does This Store Accept [Credit Card]?" To avoid this, I'm switching. Not sure when, but it's happening.

41.    Take a yoga class
  Preferably with someone who really knows all the things needed to know about yoga (like the spiritual aspect and so forth).

42.    Establish a better sleeping habit (maybe all I need is five hours, who knows…)
  I'm stuck between sleeping for six to nine hours, depending on health factors. I find myself best at seven hours of sleep.

43.    Learn to cook my own damn food
  Explains itself. I keep seeing cookbooks and wanting to try them all out. Should do that, buy an interesting cookbook and then make an entire meal.

~

Haven't fallen asleep yet? Awesome! Well, I will update on the progress I make on the list, among other things. Do y'all have 43 (more or less) you would love to do/accomplish? Share them! I'm curious to see what others are striving to do.

I leave you with this quote that I found today. It was one of those that I needed to read.

It's a Wednesday update!

The reason why I didn't post something on Monday was because I rediscovered Fallout 3 and got to Level 30 on my character (a blonde named Louise). Since I can run around that game and do whatever I want now, though I won't earn any experience points, I'm retiring Louise and moving on to my next character (a redhead named Zachariah).

Aside from my gaming obsessions, I've decided to proceed with Invisible and slowly get my feet back in the metaphorical waters. It still feels like I could add in more detail, but that'll have to wait until the second draft. This needs to get done, like damn.

I haven't read that much, kinda burnt myself out by accident reading this book about how to live as an introvert. Lemme clarify this by saying I read the whole thing (about 300+ pages) in a twelve-hour period. Since, y'know, I'm one of those introvert things. The book's called The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney. It's really good, I recommend it. It had some great tips on how to socialize and go on dates. I haven't tested them out yet, but I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

I looked back at some of the video game reviews I'd written on Gamespot. Some of them actually got positive reactions from other users. Not too bad. I think, for Friday, I may link or post the one review that got the most recommends: Silent Hill: 0rigins.

In smaller news, I got a recliner. Well, I'll be getting one in a month and it's replacing my old papasan chair. 

Other than that, nothing much else. See y'all on Friday...

Where to begin?

I regret that I can't offer an apology for not frequently updating the blog. Instead, I ask for a small portion of your time for me to explain myself and why things are beginning to change.

For the last few weeks or so, I've been languishing in the summer, doing whatever I felt like doing (well, other than going to work). I learned the hard way that I should've updated my parents about my job aspirations. For the sake of things, I cannot disclose these matters here. Yet, my parents told me that sitting around and waiting wasn't the solution. That meant getting out of my comfort zone. So here I am, putting together a resume and cover letter for a possible internship. Atop that, I'm assisting at my current job at planning an event. I have to do things that require me to take some serious risks.

But if things transpire differently, I may have to find another job. I hate to do that, but I desire to move out into the world on my own. This won't happen unless I do something, whether it is push for a promotion at my current job or seek employment elsewhere. To most, what I'm going through sounds like nothing. I always prided myself in being able to handle change. But I lied to myself, sort of. I could handle change, as long as it didn't push me past my comfort zone. I've played safe for far too long. I ain't living. No, don't expect me to go do daring things, like skydiving or herding hippos. I need to start moving forward, going out there to do what I need to do. I have few major lifelong goals, but one of them still holds true: become a writer and make enough to live off of it. While the goal is unlikely, I need to try.

~

Things are going to be different around here. I have decided to do something that I had never done for this poor blog: post on a regular schedule. Starting at the beginning of August, I will post something every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I don't know what, but it will be something. It won't be apologies for sporadic postings and lack of novel updates.

Oh, the novel... it seems that I've stopped. I may have to make a serious decision with Invisible. Maybe I was wrong in thinking it was this story's time to shine. It may need to "sleep" for a bit longer. That or I have to break for the rest of the month and re-gather my senses. There is a part deep in me that wants it tackled, most of it down on bytes and Word documents.

I'm gonna rely less on platitudes and more on kaboom. Kaboom is action; in a word that has the risk of drawing out the meaning in favor of a few giggles.

To those who ask, I am fine, thank you.

I think the alarm clock just went off and hit me hard on the head for good measure.

Novel update with a side order of lulz

I know, I know, I used chatspeak. What are you gonna do about it?

Yeah, that's what I thought. Nuthing. So pfft to you too.

So, I'm pretty far into Part 1, having to backtrack to fill in some deep holes. Y'know, descriptions, emotions, and showy stuff? Yeah, not really supposed to do that or I'll never get the damn thing to a draft, but powerful forces beyond my control (i.e. guilt) don't let me go any further.

So, I found this article earlier. It's about this prose-analyzing software that checks your language and style, which then tells you which respected author you apparently sound like. For the lulz, I ran Part 1 of Invisible through and got William Gibson.

But when I ran the Prologue to Invisible and then the entirety of Blues, I got this:

I write like
Vladimir Nabokov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Holy s***. And to think I ripped on Lolita earlier this year. BTW, I do plan on rereading the book, so my chances of going to English Major Graduate Hell lessen... and maybe half of my buddies from college don't attack me.

Until next time, take care and watch out for the nuclear porcupines. Those little f***ers are getting bad this season...

~

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I know this writing analyzer thing isn't meant to be taken seriously. This message was for those who actually clutched their pearls and thought "Egads! Lindsey's no Nabokov! And shame on you, especially since you didn't like Lolita!"

Proof that I'm still alive...

I got completely sidetracked from writing "Invisible". Excuses aside, I'm kicking it in high gear in the next few days. So far, I'm 11,000+ words into Part 1, with much more to go.

~

Inspired by tumblrs I follow, I took some pictures of my bookshelves:

(you may recognize an old friend... Zimbra, my electric guitar)

This is my shelf of all-time favorite books (you can see the first edition A House Like A Lotus in its rightful place at number one). The left stack are re-reads, the right stacks books my sister recommended to me.

~

That's about it from here. Until next time, good night...

Top Ten Lists ('cause I was bored, okay?!)

"Invisible" is coming along, currently on Part 1 with over 6,000+ words. I'm trying to crank in about 1,000-2,000 words a day. Most of it is retyping scenes from older drafts. Whee, split screens! But it's fun to resurrect scenes with new ideas, seeing them coming to a new life.

~

While faffing about instead of working on "Invisible", I came up with a definitive list of my top ten favorite books, albums, and movies. The books list is a reworking of an older list I posted eons ago.

Here you go, for your reading pleasure!

My Top Ten Books:

1. A House Like A Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle
2. Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4. The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
5. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
6. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
7. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
8. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
9. after the quake by Haruki Murakami
10. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
(Bonus! 11. What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson)

My Top Ten Albums:

1. Fear of Music by Talking Heads
2. Out of the Cradle by Lindsey Buckingham
3. Hounds of Love by Kate Bush
4. The Nightfly by Donald Fagen
5. Silent Hill 2 Soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka
6. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne
7. Warm Strangers by Vienna Teng
8. Security by Peter Gabriel
9. Little Love Affairs by Nanci Griffith
10. The Nylon Curtain by Billy Joel
(Bonus! 11. The Red and the Black by Jerry Harrison)

My Top Ten Movies:

1. Casablanca
2. The Agony and the Ecstasy
3. The Shining
4. Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
5. The Silence of the Lambs
6. Brazil
7. Jacob’s Ladder
8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
9. Vertigo
10. Empire Records
(No bonus, but I can't decide between Suspiria, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and Misery)

~

There you go. Feel free to share your favorites, very interested to see what y'all have to say. I'll keep updating about my writing as before. Until then, good night.

Update on "Invisible's" Prologue

A quick update on the progress of the prologue to "Invisible". Well, hot damn, I got to it last night and found myself on fire. It worked all in my favor. It is almost finished, so I can move onto the rest of the story.

So, in other words, I griped about something that amended itself in less than an hour? Ouch, it hurts.

Point of the entry: proof that I am ridiculous.

It's time to emerge from the shadows... Or: Good Lord, don't write parts before writing the whole novel.

Okay, something serious happened while working on "Invisible". I can't call it a derailment. Maybe a volcanic explosion. I could ponder on better ecological or mechanical metaphors to describe the failure I ran into, but that will get boring very fast. Instead, here is what happened: I wrote parts.

What does that mean specifically? Instead of writing the whole thing through, I wrote little scenes to add in later. I have read that isn't always a bad idea, in fact I dealt with sticking a part I wrote for "Blues" (last year's project) and didn't run into problems. To be cliche, lightning doesn't strike twice.

Then again, "Invisible" has been in pre-production for about ten years and I have rewritten the prologue more than three times. I discovered, while writing the prologue for the fourth time, that the best draft was written around November of last year. Needless to say, I was pissed. So I decided to finish the prologue from November, combine it with some new details, and another part of another drafted prologue. Not surprising, it all blew up in my face.

Defeated, I started working on another novella, the one I write about in this entry, the idea about the amateur spotter. Yeah, it became a novella. (I will be working on and off on this alongside "Invisible". This project will be known as "Wind".) I got to the first 2,000 words and also stopped there. I haven't written a thing since, until now.

It's simple to say that I need to get back to working on "Invisible" and tackle that prologue. Yeah, it would be. And so, I sit before my laptop waiting for inspiration to give me a swift kick in the ass. Unless I act without waiting, it'll be another age before I do it again. Sure, this time around I have bigger problems but it's what I need to know how to face. So if you excuse me, I have a prologue's ass to kick.


P.S.: I'm shocked Neil Young wrote this song. Sure, Wikipedia says that the original take was not as happy, but the lyrics don't present that right away.

Novel projects and other fantastic ideas that I never do...

Sorry for the long silence, especially since I've been back since, well, Tuesday. I was planning to write out a bit on my trip, but I've been recovering from an ass-kicking (and not the awesome kind) cold. Some other things have come up also (including a concert I forgot about), so my recap of the trip may be delayed.

~

But yeah, it's that time again: the new novel project. I might start it earlier, like in an hour. It will be a longer one, no novellas this time. It is a novel, with a purported word count of 100,000.  The estimated end date likely will be September 8th.

I have a superstition about revealing the full titles of my longer works, so that was why on the last round, I only referred to my project by the last word of its title. This time, it will be the same. Y'all shall know it simply as "Invisible".

The story is set in San Francisco, the year 2000. It focuses on a group of college students, primarily on one (an Anthropology major) and she is trying to salvage a friendship with an Art History major. They have a fallout over the Art History major's decision on handling this one male student's ardent affection towards her. After a while, the male student and the Art History major drop out for no reason, prompting the Antrolopology major and all her friends to figure out what happened. Their sleuthing leads them to something different and more insidious.

Yeah, just like before, the plot doesn't sound like much. Hell, it sounds like something I wouldn't read. But I must keep it all minimal for now.

It begins now, so let's do this thing!

'Cause I'm leeeeaving on a jet plane...

I would like to take this time to let y'all few that read my blog that I will be gone for two weeks. I'm going on a vacation overseas, to Scotland and England. After that, take the Chunnel to France and hang out there for a little while.

So obviously, I can't take my computer to update. I only will text updates to Twitter and that's about it. Sorry in advance to those expecting updates. Take this time to sift through the previous entries.

I will be back soon. Until then, take care and good night.

A Few Notes from A Graduate...

Obligatory "whoo hoos" from the back aside, this is a big moment. For those who are also graduating tonight, congratulations to all of you. This is big, y'all, savor in the moment.

I've been plagued with the "coulda-woulda-shouldas" for a while, but this has been an unforgettable five-year college career. I've learned so much and met some amazing people, even made some close friends. So yeah, even though there were some things I wished I did, but I'm happy.

-To those I'll never see again, maybe it'll not be "never". Otherwise, may life be good to you.

-To those I'll see again for sure, let's have a few drinks. Just not tonight, all the excitement (and the mortarboard) gave me a wicked headache.

-To my alma mater and all my teachers, thank you for this education.

-To my parents, thank you so much for your financial and emotional support. I'm eternally grateful.

~

On a lighter note, always remember to wear sunscreen. May your last day of finals be much like this one.

And let's wrap it up with a little word from Kenny Loggins:



Good night!

Stuff About Crazy Lady Writer...

Before I begin with the list, I should say that alas, the bonanza must come to an end. At this point, it seems useless to continue since it's long past the week I arrived at the 200th post milestone. I will post the reviews of the albums later on, once I am free of other obligations.

In the meantime, here are a menagerie of fun facts (of a more autobiographical nature):

• I was homeschooled from 5th grade to 12th grade. In my high school years, I went to a co-op and was taught Algebra, Biology, and Drama. 
• Contrary to thought generated from the last fact, I wasn't homeschooled for religious reasons. It was suggested to my parents by teachers.
• My kindergarten teacher tested me for eidetic memory, but due to fears of pigeonholing, my mother didn't push for further testing. By the way, apparently the result was "borderline" (which I guess means it's about 90%...?).
• My theological beliefs are Unitarian Universalist, but I still believe in God. I used to define myself as a nondenominational Christian, but adopted UU shortly after turning 23.
• Graduate school is in the future, but I would like to get some stories and poetry published, maybe a full-time job before I do that. Of course, it will be an M.F.A.
• I primarily collect first edition hardcover books, vinyl records, CDs, and postcards.
• Would I want to be homeschooled again? Yeah, but once I got to high school, instead of that co-op, but an arts school. That would've kicked ass.

That's about it for here. Until then... good night.

Hi, there... *wave*

Yeah, I should explain why I suddenly vanished. One word: finals. And that's about it.

To continue with the 200th post bonanza, I promised to announce a novel project. That's right, kids! I'll be working on another novel. This time, it will be that one I kept yammering about back in the earlier days of the blog. I think it's perfect timing, since I'll be done with school and officially without a life of sorts (LOL). I'll add more details later, probably around June 1st (the official start date). This will be a huge one, probably my longest project to date.

~

I got a new iPod the other day. So, this makes the new one my third. There wasn't anything seriously wrong with the previous one, well, other than the hard drive was small. I'm probably gonna give my old one to my mom. She would utilize it better than just me giving it to Apple.

For those who care: a timeline of iPods (with their silly names and generations)

le petit [third generation] (2004-2005)
Kodachrome Prodigy [fifth generation] (2005-2010)
Athena Mercurie [sixth generation] (2010-present)

~

And damn my life. Check out this playlist that has been running through my head for the last week:

"Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles (this one makes no sense, since I only heard it once)
"Who Are You" by The Who (damn you, C.S.I. Whatever-This-One-Has-This-As-Their-Theme-Song)
"Killing An Arab" by The Cure (yes, it is about The Stranger)
"The Secret Life" by Brian Eno and David Byrne (this one is just... random. WTF?)
"Fast Karma/No Questions" by Jerry Harrison (I... I got nothing. *insert standard-issue "distraction from giving an excuse" here*)

~

Alright, I may not be back for another couple of days. Until then, here is a song I would love to learn how to play on guitar and sing to.

A quick note

Earlier this year, I pointed out that I would keep the "crazy" in my blog name as a way to reclaim it. What I have forgotten to address fully was: as this link reveals, reclamation is not that easy. While I think "crazy" (in reference to me) is okay, that doesn't mean: "well, the word's okay to use then, whoo-hoo!" There are gonna be folks that may not appreciate you using that word. So, be mindful of that. Again, the awesome folks at FWD/Forward articulate it better (yeah, I linked before to this. So what? It's so good it had to be linked again!).

The point: words mean more than you think. Do yer research!

200th post... at last!

Everyone, this is the 200th entry. From December 7, 2007 to April, 16, 2010: I, Lindsey aka Crazy Lady Writer, have consistently (for the most part) kept Musings… operational (for the most part) for almost three years. To commemorate this pretty awesome event, I like to first thank the readers for well, reading. I know your number is very few, and most of them comment on the RSS-ed blog posts on Facebook. I say to them only this:

I appreciate everything, but could y’all comment on the blog and not on my Facebook please?

~

Now you can put a face to the name:

I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume most of y'all didn't expect me to be an average-looking person of German/Irish descent...

Why yes, those are posters of Silent Hill and Rousseau's Tiger in A Tropical Storm behind me! How did ya know?

(this was taken in February, when my hair looked more awesome than it does now...)

~

I'm changing one thing about this bonanza... no autobiography. This blog's already self-centered as it is... XD. Instead, I'll bring back the ol' stand-by: the fun facts. It's autobiograpical, without the boredom.

There will be another post to help mark the bonanza, a brief note on feminism and equality rights.

~

And what a better way to mark a milestone than with some big news? I received an email a few days ago that I'm being honored for my work at my university's magazine in a ceremony the same week as my graduation. 

~

That's about it for now. Stay tuned...

It's starting to get real busy around here...

As I count down to graduation and my vacation to Europe (21 days and 28 days, respectfully), I find myself with so many things to do. Earlier, I was working on my internship portfolio, mainly on the title pages for each project/emails I did/sent. Whoo-wee, that's a lot. The folks at the magazine kept me doing stuff, for sure. The portfolio is going to be pretty hefty.

I also have been re-editing my poetry for the final, along with a paper on Louise Glück. I hit a snag with the paper so I'm waiting on my professor to email me back. Oh yeah, and the last reading response.

Another paper for my senior seminar is also due, and I haven't started on it yet. I also have to read some Nabokov short stories and finish Pale Fire.

I also have to finish up some final projects in my professional writing class, a newscast and a public service announcement.

This is likely why I haven't done the following:

-gotten to post 200 a long-ass time ago
-seen a movie in a while
-played video games
-finished a "fun reading" book

But once I finish some tasks for the day, I'll be able to have some fun. And be able to kick off the 200th post bonanza. Stay tuned for that... when it happens.

One more until 200...

Man, I swear I'll work on making better titles.

It's getting closer to graduation and there is so much that needs to get done. I mean: two papers, three portfolios, and finishing up several books! And there are a few more mini-papers and maybe a quiz or two. So, I may have to possible revise what I want to do for my 200th post bonanza thing only because time may not be on my side. Then again... if I balance it, I should be good.

Of course, if something comes up and I'm unable to post something during those five days, I'll note it. But so far, things are right on "schedule".

~

At the beginning of the semester, I had to find a venue for a joint reading thing with another school's literary magazine. For months, I was worried that I had messed up (especially when I followed up and the venue threw a few surprises at my face). But it went off without a hitch. But, y'all... I got lucky. This, well the whole internship, has taught me that I have what it takes but I need to realize that procrastination doesn't fly at all. And I've gotten much better, thankfully. This new awareness is bleeding into my schoolwork, so that's also a good sign. Well, forget that this is my last semester, but whatever.

Until next time, I leave you with a few video links:

Ever wondered where the world Talking Heads got the idea for "I Zimbra"? Well, wonder no longer:


So you can compare:


I discovered this via vlogbrothers. Really adorable song:

26 Days

The countdown is for the day of my graduation, which is May 6th for those not near a calendar.

This took a bit longer to write since I had a WTF moment: my toolbar all but disappeared and couldn't fix the text font or anything. After about twenty minutes of combing through the Help section, I found the solution and switched to the new editor. Quite nice, actually. Wish I was told about this sooner. But whatever.

It's getting closer to 200 entries. Funny enough, I'm up to 188 tweets. I may get to 200 entries and 200 tweets at the same time. That would be awesome.

Of course, I promise to do the stuff I listed here.

One more thing... I'm working on a "Best 25 Songs (That I Have) of All Time" that I will post at the end of the year. The big thing is I've been listening to all my music (and do I mean all of it) so I can properly judge. 'Cause damn, it's over 5,000. Not 9,000. Yet.

*3 entries left until 200*

Counting down while reading

*5 more until 200*

As it gets closer to the 200th entry, I decided to take the time today to instead of being a sack of sad panda that I'll be a little more optimistic.

Last night, I finally finished reading Lolita. Never have I ever been so happy to finish a book. I respect it as a work of literature... but Good Lord. I hated every character in the book. I hated the story. Honestly, who cares about this man who had the fucking gall to justify what he's done?! If he felt so bad for his actions, then why did he even do them?! AUUUGHH.

I learned in my class that this book is full of clever puns and wordplay. Well yippie. That doesn't make up for its flaws.

But, do you know what's hilarious? I forgive Nabokov for all this because of one thing:

Speak, Memory was fantastic.

This is me as a sad panda... on writing and social situations

(written earlier this afternoon)

I’m feeling like I have no interest in doing anything other than staying home and reading. I know it’s getting closer to the time that I rather not do any more schoolwork. No more of those deadlines (of course, in my future field, these will be commonplace). No more dealing with teachers that annoy me. No more writing workshops or literary groups that make me feel that my style of writing is inferior and not clever enough for consumption. My whole being feels drained of energy. I’m dreading my last two papers. I have a feeling they will go wrong (as my last one had done). I’m forgetting tasks in my internship.

One big thing I’ve been dealing with is this feeling that everyone treats me and talks to me as if I’m inferior. Back in the earlier days, I would accept this and believe I was inferior. Now, my long-awaited arrogance and stubbornness has risen and I refuse to accept that I am an inferior person. However, why is it that people still treat me like I’m ignorant?

I should note that about 90% of the time when I talk and interact with people... if I act or say something awkward, that doesn't mean I'm unaware of the situation. I don't always have a snappy comeback or always the more appropriate response. I'm trying to fix this and perhaps, this is where these feelings stem from.

Back in my fiction workshop last semester, I had never felt so left out. Sure, the professor and a couple of friends reassured me that I was fine (writing-wise); yet there were a few times I got criticism that called my writing "commercial fiction", which tore at me. I mean, I'm not trying to go completely into genre fiction, but I don't thumb my nose at it. I know I should take criticism, which I do with gusto, but then there are times I know something just isn't true. This was one of those.

I'm a rare breed: I don't want to write poetry with clever language for the sake of it. I'm not striving to be like Vladimir Nabokov and have writing be art and nothing more. I can't. I want to write stories with engaging storylines, realistic characters, and important issues and points (note: no morals). Language still is important, but not on the pedestal it seems to be on right now. The same goes with all other writings I do.

I guess, to compare my intentions with those of Camus and Nabokov in terms of writing... I'm a Camus. I can't help but be a little political. I want to write about big things and share them with people. This will be a struggle as I go into grad school and even the world of literary magazines where genre fiction is an unwelcome pest and pretty prose stands out more than the context.

Maybe I need something to eat or a drink to bring myself out of this funk. But it can't be blocked and I can't keep doing that anymore. I owe to myself as a writer to just say to this whole thing:



But change the "home" to "the bar". Or whatever will be my future happy place.

Blah

I was going to write y'all a real nice entry about my feelings on feminism, but I'm not feeling it today.

Last night, I had one too many and I'm paying for it today. And I slept bad. And a paper I had turned in got a grade of C. I realized as I ordered my cap and gown that graduation is slowly becoming a reality and I became scared of the real world. I still have to finish reading Lolita because I have a desire to torture myself. I feel that this is the last year I'm gonna give a s*** about video games. I burned myself out of sushi and Talking Heads (which is alarmingly odd. The latter I blame from listening to one too many live shows, as I had warned myself about before). I'm hungry and nothing I have here sounds good.

Okay, that last one is just silly.

Overall, I'm feeling sad and anxious. I need to laugh and have some mac 'n cheese.

I originally didn't want to post this, but felt that it was necessary. After all, we all have days like this where everything seems to be going wrong.

So if you're feeling a bit like how I do right now, join me for a round of mac 'n cheese and some funny videos.

Whatdaya say?

And because fails are bound to happen...

My sister chastised me on Facebook (where my blog posts RSS their way over to) that I forgot several Monty Python skits.

So whoops, here we go:

And actually, she said this was her favorite: "Upperclass Twit of the Year" - a damn hilarious one.

"Poofy Judges" - this is my sister's other favorite one.

"Giant Hedgehog" - it was this running gag throughout this one episode, so it may not be as funny out of context...

I apologize for this mistake. Those responsible have been sacked.

200th Entry Bonanza Blowout Plans

Well, I promised a big celebration to commemorate the 200th entry for Musings of A Crazy Lady Writer. Well, here's how it will go: it will go on as long as there are enough entries to fulfill the celebration time (I estimate about five days).

The following will happen:

-I will formally review two albums that I previously posted sorry excuses for reviews of: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne and The Red and the Black by Jerry Harrison.

-Y'all will be able to put a face to the name...

-I will announce a new novel project chronicle.

-Albeit abridged with some names removed, a little bio of my life so far...

If y'all think I'll do something like this every time I reach 100 more posts, I'm afraid you're mistaken. I plan to do this two more times: for the 500th entry and the 1,000th entry. Holy s*** if I make it to 1,000...

**9 left to go!**

And now for something completely different...

I've planned this for a while and now the chance has finally come. For the last few months, I've been going through the Monty Python's Flying Circus box set I bought myself for Christmas last year (I have three more discs left). I've seen the familiar and famous sketches, but also found some fantastic hidden gems.

So, here it is everyone: my favorite Monty Python skits! (the last one being the top favorite)

"Silly Job Interview" - pretty much what did it for me was the end. Watch the whole thing instead of skipping to the punch line.

"Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights" - literature meets flag signals...

"Confuse-A-Cat" - as a cat owner, this was lulzy.

"Ministry of Silly Walks" - kinda typical of a Python fan, but whatever. It's actually a good sketch.

"Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit" - well, you never know...

"Secretary of State Striptease" - alas no clip. But let's say the title is what it is...

"Camp Square-Bashing" - after the ballerinas, it's not as funny. The part before the ballerinas caught my sister and I off-guard.

"The Lumberjack Song" -one day, I'll memorize the song and torture people with it.

"Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook" - my hovering blog is full of eels...

"Dead Parrot" - c'mon, a classic for a reason!

"Bicycle Repairman" - a brilliant superhero parody...


And my favorite Monty Python sketch of all time is... "The Bishop"


And as a bonus, here is my sister's favorite sketch.

Until next time, enjoy the laughs.

*Countdown to 200 entries: 11 left*

Minor updates and stuff

Whoo, it's cold now. Rain has been falling since last night. I have the front door open, screen door locked tight, letting in all this fresh air. The house has been shut for the last few days, plus my sister complained of the smell of Shout (I had to clean up a mess the dogs made).

It's been a sleepy morning, so I'm taking the time to work on some short stories. Yes, I'm back writing. Also listening to some Talking Heads live shows I found. Needless to say, they were a phenomenal live act. But man, break time after the current one I'm spinning. If I have to hear "Psycho Killer" live one more time (even with Jerry Harrison's bit), I'll burn myself out.

After that, I may be doing other things, but the aforementioned were the substantial ones.

Twelve more entries until 200...

Damn you, hipsters...

It's been known that hipsters practically worship Pitchfork Media, a music website that prides itself in reviewing obscure stuff. No big deal, gotta give the unknowns their time in the sun. Well, as obvious parodies show, they have become something more worthy of scorn.

I checked it out to see what it was all about. I decided to type in Talking Heads and see what they had to say. Of course, they worship the live album The Name of This Band is Talking Heads. I mean, damn, 9.2? That's serious liking. I mean, the album's good, but I wasn't expecting that.

But the review that had everyone going WTF (at least what I heard) was this one: Kid A by Radiohead. Oh my God. A ten. And read the review and don't tell me that is just overblown. Dude, did you find Jesus in that experience or what?

I raged when I saw this tidbit review of True Stories. Okay, you obviously dug the film 'cause it was kitchy and-- hold the phone. Did y'all just call Stop Making Sense an "overrated synth-flap"? You didn't. You didn't just do that. You did. Wow. Allow me to have Dr. Cox verbalize my rage:



Look, I'm all for respecting opinions but since these are likely hipsters, that respect died. I bet $20 and win that they're hating on it only because it has been called a great film by folks like Rolling Stone and Leonard Maltin. In other words, their opinion is "wrong wrong wrong" ONLY because this is likely how they reached the conclusion.

Just when I calmed down, I had to look up Steely Dan. Bad move. I mean, read the first paragraph and tell me that I'm not the only one who thinks it's just mean-spirited. Now I didn't like the album, but way to go to insult the band's larger fan base at the first go, Pitchfork. Hope y'all are proud of yourself, feeling like you made a genuine funny. Oh? Sorry, I was wrong. That "funny feeling" was actually me throwing the Klencke Atlas at y'all's heads.

I don't feel that my hatred against them is unique, but the means to get there were. Either way, no. Tact, Pitchfork. You lack it.