Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all! May 2013 bring all of us joy, prosperity, and good fortune.

I don't know what's in store for the blogs, but for now, we'll roll with what we're doing for now. I'll have to think things over (I'm speaking mostly on Jupiter_Nova here). Either way, let's bust out the Pink Martini once again.



And here's a funny for everybody who had a rough 2012 (like myself...):

~

See y'all in 2013!

Merry Holidays! (and a New Perspective on Life)

Whatever holidays you are participating in (or not), may it be a safe and warm one, filled with food, loved ones, and good times.

I'm happily at home with my family (first time in over twelve years they didn't go Christmas camping), enjoying good food and nursing a cold in its infancy. To be fair, I think it was inevitable that I would get sick. I have been working five straight days at the bookstore and staying very late to help with recovery (we would be there as late as midnight!) and I'm sure customers (and some co-workers) were battling stress-borne sniffles. But I ain't even mad, just content.

I apologize for my long absence, most of it was related to the job. And some of it was due to a serious wake-up call about myself. I talked about being depressed several times on here and just now realizing how to get my life back on track. One big thing I noticed is that, like others who have been depressed, I bought so much stuff that it was suffocating. I looked around my room one day and went "holy s***, when did I have so much stuff?"

Doing the Burning House thing (see last entry) also really helped me realize what meant a lot to me. I also asked myself a hard question: "If, God forbid, I were to lose most of my things, would I bother replacing it all?" The answer shocked me: "not really". That really helped me realize that I need to start letting things go. In one day, I sold over $100 worth of books, CDs, video games, and DVDs. I'm still culling from my stacks.

Coring the collection has helped me realize not only how awesome the things I have are, but also lets me actually breathe in my room. It feels lighter, like someone who got their s*** together. It has been a huge change in my life and I'm ready to keep going.

While I'm not going all-out for minimalism, it's too extreme and riddled with class privilege issues, I'm taking a lot of lessons and applying them to my situation.

My ultimate goal is build up my savings (and get a better full-time job, of course) so I can move out and become more independent.

2013 will be the year that Frustrated Lady Writer finally gets a life. And published. Definitely that.

What I Would Take...

If you're not familiar with The Burning House, go check it out here before reading the rest of this entry (more for clarity's sake than anything).

For a long time, I've always wondered what I would take with me if I had to abandon ship in any form or fashion (I fancy it'll be tornadoes more than anything, they do hit my area of Texas after all...). And so, tonight, I have the answer:

• My cat (not pictured, she never poses for me, LOL)
• Laptop (buried underneath the wallet, etc.)
• Targus laptop bag
• My childhood friends (y'all met them in this entry)
• Meds: birth control and anti-depressants
• The monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, mentioned in this entry
• Prospero, the Owl Who Travels*
• A picture of my paternal grandfather, whom y'all met in this entry
• Fountain pens
• External hard drive
• Wallet
• A coal miner statue that was passed down to me from my grandfather (his father was a Tennessee coal miner)
• Rare black-label copy of Silent Hill on the PSX
• Fossil watch, college ring, Claddagh ring (not pictured), and two pairs of earrings (silver feather-like ones that belonged to my late great-aunt and turquoise guitars I got at an anime convention)
• The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (Penguin Ink edition)
• Pretty-damn rare promo poster of Fear of Music by Talking Heads* (though folded and not in the frame)
• iPhone (not pictured, since I was using it to take this photo)
• Car keys (not pictured)

I was kinda surprised on what I left out (like my headphones, my electric guitar, and more of my favorite books), but to be honest... this is everything I would rush to get out of the house. All these things I would be beyond devastated if I ever were to lose them. If anything were to happen, God forbid, I could start a new life with all this here. Yeah, even without my books and records and other collectibles... I could start all over again. Or at least, be able to travel with very little.

Yes, there is a hilarious reflection on the framed poster of my whiteboard with all the bumper stickers of various record stores I like to visit whenever I'm in town. It's covering the bottom half of Jerry Harrison. XD

Who and what would you save in the unfortunate event that you had to evacuate your current shelter?

~~

*I'll talk about why they would be saved in another entry

Man, I finally made up my mind!

After some more consideration, along with a perfect storm of other things (oh hai retail), I have decided that I will stick to my original plan that I had earlier this year and skip out on grad school this time around. Thinking about preparing for the blasted application has gotten me to realizing that shooting for just one school is a poor idea. Plus, I want to see what other programs are out there and research them more before I decide at the end of 2013.

I really want a new job, sock away some serious dough, and maybe even plan a trip to San Francisco for next summer. Something, anything to get me thinking about my life again. Turning 26 has really helped me realize that I need to get my life in gear. I want to start dating, meet new people, and continue to write.

I find myself drifting away from things I used to like and moving onto other things, wanting to grow more as a person. Gaining a hold of my sanity was the biggest game-changer in my life. I find myself looking around my current hopes and dreams and realizing they no longer apply (like the original grad school I wanted to go to). I would love to go to grad school out of state, go out into the big world, and see what it has to show. I want to break further away from who I used to be and keep going forward in my new direction. And the arrow point further than Austin, further than retail... further than I can fathom at this point.

We'll have to see how it goes. But first things first: a new job. That would be the best Christmas gift ever (well, since being asked by my best friend to be a bridesmaid for her wedding).

Read the labels and create your own title!

As I reach the 60k mark in Spiders, I have come to a strange realization: I don't want to have the whole thing finished by the 30th. I wanna take it a bit slower, try to complete it at the pace I usually go at. At this rate, I could finish it in early December. And you know what? That's fine with me. I'm really enjoying the story and characters, and I really want to spend a little more time with it.

You see, I think this may be the last time I "officially" participate in NaNoWriMo. After doing it a second time,  I realize that I hated having to cram in a bunch of words in one day. I wanted to write two to three thousand words that meant a little more than padding. Nothing wrong with the NaNo approach, it works for some people, but I've come to realize that it doesn't work for me. I like taking my time (well, not years and years, but you understand) and crafting something a little more than a zero draft. Then again, oh hai perfectionist self! (And also, it doesn't help there I already got the nicest prize from the whole shebang last year: the coupon for Scrivener.)

This is not a hatefest on NaNoWriMo, people have shown their asses doing that and it's honestly a ridiculous thing to get worried about. Man, it must be nice not having real problems! Y'all are just sad that people found a way to make writing fun and more than an art, but a fun craft! But then again, just read what John Scalzi has to say about all this, he said it better than I could. And also, Mary Robinette Kowal. They are wise beings.

I think my time with NaNoWriMo has come to an end. I had tons of fun and wish everyone who still partakes in it all the best and nothing but the best.

~

I finished Woolf's A Room of One's Own. I got a bone to pick with it. I understand women having their own writing space (i.e. time) and their own funds is important, but thanks for throwing the poor and uneducated under the bus! I mean, damn! When I was reading this book, I couldn't help but think of writers that were born in working-class families and writers who don't have college degrees and thought "wow, y'all... hate to break it to you, but by Woolf's standards, you ain't ever gonna be good writers". Of course, there was rarely any decent discourse about writers of color. And I won't even get into the whole concept of one sounding like a man or woman in their writing... uuugggh. That is all such utter bull***.

~

I'll wrap up Spiders in due time and get ready for the next big challenge: the grad school application!

Now there's something I'll keep trying every year until I succeed!

Two Things

Okay, here is the update on A Wilderness of Spiders:

61543 / 80000 words. 77% done!

~

I have become obsessed with this song:



P.S.: The Band are aaaammmaazzzing (Levon Helm is the man, may he rest in peace) and I'm convinced that Emmylou Harris is an angel on Earth.

~

Oh yeah, today's my birthday. Whee, twenty-six years of living... I mean, WHEE it's my birthday! Yeah, had some cake and homemade chicken wings. And writing. It was a good day.

~

This post was brought to you by "Screw the Nether" and my new favorite meme.

*meme does not belong to me*

Good Lord... owww

Okay, I reached the coveted 50k goal for my novel, but it ain't done yet...

50556 / 80000 words. 63% done!

In order to completely finish, I need to write about 4,300 words a day until the 30th. I could pull a large miracle on my free days and write more than that. Like today, for example.

If I succeed, I'm gonna give myself a nice reward. Like stuff from LUSH or something else... perhaps this book in glorious paperback? We shall see!

Black Friday

This one goes out to all my friends out in the retail world right now that are working their asses off to make a living (or some semblance of one) all in the name of consumerism, capitalism, and a holiday that lost all its meaning sometime in the 20th century.

Peeps, peace and love to you all. May you be safe and sound by the end. May your lunch breaks be delicious and full of funny co-workers. And when you clock out for the day, may you dance out of the building to your families and rest peacefully for the next round. This is only the beginning. We're all in this wacky mess together. Let's at least go out laughing at the fools.

Holy Mackerel!

I found a dang title for my NaNoWriMo novel! From Virginia Woolf (A Room of One's Own) of all people!

I shall rename it to the more awesome: A Wilderness of Spiders.

F***ing awesome.

/unprofessional blog post

Veteran's Day (For My Grandfather)

Yesterday and today, we honor those who served in the armed forces, who gave their time and lives to fight for our freedoms and big causes. One person I remember the most is my paternal grandfather.

He died when I was ten, after a brief but merciless battle with lung cancer at the young age of sixty-seven. He was in the Army and served during the Korean War, stationed at Fort Hood in his later days (my father was born there, in fact). As a kid, I remember going to his trailer home and seeing mementos of those times. There was a standard-sized portrait of him in his uniform in the bedroom. I also remembered that he still had his dog tags from those days. He also told my parents that he took pictures while he was over in Korea. He never did get to tell me about his days in the military, or show me those photos he took while he was over in Asia. When he died, all that went with him. His ex-wife took all of his things, including all the awards and pictures of his times in the Army, and we were left only with our memories (and a few trinkets). If things were more ideal, I would have that portrait and his dog tags and I would wear the tags on this day every year.

But at least I have wonderful memories of him. To my shock, my mother told me that of all the grandchildren, I was his favorite. I think it's because he saw a lot of himself and my father in me: a stubborn streak, pale skin freckled with moles, a kindhearted personality laced with grouchiness, and fierce independence and intelligence. He also showed me my first typewriter, an old Underwood desktop he took with him when he retired. It breaks my heart to say that we gave it away years ago and I deeply regret it (as does my father). Even when I left behind my teddy bear at a state park, my grandfather only said "well, we have to go back".

I like to think that he and Neil Armstrong (another Korea vet) are chatting it up in the higher planes, trying to remember if they ever ran into each other. They probably didn't, but at least they can share memories.

I miss you, Papa, and I wish on this day every year I can wear something that shows how proud of you I am. Either way, I am honored to be the granddaughter of an Army vet.

Before anyone thinks...

I'm some sort of "Obama-zombie" or whatever ridiculous name was created for those who voted for the current president... I'm fully aware that President Obama is not a perfect leader.

Yes, I'm very upset about Guantanamo Bay still being open.
Yes, I'm very upset about NDAA.
Yes, I'm very upset about the drone attacks.
Yes, his states-rights view on gay marriage were infuriating. (Thankfully, he may be changing his mind on this,  hope he does that for everything else listed).
Yes, I'm very upset about how the war on drugs and the war on the Internet has gotten even more ridiculous and sad.
Yes, the defunding of NASA was very disappointing.
Yes, I'm very upset he re-instated the Patriot Act and kept the Bush-era tax cuts.

I'm sure I'm missing some things, many apologies. The point is that even when one votes for a certain candidate, sometimes it's not always 100% "yeah, this person is totes awesome and I back EVERY SINGLE THING they do!"

But then, I have a feeling that my gentle readers are aware. This was more for those who aren't.

Thank you for your time.

I'm gonna weep...

I'm so proud of the USA right now. Re-electing Obama, several states legalizing gay marriage and marijuana, not voting in two pro-rape Senators...

We done good, y'all. Great job!

Here is to a prosperous and fortunate four more years for all of us!

Congrats, President Obama!

Whoa, never mind...

Okay, I ain't going to write 3k a day for my NaNoWriMo. That's going to be too effing much. Change of plans. 2k a day for that, 2k for my other novel project, and then 1k for a short story idea I had.

Whoa. Ouch.

NaNoWriMo 2012: Houston, We Have Cowbell!

Okay, I hit the ground running today, getting to 3,000 words. That's going to be the daily goal; along with finishing the grad school application and finishing my current novel project. So yeah, a f***-ton of writing. To be honest, every time I write 2,000 words a day, I feel I don't do enough. But that's the thing: that's a lot of words... for ONE project. I need to have several going. Plus, I could prevent burnout by switching mindsets for different ideas.

But I have to be careful. I don't want to hurt myself with this. But here is my solemn promise: if things get nasty during the month, I'll drop NaNoWriMo and work on what's important at the moment: the application. We'll have to see as the month goes on...

Happy writing!

Hello again, world!

I've been busy these days, sorry for not much on here. I've been working on another novel, prepping for NaNoWriMo, my second go at getting into grad school, working my job (which now involves working in the bargain books area!), and catching up on my movie-watching, my book-reading, and music-listening. Okay, so a lot of stuff, along with cleaning my home and rearranging things. Just the usual adult stuff... well, I think it is adult. I'll have to come back to y'all on that.

I'll talk more about NaNoWriMo: Round Two, along with "Grad School, You Have to Accept Me" in the future. Not sure what to do about my reviews blog. It's been silent for a long time. Perhaps a nuanced review of the new Silent Hill movie, or perhaps something different?

Once again, I'll get back to y'all on that. Bye for now!

A Letter to the Silent Hill Fandom

Dear Silent Hill fans,

Yesterday, I saw Silent Hill: Revelation.

Let me get it out of the way: yes, the story was disjointed at times, some of the dialogue over-explained things (but then again, that is a trait in most low-grade horror films), the pacing was very off, the jump-scares weren't necessary, the special effects were abysmal, and it could've gone on longer (like another fifteen minutes).

But also... yes, the dialogue was funky at times (but it is Shakespearean compared to the first film), the acting is MILES better (with the exception of Radha Mitchell, WTF girl?), the sets were gorgeous and well-done, the music was great as usual, the monsters were neat (especially the mannequin spider), and the atmosphere was spot-on.

In the end, I really liked it. It was a decent film that fixed the flaws of the first movie, but ran into other problems. I love it for its flaws, but I love for what it did right. Hell, I may even see it again.

But I know I am in a humble-sized group with this opinion.

Everyone hates this movie, calls it a travesty and all sorts of other descriptive phrases to sum up that it was an atrocity upon celluloid. But I have to refute some of that.

Does the film have its flaws? Yes, it does. Is it faithful to the third game? Not really. Then again, the first movie wasn't faithful to the first game and for some strange reason, y'all are starting to rally around the first movie even when you tore it to pieces! You don't get to do that. My God, pick an opinion and stand by it!

For those who say that the director didn't play the games: yes, he did. He paid homage to several scenes in the third game, along with others (look out for them for fun Easter eggs!) But also, he was working with a film with its own canon (well, sort of, but you get the idea)! He had to stick close to it or else y'all would whine about that. Good Lord, Catch-22 much?

And my God, shut the f*** up about the cult. The cult was there from the very beginning. Don't whine that it takes away anything. The cult is scary! You all want the series to be something that it never was: this over-intellectual series about psychological f***-ups. Can we have that and a dash of the supernatural? What the hell is wrong with that? It doesn't make your precious games look philistine or anything. In fact, I love the corresponding forces here. We can explore all possibilities! For the love of all things holy and made unto the Lord, Silent Hill is a smart game, but it's not the Mensa member of the video game world. Chill, y'all. Your game is still smarter than the average one, and it's not stupid for having a cult in it. Fatal Frame is amazing with its cult, too, and I don't see y'all railing on it.

I hate fandom so much. The fans I've encountered act like their opinions are superior and that anyone outside the group (like film directors) will get called into question when the films don't match their impossible expectations.

No, don't tell me you deserve a good film and that Hollywood owes you one. I heard it before, from Resident Evil fans and Super Mario fans. So shut up and move on. Hollywood will never make a decent adaptation. Why start now? Your special game isn't the exception. There are better things to get angry at.

Yes, I am angry at something that essentially means nothing in the end. Yes, I have better things to get upset about. But you know what? If y'all can rant about how Pyramid Head is James' monster and cannot appear anywhere else (when he wasn't, I cannot STRESS that enough), then you know what? I can rant how y'all are arrogant gits who need to take a freaking break.

Come at me, bros.

Sincerely,
Lindsey, a disgruntled Silent Hill fan

P.S.: Shattered Memories is still an unnecessary existence, the first game is the superior one, and 0rigins is the Mirage of the Silent Hill series. /trollcomment

New York City: Day 2

Sorry for the long-ass delay, everyone. Let's get back to doing this!

Previously on this program...
(All of the pictures here, unless otherwise indicated, were taken by me)

The day began with us rising from bed and getting some breakfast. Our hotel was about three-four blocks away from a Starbucks (the same one we found on the first day), so naturally we went there. We got some foodstuffs and sat in the nearby park (Theodore Roosevelt Park) and ate, watching schoolchildren and their vigilant adults pass by, heading towards the American Museum of Natural History. Part of the reason we chose the hotel was because it was a hop and a skip away from the museum, along with it being a brisk walk to Central Park. We paid for convenience really. Totally worth it.

To tumble or not to tumble...

I've been thinking of reopening my tumblr and using it again, but not sure for what. Can't really think of a good use for it. Perhaps a catch-all for random-ass stuff?

Any suggestion/idea would be greatly appreciated.

NaNoWriMo 2012 Plans (or: I Was A Teenage Fan-Fiction Writer)

As the ninth month of the year draws slowly to a close, along with the end of a brutal season and the entrance of my favorite season, it is time to begin making plans for NaNoWriMo. After some serious thought, I have decided to participate in it again. Maybe I won't be in it to win, because the prize may likely be the same (coupon for Scrivener, etc.) or I may just do it just so I can get another sweet avatar thingy showing how effing boss I am.

I'm torn between two ideas: the story of an FBI agent and a local detective solving the mystery of a dead butler. Or a Silent Hill fan fiction about a possible apocalypse.

Okay, lemme explain the last one a bit. Yes, I used to write fan fiction. Silent Hill was one of the fandoms. No, I never published any of it. The only one I finished was a short story about what happened in South Ashfield Apartments during the events of Silent Hill 4: The Room. No, I will not publish it anywhere on the 'Net. It has a terrible OC (original character) protagonist. Now, we shall never speak of it again... (eh)

Either way, I'm tempted to write the fan fiction. It was an old idea that I never got around to finishing, and it sounds pretty effing awesome. I had this whole thing scoped out, like big-time. It's going to require a major overhaul, the protagonists have moved onto starring in original fiction that I've planned out. But it will give me a chance to really execute some of the original ideas I had for the characters on newer ones (e.g. I had plans to make the main character have amplified hearing). Yeah, you know what? Eff it. I'm gonna do it.

So, here is to a fun-as-hell NaNoWriMo. 2012 was a rough year. I think I deserve a fun writing project.

This post was brought to you by my second favorite Channel Awesome personality and Roxy Music's "Same Old Scene".

 

*meme does not belong to me*

Haven't said much in a while... (TW: depression)

Yeah, to be honest, I'm blaming the lack of posts on no motivation and getting used to being on antidepressants. It is weird to be (somewhat) dependent on a drug to manage my moods. I've been doing okay, been hit hard by my period. So yeah, that will make things more fun for now on.

Either way, it hasn't been easy to get back into the swing of things. I'm on the hunt for a full-time job and it's not going well at all. Haven't heard a thing and I start thinking it's me, that I'm under-qualified and not worthy of a good-paying job. It makes me wonder how much longer I'll be stuck in retail. Will I have to work another Christmas? What am I doing wrong? Is it internships until I get blue in the face? The worst thing is that I know I'm not the only one, but others that I know are succeeding. What are they doing right? Is it pure luck? Or do they have something I don't? Personally, I don't want to think about it right now. It'll just make me sad.

I know that Jupiter_Nova hasn't been updated in a long time. Please don't remind me. It's already upsetting to see the "last posted" date.

As for writing, it's been a challenge to even sit down and write something, much less a blog entry. Reading? Forget about it. I have too many books. Finances aren't getting better. I'm starting to think that this is going to be the rest of my life. Being eternally immature, living with her parents, working retail, and dreams of being a writer instead of actually doing it.

But I can't do this to myself. I worked hard to get through that depressive episode, so I could live again. I know that it won't be easy, but I have no choice. I didn't regain control of my life only to lose it again.

I'm gonna have to do this. I apologize for my speed, but things will be getting back... well, not to normal, but I'll be at least posting more often and doing other things.

Until next time!

Some minor life updates (TW: depression)

As I'm listening to someone narrating an excerpt from the new Michael Chabon book (I'm probably gonna skip this one, kinda having my doubts about it), I realized that I haven't done anything for this blog. I have a good reason for it.

I done forgot.

Either way, I went to the doctor a few weeks ago about my moods and health. Turns out that I don't have hypoglycemia (it runs in my family), but my good friend Unipolar Depression has stopped by for another visit (makes this the fourth time in six years, the annoying git). Because of the latter, I was put back on antidepressants for the first time since I was last diagnosed at nineteen. Unlike last time, I will be on these pills for about six months to a year. Oh well. But if I'm having depressive episodes four times in a six-year period, I think I may need a little medicinal help.

I'm currently not seeking a therapist, mainly due to financial issues, but also don't need one at this time. I am feeling much better than before, the past almost like it never happened. It was like "whoa, I was upset about all this? Odd." That's the funny thing about being depressed, you forget about it after it goes away and doesn't come back until it feels like it. I read a while back about someone's struggle with depression and likened it to a persistent cold. That's a pretty damn accurate description.

So yeah, I've been dealing with the blues for a while. Whenever some major event comes up and it stresses me out to a breaking point, it usually triggers depression. My mom thinks that my menstrual period has a role in this, due to my PMSing prior to the depressive episode. I wouldn't be shocked; heavy and psychologically-damaging periods also run in my family.

I'm waiting on the next period to see if it is part of the problem. But knowing my family history and even my past history with my menstrual flows, I think I have my answer.

~

All that aside, I am doing very well. Just working, reading, and writing. I got to spend time with my mom over the weekend. She got this job as a maintenance host at a nearby state park; she gets to stay at the park for free, so I went over to keep her company. It was the first time I went camping in over five years. I forgot how much fun it was.

Sorry for the long silence, y'all. We'll be getting back to things in time. Take care!

P.S.: If you or a loved one is dealing with depression, do not hesitate to ask for help. There is hope for you. There are medicines, there are therapists. It is hard to admit that you need help, but it is the bravest thing you could ever do. I've been living with it for five years and made peace with it. If I, a sometimes self-loathing neurotic and nervous young woman, can do it; so can you!

Glad to be back!

Sorry for the long silence, folks. I had an Internet issue, which took days to fix. The modem wasn't working, giving me DNS look-up errors and other sorts of frustrations. The funny thing is, I thought my computer had been hacked. But nope, it was something just as bad!

It's good to be back here. Not sure about what to do now, but I'll think of something.

Stay tuned as always!

A word on grad school

After giving it some thought over the last few months (and the stress I've been dealing with lately didn't help much), I have decided that I will not apply for grad school next year.

I'm not in the best financial situation right now and since I'm in the process of finding new employment, I'm not going to stress over it at this time. I would rather get a full-time gig, make some good money, find a nice place to live, hone my writing skills with vocational classes, and get published a few more times. Just for now, at least. I'm sure once I'm financially secure (well, the best I can be in this economy), I'll decide if grad school is right for me.

I'm not sure if I want to get an MFA just to write better, or become a teacher of sorts, or even change my focus to something else like women's studies or a specific branch of literature (I'm thinking Japanese literature) or library science. Hell, I was considering going overseas to teach English, but it feels imperialistic, so I'll likely pass on this. Or I'll just say "eff this" and do one of those low-residency MFA programs.

Honestly, I have no effing clue if I'll further my studies.

I got an idea. Lemme get an effing job first. After that, I'll go from there...

New York City: Day 1

*The following post can be enhanced with the listening to Talking Heads' "Cities"*
(All of the pictures here, unless otherwise indicated, were taken by me)

My sister and I flew out very early in the morning to LaGuardia Airport. All I did was read this book on my trusty Nook ST "Callie", while my sister slept at the window seat. We arrived freakishly early, like noonish, and our room wasn't ready. We stood in line to get a cab and rode for about thirty minutes. So yeah, from Queens to Manhattan.

I'm back!

The title says it all, I've returned from the big NYC. I'll go back to posting about three times a week, including a play-by-play of my trip!

Things have been good around here, though I've been dealing with some anxiety and stress for a while. It did affect the trip somewhat, but I still managed to have a good time. I'm gonna go seek some psychological help for this one. Will keep you all posted on that.

Either way, doing much better now. Stay tuned for the play-by-play!

New York City, Here I Come!

This is the obligatory post letting all the peeps know that I will be absent for most of the week. I will be in the Big Apple, seeing the sights and going to a big concert (the main highlight). No posts until I return, so take the time to catch up! Until next time...

Play us off, Fleetwood Mac!

Yeaaaa!

The long-awaited trailer to the new Silent Hill movie is now here!

Minor complaint: the effects look a little off, but other than that, it looks great! Can't wait 'til October! Hell yeah, midnight showing (if there is one)!

I've been having a blah week (full of no-fun anxiety), but this has made up for it.

*goes to look at various Silent Hill message boards*

Nothing will ever please the hardcore fans. Reason #153 Why I'm No Longer A Member of A Silent Hill Message Board.

A short list of books I pre-ordered on my e-reader...

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Eight Girls Taking Pictures by Whitney Otto
A Novel Way to Die (A Black Cat Bookshop Mystery #2) by Ali Brandon

Hell yeah! Can't wait for these, especially the last one. I'm a sucker for goofy armchair mysteries.

I may add Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue to the list, but I want to do more research first.

What's with this nonsense?

I don't know if y'all are having this problem, but for some strange reason, certain parts of my posts will have a white background, like I highlighted it. It has happened here and over on Jupiter_Nova. I apologize for not spotting those errors earlier (if you've seen them at my blogs).

But this has happened too many times for it be a strange-ass error on my part. So I ask you, the programmers of this fine blogging establishment... if there is anything you can do on your end to fix this problem, it would be greatly appreciated.

Time for another "Top 5 on Friday!"

Over at Music Memoirs, the hostess asks everyone what five albums they would buy if they had the money.

Here is my answer!

1. Music from Big Pink by The Band
2. Quixotic by Martina Topley-Bird
3. Mindy Smith by Mindy Smith
4. Funk or Walk by the Brides of Funkenstein
5. Born to Die by Lana del Ray (quit yer heckling, I like "Summertime Sadness")

A future plan I got cooking...

As y'all know, I've been talking about how much I wanted to find full-time employment. I initially halted the search after I got caught up in my friend's wedding (yeah, apparently being a bridesmaid does mean you put aside some life stuff for a while!). Now with the trip to New York coming up, I have a feeling I won't do much in job-hunting until I get back. That won't be until early August. I hate to keep putting it on hold, but I don't have much of a choice.

As I watch my bank account dwindle and not replenish as fast as I've been used to, it dawns on me that I need to make more money (only enough to live, no stock markets or gambling for me) and find a job to give me security. Right now, I am far from that safe spot. I imagine a lot of people are in that position right now (why thanks, do-nothing Congress!), so my complaint is not that unique.

I have talked about getting a new job in the past, but I didn't mean it enough. I hope that this time, not only do I mean it, but it results in new employment.

This one goes out...

to my best friend and her fiancé, who just got married today.

Y'all are a wonderful couple. Continue being awesome, you crazy kids.

The Future of Music Consumption Is Rife with Arguments, Apparently

So, some (old but) big news on the Interwebs regard an NPR intern basically confessing that almost all the music she has on her computer wasn't purchased. She talks about how she works at radio stations, ripping the CDs that surround her, and ripping albums she borrows from friends. And of course, the bugaboo, she downloads whatever she can’t get a hold of. The comments were flooded with people claiming she and many others like her are nothing more than thieves; while some defended her and called for everyone to get with the future. So, our future is no longer buying our music?

I don’t have a problem with people loaning their CDs out to people. I do that all the time with my sister and my friends. Didn't people do this with vinyl records and cassette tapes? Look, I may be a quarter-century-old, but I know this phenomenon ain't new.

Before I go further, I need to admit to my class privilege: I still live with my family, so I don’t pay much in rent and bills. With this, I’m able to buy a lot of my music. The only time I download free stuff is bootlegs and long out-of-print albums that are VERY HARD to find (e.g. the albums are only available on vinyl from Japan [oh hai Plastics]). Because I can afford to buy my music, it's likely why I take issue to those who download everything for free. I like to support the musicians whenever I can, even if it means that the record company takes a larger cut. It ain't the band's fault that's the way things are.

I do have some issues with people that admit to downloading everything, citing that the record company gets most of the cut anyway. Okay great idea, let's deprive the musicians what little they would've received anyway! F*** the establishment! This is a seriously flawed argument. Yeah, the music industry is seriously broken as all get out and is refusing to change with the rest of the world. That's no excuse to basically just steal and be proud of it or think you're making a change in the industry. The entitlement is quite awful, frankly. Most of these musicians aren't working for free. They need food and health insurance like the rest of us.

Yet, let's take a gander at the other side, those who like to buy their music and have physical copies. Once again, it all goes back to the money. They have it, therefore they spend it. They see these youngsters (including myself) and think we are nothing more than greedy and entitled jerks. Well, this attitude is quite entitled and greedy, to be honest. So yeah, no one wins here.

I guess my main problem with this whole situation is the entitlement. The old-schoolers with their infinite monies and the new-schoolers with their l33t downloading and torrenting skills. No one is admitting to those hard facts. The older folks don’t want to talk about class and money privileges, it’s just easier to call the kids immature and entitled. As for my generation, we have computers and infinite resources for free music, we don’t want to consider that yeah it is still stealing no matter how we attempt to explain it away, it’s just easier to call the older folks behind the times and not willing to accept reality.

And you know what? The main villain in all this, a corrupt music system, is still winning. If we continue to be at war with each other, we will never see past our own prejudices and when we find ourselves with stricter Internet privileges and exorbitant priced albums, we have no one to blame but ourselves. (Well, that, plus the price of living and paying wages are so skewed now that it warrants a comedic sketch.)

So essentially? Everyone, put down your arms. Own up to your problems and work together. We can have a future full of cheap and free music if we just shut up about the other side for a minute. Because if this economy doesn't recover soon, we all won't have money for anything and the argument about free music will be the least of our problems.

I had a nice, silly post ready to go...

And Blogger ate it up. I managed to save it, after searching for a solution for about twenty minutes. It's too much work to fix the post at this time, so I will fix it all in good time. Probably not this week, due to my friend's wedding this weekend.

Either way, I'll just move on and work on some reviews for my other blog. Check soon for the inaugural Jupiter_Nova review!

25 Things You (Likely) Don't Know About Me

~~

1. I am the only person amongst my friends and family that hated Sucker Punch.

2. I air-guitar left-handed, yet I’m right-handed.

3. My liquors of choice are rum and whiskey. Vodka and tequila, no thanks!

4. I love Peter Gabriel solo more than in Genesis, yet I love Phil Collins in Genesis more than solo. (Bonus Genesis factoid: I prefer the Hackett/Banks/Rutherford/Collins era [Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering]).

5. If I could dress as one musician for my stage costume, I want to dress like Phil Manzanera from Roxy Music’s performance of “Ladytron” on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Those glasses are f***ing awesome.

6. I would love to learn how to play both banjo and bass.

7. According to my friends and family, I’m excellent at gift-giving.

8. I taught myself how to write (in general), braid, and juggle.

9. Before becoming a serious writer; I used to write Looney Tunes and Silent Hill fan fiction as a hobby. And no, none of it was sleazy. Or can be found on the Internet.

10. The books I have successfully recommended to customers are The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka followed by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (5 times for each of them).

11. Thanks to my sister, I’m now a hot tea drinker. My preference is green tea with honey.

12. I became a feminist when I was 21.

13. As of today, I have been published 3 times.

14. I was told once by a creative writing classmate that my writing wasn't good because the language wasn't "profound" nor were the words "12th grade level". Hey buddy, Hemingway on Line 4 for you.

15. I would like to write lyrics for a rock band.

16. If I could travel back into time to see one concert, it would be the entire US Festival in 1982. (Second place goes to Talking Heads in Tokyo, Japan in 1981).

17. Regarding item 16, I have been told by a few that this was an excellent choice.

18. I'm planning to cosplay as the Nostalgia Critic at an anime convention.

19. I am starting to collect nail polishes. God help me.

20. My best friend's upcoming wedding will be the first wedding I will ever go to. And also the first where I am part of the bridal party.

21. I'm pretty superstitious. I believe in wearing and carrying lucky things (like rings and jewelry), looking out for lucky numbers in things (like lotteries), and in omens. However, I don't believe in astrology.

22. When I was a kid, I wanted to be either a meteorologist or an animation director; almost just as bad as I want to be a writer now.

23. I'm really sensitive to the smell of house paint. It makes me gag.

24. I started calling microwaveable bacon "lazy bacon", beginning a trend in my house. My parents even list it as "lazy bacon" on their grocery lists!

25. I have named all my fountain pens after British writers. The Pelikan is Angela (after Angela Carter), the Waterman is George (after George Eliot), and the Retro 51 is Brian (after Brian Jacques).

On the "bath salts" incidents...

Warning: this post and news links contain some violent details, reader discretion is advised. 

(I originally wrote this in the wake of the incidents, but forgot to post it. It is slightly dated for that reason, but still worth talking about.)

To be honest, I didn't know what to say or think about all the past reports of men (two of them were possibly high on so-called "bath salts") who committed great destruction upon themselves or others. Well, other than "Good God, that's horrifying!"

That was until everyone I know (and I do mean everyone) started making zombie jokes (with the solitary exception of my little sister, who continues to remain a badass).

At first, I didn't know how to react. To be honest, I never considered "zombie apocalypse" when I read the stories (see first paragraph for the initial reaction). After a while, as it all sunk in, the zombie jokes started to get to me. I had trouble figuring out why. After reading about it on ONTD_Political, even when the posters' feelings were similar to mine, I couldn't find my reason. I thought about it all day yesterday. And then it hit me: no one talked about the victim (in this case, I'm referring to the homeless man that was attacked in Florida). The guy's life has changed dramatically and, in all honesty, it could be something he may never truly recover from. The pain, in both its physical and psychological forms, I cannot even begin to fathom. If anything, I hope he gets all the help he needs and lives out the rest of his life in a safe place.

~

I know humor is used to help cope with a serious event, but this doesn't seem like the right time. It erases the fact there were people seriously injured and killed. It deflects conversation about "bath salts", a serious and dangerous street drug, especially its effects on people. Those are conversations we need to have, but we are too scared to. Instead, we resort to tasteless jokes that only skirt the real issues. We forget that there are grieving families and mortally-wounded people.
 
Have I lost some respect for those who made the jokes? I won't lie, yes I have. What I hope for is for these people to examine their thoughts and reread the stories (if they are triggered by extreme violence, then I don't want them to do that to themselves).

I will link to the news stories so you can read them for yourselves. I combed through them to make sure pictures weren't posted of the man's injuries. But sadly, I cannot assure you that it will remain that way. Exercise extreme caution, my friends. There are jerks on the Internet and the comments sections are to be avoided.

To my friends who read this and get mad at me for me being mad at them, please read the entry again. And no, I'm not a politically-correct, oversensitive, bleeding-heart liberal. I am, however, a liberal with a sense of humor who knows when not to make inappropriate jokes. There is a difference, y'all.

What I've Been Up To...

Hello again, peeps! Welcome to July, where your electric bills will rise to ridiculous levels and the sunscreen is your best friend. May the A/Cs always work and the cold water be plentiful for you all. And for those currently experiencing the cooler seasons... enjoy it while it lasts. It will be your turn soon. *insert evil laughter*

One big thing I got done today is book the hotel my sister and I will be staying at in New York later this month. That pretty much leaves any last-minute things to do (like get together toiletries and packing) before the big day. Also found some cool free apps that will help me and my sister get around the city.

The original big day is about twelve days away, working on some gift-buying (and making!) for my best friend's wedding. I got my dress back and got together all the makeup and accessories I'm gonna need. I have that entire weekend off, so I can recover and help do last-minute stuff.

Got a long to-do list, along with what I listed above, of things to get done this week. Two of them include blog posts for Jupiter_Nova and two more posts here.

Sorry for not much else, y'all. Do stay tuned, as always!

Here's an update! There's an update! We all have updates!

Hello, longtime readers and newcomers! I'm back to see what condition my blog was in. And man, we need some updates in here, it's looking a little stale. Time to fix that.

My hematoma has healed up quite nicely, the bruising is still there but not as bad as before. It's all migrated to the left inner side of my right arm. I was concerned it wouldn't be gone by the time of my friend's wedding, but it's looking like it'll be gone before then. I can also stretch my arm out without pain, yea!

I'm going to begin the job hunt by applying for a few jobs. One of them is for another bookstore, but they're offering full-time, which I need. It's been really frustrating, since I want to do it all right the first time, so I give up since I might as well save me the pain of rejection. Hmmm... I really need to stop doing that. 'Cause how else can I survive being a writer? Or life in general?

I have everything that I need for the wedding (minus the dress, it's being hemmed at the moment) and the trip to NYC. All I'm missing is Shout! wipes and a sewing kit. Trust me, think about why I, a bridesmaid, may need these things. If anything, I want to be the over-prepared bridesmaid, armed and ready for any possible scenario to ensure a smooth wedding day.

I do have plans to blog about the NYC trip, but not during it. I am not going to be lugging my laptop around town, 'cause I ain't leaving it at the hotel, that's for sure.

And a big lesson I learned today is that, no matter how rough and sucky life gets, I need to keep perspective and finds the joys in life. It is hard as hell to do, and I often forget to do this, but I have to keep at it.

Hope y'all are well, my lovely peeps.

Did not go as well as I expected...

Warning: this post contains a brief discussion of blood donations. Reader discretion is advised.

I hate to do this, but I have to drop out from Camp NaNoWriMo. Turns out the story I was working on did not want to go as long as 50k. It wants to be a long short story, or a novella. It can't decide what it wants, and neither can I. So, that is the main reason. The other is a botched blood donation.

Lemme explain the latter more. What happened was the nurse had stuck the needle so far it went past my vein and into my body. Even when he adjusted the needle, during the return process, the solution burned. I was going to do a double donation, but it was cut down to a single due to the pain. After it was over, the nurse said I will develop a hematoma. It later bruised all over my the left side of the donation area (in this case, on my right arm). I can barely stretch my arm without pain (this is due to the hematoma pressing on a major nerve). I am doing so much better, but it still hurts and yes, I still have the bruise.

Yeah, see why I wasn't able to do much in the last few days? I hate to give up, but I'm so far behind and I rather concentrate on other things at the moment. Like starting up story projects and getting ready for several big things. One of those may include getting a new job.

Will keep y'all updated. No hematoma will keep me from writing! Though, one will keep me from fist-pumping, which kinda sucks... oh well.

Update on Camp NaNoWriMo

On a lighter side of things, I'm making headway on my Camp NaNoWriMo novel. Since I'm playing catch-up and all, I may not post much about it here for now. Will keep you all updated.

Ray Bradbury: 1920-2012

What news to wake up to this morning, to hear that the iconic science fiction novelist has left this Earth the night before. What hasn't been said about him, the creator of works such as Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes? It is true, I have little to say in terms of his impact, you can only turn to the careers of writers like Richard Matheson and Stephen King to see just two examples of Mr. Bradbury's influence. Instead, I can only offer personal reflections and a few tears.

No writer stepped up in the writing world and made it okay to write about aliens and monsters, do it all straight-faced and still have the work be considered a form of literature, moreso than Mr. Bradbury:

I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.

Besides his fantastic fiction that delighted several generations (so far), he also penned one of the most excellent writing books: Zen in the Art of Writing. In its own slim, succinct way, Bradbury gave you permission to dream, to write things that may not be true "literature". He rooted for you in each page, practically begging you to write whatever your heart and mind desired. He knew that you would have to go through the same trials of fire that he did, but you at least had a friend and supporting rock in him.

Even though now he cannot do it now, with letters or even a phone call, I'm sure he'll continue to be science fiction's greatest cheerleader long into the years, up in the heavens. He'll have Isaac Asimov and Madeleine L'Engle, and of course, his beloved wife Marguerite, to join the squad once again.

You did so much for so many in so much time. Rest in peace, sir.

The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.

- from Fahrenheit 451

Jupiter_Nova's Reviews is online!

Yes, after a few months of putting it all together (mostly pondering what service to use), Jupiter_Nova's Reviews is now online! Go check it out by clicking the link in the header or click here.

Thanks for reading!

Change of plans

Okay, after some thinking while I was absent, I have decided to continue reviewing things here on this blog, until the end of the year. After that, I may get myself another blog and set it aside for reviewing purposes. I decided that Wordpress is, frankly, not worth my time to figure out and I'll just set up the blog somewhere else (it'll likely be at Blogger).


So the launch is delayed... for now.


** End of news bulletin **

ETA (06/05/12): My blog, still named Jupiter_Nova's Reviews, is alive and running, but not ready for prime-time. I still need to make sure the links on them are not dead and lead to the posts on that blog, not the one here. Also, if you are searching for the reviews here, don't even bother. They are migrating over to Jupiter... so please hang tight.

Long absence, explained

 Warning: the following post contains discussion about anxiety and drunkenness. Reader discretion is advised.

This time, it was not an illness. It was something just as bad, though. Ah yes, my old friend anxiety came into town a couple of weeks ago. You see, it came while I was hungover from sangria and buzzed from two cups of coffee and a baby bottle of Coca-Cola. Next thing I know, I wasn't sleeping well and barely functioning at work. Atop that, I had to prepare for my best friend's bridal shower. So much to do and yet anxiety wanted so badly to derail all my plans (including drafting out plans for my Camp NaNoWriMo novel). It succeeded. I could only go to work and survive the shift before returning home to sleep. Several days would pass before anxiety packed its bags and left town. I don't know when it'll return, but lemme just say that I'll never drink a full bottle of sangria in one night ever again, then chase it the next morning with coffee and Coca-Cola.

This is why I haven't written in a while or why there was no post about Camp NaNoWriMo.

~

And now I drink coffee (albeit instant). Does that make me a real writer now?

The point is to keep going...

Since recovering from my illness, I've had some time to think over about my writing. Starting today, I'm going to work on another novel project. There is a twist to this one, though. I'm planning on using Scrivener software! Since I won a coupon for it last year, I've been meaning to use the software for something.You shall know this one as City.

I will also participate in this year's Camp NaNoWriMo (in June)! Since I'm going to reapply for graduate school (prepare for it, Michener Center! I will get into your program!), I want November to be freed up. That is, if I don't find a good short story to send to them by that point. The story is mainly the reason I didn't get in last year, or so I think. But if I do find a story to submit by then, I may do NaNoWriMo again in November. What I might do is find someone I know and recruit them to be my reader (or bulls*** detector).

So there you go, peeps. What are your long-term plans? Short-term? Let me know in the comments!

Sidelined by illness (again!)

Over two weeks ago, my sister was nursing a nasty cold (it sidelined her enough for her to miss a few days of school) and I was taking care of her, along with driving my mom to the courthouse for jury duty. Then around the 3rd of this month, I started to feel a little off. I canceled my blood donation appointment and was struck with a cold. By the next day, it spread to my chest and gave me a nasty, deep cough along with a roller-coaster fever. When I woke up today, I had enough. Nothing I was taking was working at all and I wasn't getting any better. I went to the health clinic and found out that I have mild bronchitis. Thanks to this discovery, I'm now on medicine that is actually doing something. I'm not coughing as hard anymore, thank God. Today is the best I've felt in a week.

Everyone at work was pretty worried about me. I had to call in sick twice, and when I did show up for the two other shifts, I was allowed to go home early. And here I am, trying to earn money for some big events! This wasn't helping! Plus, I hate calling in sick. It's like "well, I'm standing, I should be okay". But the fever worried me, plus I don't want to spread this to my co-workers. Geez Louise, I'm not a jackass!

Either way, to those who were wondering where the hell I've been... here's your answer.

Good Lord, Quotation Marks Won't Kill You (Or Why I Didn't Enjoy No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy)

I am currently trying to read Aimee Bender's The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (is it bad that I want every character to get punched in the face?*) and all I can think is

I'm so sick of writers's excuses for not using them: "It makes people pay attention to the dialogue more", "It's outside the norm", "I don't want to do what everyone does", "It's too traditional". NO. You're just showing off. Don't care. No exception. The end. And guess what? Most of the time, your writing isn't that f***ing special to begin with. Try actually writing something good without an overuse of flowery prose before you begin to break some rules. Sound good?


Lionel Shriver wrote an article about her feelings about this trend. Oh thank God. I was getting scared that there weren't any writers that thought this quotation mark-less trend was total nonsense. She argues that the very excuses her fellow writers use don't really amount up to anything. She even cites an example from No Country for Old Men, where she placed quotations in a passage that previously had none. How odd! None of the mood changed. It wasn't any less streamlined or "punchy", as I read one person describe dialogue without quotation marks. God, I hate it when people want to be arty for the sake of it.

If you don't want to use quotation marks, fine. No really. It's your choice. But don't expect me to understand nor care. Because yeah, I don't understand nor care.

*I have a rule that if I'm reading a book and I hate the characters, I ask myself "If everyone died suddenly in a nuclear explosion, would I care?" If the answer is a gritty, in-your-face "no", I stop reading. That doesn't mean I don't like nasty, "terrible people" characters per se, it's if they are caricatures more than actual people, nuclear annihilation seems like a better option.

130,487 words

130487 / 120000 words. 109% done!


As of today, at 12:17 PM local time, I have finished the first draft of Invisible. Laboring over it since June 1st, 2010, it has taken me 704 days (or 1 year, 11 months, and 5 days) to finish it. My God, I did it. My first full-length novel is completed.

I have no idea what to do now.

...

Play me off, Maurice White and friends!

Whoops, I overestimated...

After looking over some of the scene note-cards I made for Invisible, I realized that, in all honesty, the novel isn't going to need about 17k words to wrap the whole thing up. I can easily wrap up plot threads in about half of that, maybe even less. As I thought about it, it appeared that there wasn't much else to be said. I have truly written the falling action, now the denouement is upon me.

Looks like I seriously overestimated. Even if I add more scenes to earlier parts, I doubt it will make a huge impact. Not something to the tune of 17k.

But we'll have to see.

I got my holy grail!

What a day Record Store Day turned out to be! Not only did I get the RSD exclusives I wanted, I also received my holy grail of records. Wait, you're probably thinking, what is a holy grail? It is a term used in the record-collecting community to mean a vinyl release that you want and it is going to be very hard to find (hence, "holy grail").

Mine is a rare vinyl pressing of Out of the Cradle by Lindsey Buckingham. It was only released in Europe (mine is from Portugal, so the label has some Portuguese). Yeah, I found it. On eBay. And it cost me some serious money (won't say how much). Yeah, I'm stoked.

The proof.

I have some other "holy grails" lined up, but this was the big one. So, I may not pursue those for a long, long time. And actually, due to some huge events coming up (my best friend's wedding in July, a vacation to NYC, etc.) my record-collecting may come to a brief halt. Gotta save some serious dough.

Got any "holy grail" stories? Share them in the comments!

Record Store Day 2012

Today is every vinyl-holic's favorite holiday. I asked for the day off from work in advance so I can get up bright and early to get a few of the exclusives coming out today. By the time I arrived at the record store, there was a long line leading from the door. I got in and waited until opening, with the line getting much longer behind me. I had never experienced anything like this before (my mom noted that it sounded like Black Friday).

I was going past people to find the exclusives. I went for Arcade Fire and Genesis without much trouble. The seven-inches were more trouble. I didn't get the M83 or Foster the People ones, but I got Karen Elson's (the one on the far right). The one to the left of M. Ward's "Primitive Girl" is Caitlin Rose's "Piledriver Waltz", which wasn't going very quickly.

My big ones were Arcade Fire and Karen Elson, followed by Genesis. The others were random ones that I grabbed up.

After that, I wandered around the store, mostly recovering from being squished for the better part of ten-twenty minutes. I found a few more goodies, including two CDs I've been dying to get.

Top two CDs: THEESatisfaction's awE naturalE (my second favorite album of the year, so far) and Alabama Shakes's Boys & Girls (my favorite album of the year, so far)

Records: In Rainbows by Radiohead, Under the Pine by Toro Y Moi, and The Black Belles's debut album.

Have any Record Store Day stories or finds? Share them in the comments!

Time for a new look!

In lieu of the big switch, Musings... becoming a more personal blog and less of a reviews ones, I got rid of the older template for a newer one. It looks so much better.

If you have any issues with it, like readability and so forth, let me know and I'll fix it (with what limited HTML skills I know, but it will get fixed!).

After some thinking...

I have decided to finally make a second blog, which will be for the reviews. I feel that Musings... should stay as a personal blog and not much more than that. If I want to review anything, it should be more accessible and a little more professional than here. Nothing wrong with what I've done before, but it's time to make a change. I already created it (it's gonna be over at Wordpress) and I haven't done much to it. I'll open it up for business sometime this year.

And yes, I'll transfer all the previous reviews I've done here (and maybe spruce them up a bit). I may not delete them from here but yeah, the pull-down menu will go bye-bye. That and I may look into a new layout for the blog. It's almost its fifth anniversary after all...

So coming soon to a blogosphere near you: Jupiter_Nova's Reviews!

Notes on A Seminar

A few days ago, I went to a writing seminar on science fiction and fantasy novels. The seminar was hosted by the writing organization I recently joined. It was enjoyable, like being back in college, listening to a professor talk about a specialized topic. Also I learned some new stuff about the genres, like how fantasy (at least, the lecturer argued) that it has its roots in medievalism and Arthurian legends. As for science fiction, it is usually seen as the more "realistic" of the two, usually based on real things (y'know, science). For some hardcore sci-fi and fantasy nerds, I am definitely stating the obvious. To be fair, I haven't read enough of each genre to get that idea. So far, from my few readings, I gathered that: that fantasy has magic and dragons; and that science fiction always managed to predict the future. (Of the two, I prefer sci-fi. So says the frustrated lady writer who is penning a fantasy novel on the side. [Said fantasy novel is not Invisible.]) The only thing I didn't like about the seminar was the lecturer didn't go into much detail about magic realism (which some writers and critics have likened to being no more than a snooty term for fantasy), otherwise I liked it. Since it was a class full of writers, we shared some of our novel ideas. I even shared mine, which the lecturer commented on the concept having the "classic ideas". Afterwards, he wished me luck on my writing after I thanked him for the lecture.

I definitely will be attending future classes held by the writing organization. Hopefully, even a retreat in the future. But for now, let's see how things work out with finances...

World Backup Day

Apparently, today is a day that spreads awareness on backing up your precious computer files. And so here goes my day off, rearranging all my files. But I've been playing chicken for too long, not saving my novel and other things too.

My zip drive and external hard drive haven't been updated in over two years, most of the files dating back to college. I deleted some files by accident and began to panic, but I realized they were backups of backups of backups (Inception, anyone?) because why would I save files of "novels" (that was the main folder's name) in just one area? I'm not that ridiculous. Either way, even if I lost anything of importance, I don't recall what was in the folder anyway.

So, don't be silly like me and wait to backup once a year. Do it today. And every week.

Want to check out more about today and learn how you can too, save your precious computer files? Click here.

P.S.: Man, I hate the new Blogger upgrade.

My labels say it all...

Hey everyone, sorry for no posts this week. I was sidelined by a strange stomach ailment (I promise to not tell you anymore than that) and was unable to do much other than go to work and then come home, only to pass out and sleep fitfully.

Not many things of interest have come up since then, just fighting off whatever-the-hell-I-have and thinking too much about everything else (which tends to be more common than I like to admit).

There are other things, but I'm working on those. Like my issues with social anxiety and really, the need to get out more. Part of my personality is content with not going out as much, but there are times it would be best to hang with my co-workers and friends. But blah-blah, those who've followed know this is a common problem of mine.

Either way, hope y'all, the friendly readers, are doing well. Bye for now.

On The Hunger Games movie...

The Hunger Games was an underwhelming film. It lacked the urgency, the horror, and pathos of the book. To me, this is the most grievous thing a book-to-film adaptation can do. I know the violence would've given it an R rating, but at this time, that might've been better.

It also relies heavily on the fact that its audience has read the book already. Don't believe me? Take a step back and pretend you've never read the book. Story seems a little rushed and simplistic? Characters underdeveloped? Yep. I can't believe the film did that to its viewers. I feel bad for those who've never read the books and wanted more nuance from the film. They were not the intended audience. So yeah, if you realized all that too, don't worry, you're not the only one.

"The movie is heavily faithful to the source material?" HA! And I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

The movie was already plagued with casting problems (e.g. only white actresses were allowed to try out for Katinss, though the book describes her as having a dark skin tone), so without even trying, I found two more strikes against the film. And it's out.

If you've enjoyed the film, that's wonderful. Really, it is. Just please, do not tell me I'm being a spoilsport and ruining everyone's fun. That says more about you than it does me.

/rant

Would you believe I'm still not done?

Here is the latest word count...

121934 / 120000 words. 102% done!

I still need about 9000 more words in Part 4, then an additional 8000 for the epilogue, which will put this first draft at about 140,000 words.

...

Well damn. I wasn't expecting that.

*ahem* Lemme put it this way. There is no effing way the final product is gonna be longer than that.

Oh look, everybody, there goes a flying pig! I'm gonna so eat my words here!

Eff that noise, it's gonna be much longer when I redo it. Lord knows my stuff tends to do that. And that's not even counting a few scenes I forgot to add in earlier parts!

Yea! Ladies and gentlemen, this is gonna hurt!

Keep on truckin'

I've been working on various bits of writing, including the never-ending Invisible (now on the halfway point of Part 4) and a flash fiction piece to resubmit. The piece was rejected and I received an email with a ton of critique and overall good advice. After poking at it, I think it's ready for prime-time. I'll wrap it up and send it off by the end of the week, see what happens.

'Bout it from here. See y'all later...

Need to start writing more

Not just fiction, but in my journal. On here. Anywhere. I have failed to keep up with this blog and from the looks of it, 2012 seems to be the beginning of a slim year.

But I can change that and make it more of what I want to see for my long-running blog. I never started this so I could become famous or make money off of it (in all honesty, I would love to make money with my reviews, but that would have to be an independent blog), I did this because, well, I like putting my thoughts out there and the few times I receive some form of feedback is nice too.

Like I stated in previous entries, things derailed for me pretty early on in the year with my job and grad school prospects. But from joining the writers' organization and signing up for a few of the classes, along with new strategies on the job-hunting front, it is likely that I'll have a great 2012.

Sure, things are not going the way I hoped, but I can't despair for too long. The time of mourning is over.

I'm officially a card-carrying member...

of a writers' organization. Hell yeah! I also registered for a couple of upcoming classes. This has helped me a lot with my confidence as a writer. This shows me that I love the craft and want to learn new things. Even though I still didn't get into my dream grad school, it doesn't mean I shouldn't stop writing or learning more. Yeah, I did get a bit derailed due to that, along with issues of perfectionism.

A note on my perfectionism: it has been something I always struggled with since I was a child. My father was always pushing us to always be prepared. He was also one to always act like he was right. His way or the highway. Needless to say, I internalized it so much that I abandon plans and projects mostly because I'm afraid of screwing up once. That was the bane of my second job at the non-profit. That's why I'm worried about job-hunting, finishing Invisible, even writing on this blasted blog. Every day, I have to tell myself to do it and just let myself goof a few times. How else will I learn, let along finish anything?

Y'know, it's funny. Here I over-prepared on the grad school application and yet, I sent them a story that I wasn't totally feeling and here I am, not a future Michener fellow. I focused my energy on all the wrong things. If I quit worrying about the application and saw that I wasn't feeling the story, I would be preparing to move to Austin and all that jazz. So yeah, it was my own damn fault. I acknowledge that.

Huh, this has gotten me to thinking. And wanting to write. Among other really big things. Gotta go now. I got stuffs to do.

Sooo, I got a butt-ton of 45s...

I went to Half-Price Books after a long, stupid day at work, checking to see if I could stumble across some Kate Bush records. It happened once before, I found a beautiful marbled pressing of Hounds of Love there. After no success with the LPs, I found the 45s and began sorting through them. I found Dire Straits's Communique on cassette tape while going through the 45s. I began to strike gold, finding several Paul Simon and Billy Joel singles (alas, "Big Shot" ended up having a big crack across it). I went on to the other area where they had 45s. That's when I found Walter Egan's "Magnet and Steel", Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Live at Hollywood High, and a UK picture disc of Silversun Pickups's "Lazy Eye" (among others).

For the most part, they play very well, without much pops and crackles, despite that a great chunk of them were missing their paper sleeves. And so, another thing to buy in bulk: sleeves for 45s.

I never expressed much interest in 45s, since I usually end up having the songs already in their native albums, but sometimes it is cool to find your favorite song and then notice it has a rare B-side you've never heard before. It depends on who the artist is, to be honest.

Just as I was writing this, my copy of Nite Jewel's One Second of Love just arrived. And I did get the limited white vinyl version after all. Happy day!

~

This entry was brought to you by procrastination and Silversun Pickups's "Comeback Kid".

Here I go again, being a hypocrite...

I have decided to run another little experiment. Whatever new releases in literature I want, I will buy then via e-reader. So far, I purchased the following: The Fox Effect, Half-Blood Blues, and Drifting House. I have others, but those are the big releases so far. I plan on more, which I'll note as the year goes on. Much like the vinyl-with-MP3-code business, it is an attempt to get into another format of entertainment that I enjoy.

Most of the books do end up being cheaper to purchase in e-book form versus the hard copy (with my employee discount). The Fox Effect was an unusual one, it was about a fifty-cent difference between the paperback and the e-book. 

So far, I enjoy both formats. I see myself still buying hard copies and encouraging that more, but e-readers and e-books have their own purposes.

Trying anything new for 2012? Share them!

Update on Invisible

After going on a writing marathon over the weekend (on Saturday night, I clocked in at a NaNoWriMo-esque 5,208 words), I am about 94% complete with this novel project. If I keep at my pace of about 2,000 words a day, I should finish Part 4 by the end of the month and the epilogue can be done in less than three days. Ah yes, the end is in sight. Early March is the time and place. Mark your calendars, kids!

Okay, I wasn't gonna say anything about this, but now I'm gonna!

VH1 recently released a revision of the 100 Greatest Women in Rock 'n Roll (now just Music, probably better since all the ladies were in different genres) and as Flavorwire pointed out, they made some odd choices. Not to say these particular ladies of music didn't earn their time in the sun, they worked hard and sold many records, heaven knows. Not bringing one down to celebrate another. That's not how we roll here.

I understand that the new list is a reflection of new trends and a crop of new, very talented people that are now staking their own claims in this tough and misogynistic world of music. But y'all, they threw a TON of the previous list under the bus. Where the f*** is Stevie Nicks? Etta James? Aretha Franklin is not there anymore! Not even Sheila E.! (My "I wanna break everything" moment was Tina Weymouth.) Maybe it makes sense that they changed the name of the list, so the two lists could exist together? Okay, so you wanna get specific? The 1999 list reflects that. Wanna get more broad? The 2011 list reflects that. I guess.

I got curious and counted both lists to see how many women of color were represented. The 1999 list had over 35 women, the new list only 27 (I may have missed some people, so please correct me if I'm wrong). While the 1999 list could've included more, it did somewhat a better job in the genre department. The Supremes over in Motown pop, Tracy Chapman in folk , Aretha Franklin with her gospel/rock blend, and Gloria Estefan with her take on Latin pop. The new list has some variation, but it has more pop than R&B or even folk.

So maybe the new list should be 100 Greatest Women in Pop, since damn, most of them could fit there. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not an excellent representation of genres. I guess you could argue that for the 1999 list, but you don't have to strain to find more than just a variation of pop.

Kathy from Her Five Dollar Radio also put together another problem with the list (and maybe the problem with the previous list too). God forbid that VH1 acknowledges any woman's contribution to the band she's in, let along she kicks ass at her instrument of choice. And as for the last paragraph of Kathy's excellent take-away from the list, it is amazing that people (not the writer, of course) still think that women have to be invited into the rock world, let alone bust in, do their thing, and let the guys just kindly deal with it; which a lot of the women from both lists have done. They had to break the rules in order to become who they are. And yet, there are so many limitations these musicians have to battle.

No, we haven't come a long way. We have a long way to go.

Hey, I'm still here!

Sorry for nothing after the last entry. I've been busy doing nothing, as usual, but I finally began working on Invisible again. Damn, took me way too long to begin working on it again. I noticed, as I was writing, that I was cringing what I was writing. Where are the details? Man, I can't paint a good picture of pure chaos. So, that what was truly holding me back. I was afraid of not doing it right the first time. Ahhh, but you never will get it right the first time. But the next time you will. Sounds like Billy Joel lyrics. (Yes, I was thinking of "Get It Right the First Time" from The Stranger.)

Either way, on that and doing some stuff to prepare for a most difficult job search, that will include possibly moving away in the next few months. We'll have to see.

On a lighter note, here is my (so far) favorite song of 2012:

Time to break the quiet 'round here

Sorry for being gone so long, January was an odd month for me. Coupled with the fact that my application was rejected from Michener, I'm on the search for a job. My hope is that it's a full-time job up north so I have a good excuse to move this year. Atop that, I've been waking up too early the last two mornings and paying for it (doesn't help that I have work those two days also).

A few quick things. I hate to do this, but since plans have changed very much for me this year, I will be unable to do the following: The Year of Revisits and ScriptFrenzy. For the former, I still plan on reviewing A House Like A Lotus in tribute of its rerelease this year. I may even read and review a few other of my all-time favorites, but not going to dedicate each month to one. As for the latter, I'm just not feeling it. I rather do NaNoWriMo again, which may happen again this year, but we'll have to see.

I may give the grad school application business another try later this year, but this time, send in a story I'll be very proud of. And if I do that, I may have to pass on NaNoWriMo then. But again, we'll have to see how things go.

*looks back at old blog entries* I was gonna review Casual Gods? Damn, need to get on that.

Well, you get the idea.

Got news back from Michener...

and I was denied. To be honest, I wish I was completely shocked and throwing a "why me" epic tantrum, but it's just not in me. It's really a case of "oh hai maturity" and also that getting in was very unlikely (message boards equated it with winning the lottery. Not a bad analogy, actually). Not because I suck at writing or anything, I mean, I'm a great writer. Maybe it's a case of "not just yet" or in all honesty, going there would've been a bad idea. Who knows?

So will you apply for grad school ever again? Oh yeah, I still will love to go, but it may now have to wait. In all honesty, I need to get a full-time job and move out first. That was partly the reason I wanted to go so bad. I wanted a huge damn excuse to get myself together and do something with my life. And I feel that was my biggest error in this whole thing. Ah, the old saying "putting all your eggs in one basket" applies here.

Will you apply for Michener again? To be honest, I don't know now. I feel, in a strange way, I might've applied there and hoped for admission to prove to myself that I'm a good writer. Sure, the money is great, but I really didn't know a ton about the program and its professors. I mean, it could be a decent school and going somewhere else would've been better, for all I f***ing know.

What now, Frustrated Lady Writer? Time to just write and find a full-time job that will take me further north from here. As for grad school, it may have to wait.

Thanks to those who wished me well and also helped me with my application. Time to dust myself off and move on to other things.

Long-Due Update

Hey peeps, this is your Frustrated Lady Writer here to give y'all an update in the friendly and readable format of bullet points.

• New Year has been a strange one so far. For one, I am going to lost my part-time health benefits from  my job in 2013. Probably by then I'll be working somewhere else and getting health insurance from grad school. *hope*
• Doing well on the reading challenges. Read the first two of the Wrinkle in Time quintet. That's about it so far.
• Getting on with my resolutions. Been exercising and eating better. 
• Will protest SOPA and PIPA by joining the blackout. Wanna do it too? Here is the link for more information.

As for the latter, my website will go dark in protest around 8 AM and will return 12 hours from then. Hopefully during this time everyone will contact their political representatives and join the Internet community in solidarity to protest SOPA and PIPA.

Even if you don't have a site, do your part and contact your representative(s). Because the louder the voices, the louder the NO, the more that these bills will die in Congress.