all that is gold

Fascinating.

2012-01-25T17:08:00.000-08:00

By Bill Ebbesen (Transferred from en.wikipedia) [CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
After losing a week of school, my classes and instructors are back on track, and at full steam. My first tech writing project is due this week. My history tests are within the upcoming weeks; between now and then, however, there is a lot of stuff I'd better get memorized. I don't mind, though, because I love my history classes.

The first one is part of the U.S. history sequence, focused on the Civil War and Manifest Destiny. It should be interesting. Student participation in this class is largely dominated by two guys who happen to be political polar opposites. One guy carries a soap box to class and climbs up on it at every opportunity. The other guy monitors the soap box on a radar, scanning it for potentially offensive opinions and ready to 'correct' them at any moment. We haven't even reached the very controversial topics yet.

My second history class is Latin American history. It's mostly been geography and population facts so far, but Professor C. seems to enjoy this class more than the others. He got to talking about Brazilian cowboys and sang part of a classic song about them. It was awesome.

The last history class I have is about modern conflicts. So far, we've been going over ideologies, which is very interesting. On the internet and elsewhere, names of ideologies tend to be used interchangeably and pretty loosely, but the subtle differences between them are carefully defined in this class.

Then there's tech writing. Today was our second group presentation; I talked for half of it. It went well, ~~even considering I hadn't practiced or rewritten my notes.~~

And it may (ought to) be the first and only time, but I'm glad I didn't study for this presentation. I completely forgot about it and spent most of my 1-hour break watching opera on YouTube. I walked into classes feeling totally confident and positive. I practically cheered for the green lights 90% of the way home. I even finished 2/3 of my tech writing project, right after getting home (this was an extraordinary day).

Now I'll try to finish the other 1/3 this evening. ;)

Me playing "Ombre" / Einaudi

2012-01-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

Practice recording* of Ombre ("Shadows"), by Ludovico Einaudi (obviously, I own nothing, and no copyright infringement is intended. This is not an accurate recording.):

[More videos from meriadoc4]

If you don't like this song, that's ok; I understand. Einaudi's music--you either love it or don't. If you do like the song, I highly recommend buying his own recording from iTunes or Amazon. He plays it (much) more accurately, a little slower, and with more rubato.

A big thank-you to my sister for turning the pages. :)

*I'm a violinist, not a pianist. I have no technique. Besides that, I am still learning this piece, the piano hasn't been tuned in ages, and the sustain pedal makes a creaking sound.

Rain

2012-01-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

After the snow and ice, rain and clouds has suddenly become "good" weather. Well, I always liked it. :)

And now that the power is back, I can work on my poem, which might be finished this weekend. I have a couple of short research papers I could write, too, but we'll see...

Power at last!

2012-01-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

No, I am not running for the U.S. presidency. I'm referring to the RETURN OF THE ELECTRICITY after 30+ hours of power outage (with a 15 minute break this morning, before it went out again).

Words fail to describe how we feel. Ok, I take that back--coffee, internet, pasta, coffee. And grateful.

Another thing I'm thankful for is that school was cancelled again today (as it was yesterday). I wouldn't have been able to go, even had it been open. What was six inches of snow in my last post is now 5-6 inches of snow + 1/2 inch layer of ice on top--ice that only breaks apart into smaller sheets. It's just started melting seriously within the last couple of hours, when the rain started. Hopefully all the ice on the plants and trees will start melting more quickly, too. Our largest trees were damaged pretty badly.

And that's about it, for now. There are still a lot of people without electricity. I'll be posting again, sometime in the next 24 hours, if our internet is still up and running!

6 inches exactly.

2012-01-18T13:23:00.000-08:00

Wearing my mom's blue wellies. <3

Got a little carried away with the toy camera app...

Snow day

2012-01-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

Well, if the weather forecasts come true, my three-day weekend might morph into a five-day weekend. I stayed home today, and the campus will likely be closed tomorrow, due to the predicted 6+ inches that's coming our way.

I'm not excited, necessarily. After making school and homework the center of my daily routine, I succumb to boredom very easily on a day off. I end up drinking a lot of tea and wasting time. Worse than other people...when I'm really bored, I don't do anything. I don't blog, I don't watch movies, I don't even take a nap. I just do nothing. It's pathetic.

My good deeds of the day: I played with my sibs outside and I worked on my poem. Let it be known that my snowball fighting skills are as bad as my chess-playing skills.

What's the weather like where you live? I know that, compared to some places, six inches of snow must seem like nothing, but around here, it makes headlines. ;)

Missing snowshoer found alive at Rainier

2012-01-17T08:34:00.000-08:00

I don't often post news articles, but I think this one is well-worth reading:

Missing snowshoer found alive at Rainier; 2 hikers overdue | Seattle Times Newspaper

Edit: More details here

Snow!

2012-01-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

And accumulating. There's a good chance school may be cancelled on Tuesday...

Patience!

2012-01-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

I am this close to self-publishing a book. And by this, I mean--in terms of linear measurement--half an inch. Or a quarter of an inch, as it seems to me, in my enthusiasm.

At an approximate length of 100 pages, it's not a long book, by any means. Just a short "debut" book--a collection of poems, most of which are 1-2 pages long, along with two very long poems that have a little more gravitas than the others. One of these is finished, the other is half-finished. And that's what I'm waiting for, with some attempts at patience.

Orpheus is allowed to rescue his wife from death, on one condition--that he never looks back at her.

This last poem is a re-telling of Orpheus and the Underworld...perhaps a big mistake. There are, of course, numerous renditions of this story, including poems by Robert Browning and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and operas by Gluck and Offenbach. To name a few examples. I probably should feel as presumptuous as if I were rewriting Hamlet, or Beowulf, or Paradise Lost; and frankly, anybody writing about the same subjects as great poets like Browning should think twice.

But to my defense, I have not read any of those Orpheus poems, nor have I watched any complete Orpheus opera. I'm approaching the subject with my own set of ideas, and have gone so far as to change some names and create some new characters. The setting is a combination of a fantasy world, 21st-century technology, and rugged, Pacific Northwest terrain. I've nearly stopped associating Orpheus and Eurydice with Greek mythology/heroes, and I've given them each more individuality, to add to their other attributes. I suppose a lot of people will dislike these changes; it won't appeal to those looking for a lot of "gritty realism", romance, or even mythology. Personally, though, I think the beauty of Orpheus and the Underworld is all found in the fundamental plot/themes, and, as with all epic fairytales, the plot is more poignant when it speaks for itself.

My poem is divided into four parts. Part I--begun in August 2011--was finished relatively quickly, but I only just finished Part II. It doesn't quite help that I chose some difficult rhyming/stanza/metric schemes (I'm using a different scheme for each part). Because of this, and because I write so very slowly, it might be anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months before the poem is finished.

I'm hoping for a happy medium...like 2 weeks. Now, if I can only muster up enough patience.

Gil Shaham at the Smithsonian

2012-01-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

Earlier today:

The second half, by the way, features a lot of fabulous ornamentation. <3

Lohengrin

2012-01-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

To be the first (hopefully) of a series of opera reviews on this blog. Keep in mind, I'm a newbie to opera, so these reviews are by no means academic. ;)

Opera review: Lohengrin (1990)

Richard Wagner (ca. 1850)
In German with English subtitles

When the Duke of Brabant dies, his daughter Elsa is proposed to by Count Friedrich of Telramund, a nobleman greedy for power. But Elsa refuses, and in revenge Telramund brings her to trial for the supposed murder of her missing brother, Gottfried. The King of Germany declares that justice must be found by single combat. Elsa agrees, and waits for the arrival of the "Swan Knight," the noble protector she claims she saw in a vision.

When the hour of the duel arrives, a stranger appears on the scene. He wears no emblem on his sword or tunic, and, while he vows to fight Telramund for Elsa's sake, he warns her that she must never ask him his name or where he has come from. Meanwhile, Telramund's sorceress wife, Ortrud, sees this as an opportunity to get rid of Elsa and claim the throne of Brabant, once and for all.

Music: If, like me, you're more used to watching movies than stage or opera productions, then Wagner operas are for you...Lohengrin is no exception. Beginning with a short overture that sets the mood, Lohengrin is one continuous journey of music and story, with some soaring themes, powerful solos, and upbeat chorus melodies. The "theme songs" recur throughout the opera, giving the characters more personality. While I also like the Mozart-style operas, that have distinct arias, I felt like the music in Lohengrin was very personable and truly the driving force behind the opera, as it should be.

Story: Except for the ending, I loved the story: think of it as Cinderella, with elements of Ivanhoe. It's fantasy, but fantasy that is clean, beautiful, and surprisingly deep, exploring the power of faith and how even true love can hurt. Everything hinges on Elsa's faith, both in God and in the Knight she believes was sent by God. Telramund is a complex villain, torn between fear, good, and evil. The King is a devout man (in his own way), genuinely wishing that the innocent win and the deceitful are punished. And, by the end of the opera, Ortrud's malicious schemes are duly undone.

Spoiler (in white):

I was disappointed, then, at the ending, when the Knight is revealed to be from "the holy grail", and must, as a matter of duty, leave Brabant after telling his secret, having also lost his "superpowers". It really seemed to cheapen the story, by infusing it with so much myth. This, too, is after he has married Elsa. So, even after everything which happened, Wagner would have us believe that Elsa must still ultimately suffer. A pretty stupid ending, in my opinion.

Singing & acting: No complaints here. I thought the singers portraying the King and Telramund were particularly good. Plácido Domingo (the Swan Knight) was excellent, as always. His acting was top-notch, and his pianissimos in Act 3 were utterly amazing.

Costumes & sets: Bland, awkward, and dreadful in general. I think they were going for a "realistic" look, but it is incongruous with this opera and unimpressive even for realism.

Choreography: Unimaginative and painfully slow.

Overall: While visually Lohengrin was a weak film, the music and story made up for it, and I recommend it for those reasons. It's an opera I would certainly consider viewing live, either at a theater or Seattle Opera.

Blogging from school + update on the unhappy laptop

2012-01-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

I'm at that point in the day where I have nothing but good news to talk about. Therefore, now must be the time to write a blog post.

MY LAPTOP IS WORKING NOW!! Thanks to my dad and intelligent people on the internet, I figured out what anti-virus program to download and how to run it, and now everything is ok. It also turned out that it was me who installed--that's right, installed--that evil, fake "security update" virus to begin with. Virus attacks can hardly get more depressing than that.

But thankfully, now everything's ok, and we're going to look into installing Linux (to replace Windows Vista).

I woke up this morning and watched the first episode of Good Mythical Morning on YouTube--it's a radio talk show, of sorts, where they discuss random topics with lots of (usually) family-friendly humor. Great episode, by the way.

Then I attended the 8:00 history class, and I got accepted from the unofficial waitlist! This class (and my two other history classes) is taught by the excellent professor who taught Russian History last quarter, so I'm super grateful. And I happened to get a seat next to a lady I knew in Calculus class, so that was cool, too.

Altogether, this is 180 degrees from yesterday afternoon/evening. Now, as long as tech writing class isn't too scary, my day is made. ;)

In which I give myself "very good advice"

2012-01-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

Whilst my unhappy laptop is undergoing another scan, I've been getting ready for winter quarter, which starts tomorrow. My main thought is Get there early.

I'm a creature of habit, and few things of daily routine are as important to me as getting a good seat in a classroom. "A good seat" can be two or more of the following:

At the end of a row
On the right side of the room
Near the door
At a comfortable distance from the whiteboard and the professor

Most importantly, once I find the best seat for the given circumstances, it is essential that I arrive at class early, every day, to be able to sit in what becomes my chair.

If, for example, I get to class on time for an exam, I typically find somebody already sitting in my chair. Somebody who rarely attends lectures but always shows up 10 minutes early for exams. This event sends me to an uncharted area of the classroom, where I may or may not have to take somebody else's chair. Said chair may be of a different make and model than my chair. Ergo, I take the exam in more considerable discomfort than was necessary. If I'd only got there early...

What about you? Where do you like to sit, be it a classroom, theater, sanctuary, or conference setting? Do you like to sit in the same place each time? And why, or why not?

Laptop rant

2012-01-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

My laptop is having some major problems right now. The program shortcuts aren't working--all I get is "Choose the program you want to use to open this file"--and it seems to be the result of some virus. Presumably the virus is gone now...I ran an anti-virus scan, a quick scan, and two system restores. But those shortcuts still don't work (though the programs' .exe files do, oddly enough). I searched around online, and I guess there are some downloads that can fix this, but I don't know. I'll probably try that tomorrow (after another scan, in Safe Mode), but it looks pretty doubtful.

The whole thing is a rotten headache. The worst of it is, I'm not sure if there is still a virus or not. Hopefully the Safe Mode scan will find that out. I can't do that until tomorrow afternoon, though, because it takes so long and I have to keep an eye on it.

At five years old, my laptop isn't exactly on the cutting edge, and the simplest/long-term solution would be to get a new one. Except that practically no one makes laptops with 16:10 screens anymore, and I can't stand its replacement, 16:9. That ratio subtracts about an inch, vertically. So for the time being, I've got to try to salvage my poor laptop.

I don't want a new laptop, anyway--I really like the one I have. It's been my first and only laptop, and it always survived problems before. I'll be pretty depressed if we can't fix it.

It's still January 6th where I live...

2012-01-06T20:09:00.000-08:00

...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sherlock Holmes!

Lol

2012-01-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

So yesterday, I re-watched the preview of Sherlock: Hounds of the Baskerville (which looks very cool. I'm not watching Scandal in Belgravia, though, and I'll leave it at that...) So there's this part where the guy says "Rats as big as dogs. And dogs as big as horses."

So last night I dreamed I had a gigantic pet rabbit. Bigger than a corgi. He looked like Arthur, except huge. And I'm not an animal person, but this rabbit was practically my best friend.

Then this creepy bad guy came to our house (or mansion...it was huge, too) and he started to take stuff away, and I was afraid he was going to take the rabbit away. Maybe the house was actually a hotel...anyway, there were lot of people staying there, including these three travelling warriors--I guess? Sort of like the Three Musketeers. I forgot what they were doing there.

Yeah. Weird, huh?

Book Questionaire

2012-01-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

From Ashely at The Epic Reader!
1. Favorite childhood book?

Too many to name! A few off the top of my head: The Boxcar Children, Trixie Belden, The Magician's Nephew, The Williamsburg Years (Nancy Rue), and Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales (adapted version). I liked books about adventures and other eras/worlds.

2. What are you reading right now?

- The Secret Agent (Joseph Conrad)
- The Mirror of the Sea (Conrad)
- The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Symbolic Logic (Lewis Carroll)
- Omnitopia Dawn (Diane Duane) - going to start reading it today

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

- Complete Illustrated Works of Lewis Carroll
- Selected Poems (1954-1986) (Tomas Tranströmer)
- The Great Enigma (Tranströmer) - been waiting for his books for eons. By the time they get here, I may not wish to read them. :P
- Physics (John D. Cutnell)

4. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

The Aeneid and Conceptual Physics

5. Do you have an e-reader?

Yes, my ~~precioussss~~ Nook Simple Touch. It is epically cool, and I couldn't be happier!

6. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

Several at once. Though page-turners get priority. ;)

7. Can you read on the bus?

I've never tried. I can read in the car, though, for limited amounts of time.

8. Favorite place to read?

The college library. It's the one place where there are no distractions of any kind. And if you really want peace and quiet, they have places to sit called "Silent Study" areas, aka The Diogenes Club. :P But that's too eerie for me.

9. Do you ever dog-ear books?

NO.

10. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

NOOOOOOOOO. A thousand times NO. Shame on those English textbook authors who encourage this. Besides, it's not green...if books lasted longer, they wouldn't have to print as many.

11. What makes you love a book?

It can be any number of things, but typically: amazing characters, vivid atmosphere, psychological depth, and/or interesting drama. Symbolism is cool, too.

12. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

I don't typically recommend books in real life, mostly because people are sick of me doing so. ;D On my blog, I recommend books based on (usually) the quality and relevance of their message(s).

13. Favorite genre?

I don't have one, really. I love almost any genre, if it is a good book. But I tend to prefer sci-fi, "dark Romanticism" (i.e. Hawthorne), Kafkaesque, and Conrad-esque. Mysteries and adventure, too.

14. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

Usually, if a book I'm reading gets really bad, I stop reading it. And since I didn't finish it, I don't feel qualified to review it. If it's a book I finished, I try to mention both pros and cons. I think the most negative review I ever wrote was for Romeo and Juliet, but I don't plan to write reviews like that anymore. Being snarky is just a cheap way to grab people's attention and appear to be witty.

15. Favorite Poet?

I love Tolkien, Wordsworth, Longfellow, Carroll, and Pushkin (for Eugene Onegin).

16. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

Two or three.

17. How often have you returned books to the library unread?

Often.

18. Favorite fictional character?

Sherlock Holmes. Big surprise, right? ;) Closely followed by Alan Breck Stewart. Here's 30 more favorites. I would also add Razumov, from Under Western Eyes. And Spock.

19. Favorite fictional villain?

Probably Captain Nemo and Moriarty.

20. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

My current read.

21. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

No idea...

22. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

Master and Commander. Too much bad language. It's a real shame, since the movie is excellent.

23. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

People talking.

24. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

Basically, all of my favorite movies. I should add, that some of the adaptations are vastly better than the books (i.e. Hornblower).

25. Most disappointing film adaptation?

The new Jane Eyre (2010). Which I also highly recommend (read the review for an explanation).

26. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

Offensive content and/or boring chapters.

27. Do you like to keep your books organized?

Indeedy. My books are organized by author, for the most part.

28. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

I keep books. As my family will testify, I have a GIGANTIC black bookcase, in addition to a shelf on the wall...

I tag all of my readers who love books!

I must be a bad person...

2012-01-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

...because yesterday I started writing yet another book. That's my eighth work-in-progress. The other seven:

Fantasy novella, in the rewrite stage. First part of a trilogy.
Historical fantasy novel. Technically in the rewrite stage, but this particular rewrite involves starting all over again.
Historical fiction novel. Fragments and research notes.
Kafkaesque novel, about four chapters.
Poetry collection
Steampunk novel, about 55 pages.
Short story collection, which I just started.

OpenOffice Writer needs a setting that says: Unable to create new document. Add 500 original paragraphs on your document "Story1" in order to proceed.

2012

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

© cjggbella
Our campus newspaper recently ran one of their questionaires, interviewing random people to answer random questions. For some reason or other, I've often recognised some of the interviewees, but I've never been interviewed (lucky journalists!). One of the recent questions was thus: Do you think the world will end in 2012? Only one person answered in the affirmative. I wonder if they really mean it, and what it must feel like if they do.

I made one resolution last year that, to my surprise, I eventually kept. And by "eventually", I do not mean I ever kept it in a thunderclap kind of way. On the contrary, it took many months and contradictions for that resolution to sink in, to any significant extent. But now that it has, I'm not sure I like it. I'll not go into what it was, but just the same, I suppose I'll be careful about what I resolve now.

2011 was an interesting year for me. I despise the term "self-discovery", but that's what it was, more or less. I find that I've changed completely and still haven't changed at all. There were a lot of influential moments, gloomy ones and glorious ones. Some years are like series of adventures, others are like series of doldrums and highlights. For me, 2011 was the latter. It felt like The Old Man and the Sea--rolling and drifting through the sea, and then all of a sudden, a marlin-fish charges head-first into the sky, and you're sitting in the rowboat, shaking and grinning and maybe crying, holding onto the fishing line which is knifing into your hands until they bleed.

© Nik Wilets
I always liked that movie. Sometimes the world is like that.

As a child, I was always scared by the marlin. But that's why I watched it. It was hard to feel sympathetic towards the old man, Santiago, until he first saw and caught his fish. Then I was there, helping him reel it in, fighting off the sharks, and regretting its loss.

That's the brilliance of the story, really. Santiago's best and worst moments of his life are when he catches the marlin. And the marlin doesn't stand for life's milestones, necessarily, at least not in the typical sense. I think the marlin stands for those truly life-changing moments that only each individual knows about, times when we're alone at sea, with our human frailty, human nature, and God. Sometimes those are joyful moments, sometimes miserable ones, and sometimes a little of both.

That they affect us emotionally is understood, but the question is, how do they affect our character? And that is why I'd repeat what I said before--I'm glad I don't have to decide the future or worry about what happens in 2012. I wouldn't want to face the marlin of 2012, but there are times when you have to in order to learn anything. Even things about yourself.

© Jason Mrachina

A little math puzzle

2011-12-31T12:20:00.001-08:00

From A Tangled Tale by Lewis Carroll:

Two travellers left their hotel at 3:00 pm. On level ground, they traveled at a speed of 4 mi/hr. Going up a mountain, they traveled at a speed of 3 mi/hr. Going down the mountain, they traveled at a speed of 6 mi/hr. They expect to arrive back at their hotel by 9:00 pm. Determine:

a) At what time did they reach the top of the mountain?

b) How many miles will they have traveled in all?

* * *

I stayed up until about 2:00 am last night trying to solve this puzzle. And the harder I tried, the more impossible it seemed. By the time I looked up the answer, I was too tired to understand it, except that it was vastly simpler than my "longer, more scenic route." Classic.

War Horse (2011) movie review

2011-12-31T12:02:00.000-08:00

Cast, crew, rating, etc: War Horse on IMDB, Plugged In review
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

I'll skip the synopsis, since the trailer pretty much says it all. [And yes, that's "Sherlock" at 2:06!]

I was feeling slightly hesitant about going to this film for two reasons: one, that it would be boring (and for 2 1/2 hours!); two, that it would be too scary (I'll admit I'm a bit squeamish). Luckily, it did not meet those expectations.

If you're like me and you enjoy Disney live-action classics (i.e. Treasure Island and 20000 Leagues), and you wish they still made movies like that, then War Horse is for you. I think the reason War Horse has been getting 3 stars and less-than-glowing reviews from some critics is because they were looking for a stellar horse film or a stellar WWI film. To most people, it will be neither. Perhaps the movie would be more popular if it focused more on either the horse or the war. Frankly, though, had that been the case, only half of my family would have gone to see it...

War Horse isn't strictly about a "horse and his boy," or strictly about WWI. Rather, it's about WWI, viewed through the eyes of a horse and the people who care for it. It's a family film that ends happily-ever-after and ties up all the loose ends (or almost all of them). And yet War Horse, unlike some family films, is also intelligent, well-written, and cleverly balanced between drama and humor. There was one part ("Remarkable horse!") where I wanted to scream JULES VERNE, because it just felt like that era (Vernian-style). And, contrary to what the trailer would tell you, there is no romantic subplot. None.

The cast, by the way, was excellent. We recognized most of the British actors, from recent BBC dramas. The script was pretty good. John Williams's soundtrack was less than impressive.

Altogether, while it's not on my list of favorites, War Horse is the kind of film that kept my interest and that I'll probably re-watch in the future. Recommended if you're looking for a decent movie to watch, during Christmas break or any time of the year. :)

2012 goals and dreams

2011-12-31T09:31:00.066-08:00

Fireflies © Juan Pablo Rodriguez

Reading:

The Aeneid - Read book I (Fitzgerald) last month...going to continue with a different translation. Can't decide which, and I've heard good things about many of them. I tend to prefer older translations, but newer ones are typically easier to understand. Recommendations?

✓ Beowulf - I think I read half of it and I feel bad for not finishing it.

Lord Jim and/or Nostromo - I've never read any of Conrad's long novels, and I should.

The Brothers Karamazov and/or War and Peace - I'd like to broaden my Russian lit "resume" and either of these would fit the bill. And War and Peace isn't so intimidating now that I have my lecture notes on the Battle of Borodino and Alexander I!

Sylvie and Bruno Concluded - Would've finished this already, but the (free) e-book had too many typos. Still waiting for it from the library.

Paris in the 20th Century (re-read) and The Begum's Millions - Or anything Jules Verne.

The Hobbit (re-read) - Self explanatory! ^_^

And that's about it, more or less. My reading list is many leagues longer, but if I get those reads accomplished next year, I'll be happy.

Writing:

Finish rewriting and publish my fantasy novella. Maybe I'm just a dreamer.

Other:

Get a good grade in General Physics I, this spring (or summer). I'm indescribably thankful that the physics class I'm taking is algebra-based and not calculus-based. Much less stressful. I've never taken physics, ever. Some of it overlaps chemistry and math, though, so maybe it won't be too scary. I got myself a textbook from the library, and if I'm a smart person, I'll read it in preparation. (I'd like to think I'm that smart person, but in reality, I can be dreadfully lazy.)

Take as many history classes as possible. We happen to have an amazing history/political-science professor, whose lectures are so good I'm even thinking of attending summer quarter.

Try to be content with change. I dislike transitions--it feels like no sooner do you get used to something then you have to give it up. Some changes are good, so I know better than to hate change itself, but it's hard to adapt to new things, and once I do, I feel as if I'd be happier if it lasted longer. Of course, only God knows what's best for me in the long run, so I'm glad I don't have to decide. I rediscovered Ecclesiastes 12:13 this fall, and hope to remember it from now on:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Isn't that beautiful?

Books, movies, and other highlights of 2011

2011-12-30T15:53:00.000-08:00

Note: I take no credit for this idea. So many other bloggers are doing this right now, so I just thought I'd join in. :)

January

Saw BBC's Sherlock and added Cumberbatch to my list of definitive Sherlock Holmes's.

March

Read Eugene Onegin, which became my favorite romantic classic and the #1 read of the year.

Saw Jane Eyre, an excellent adaptation.

April

Watched TV clips of the Royal Wedding. Well, who didn't? :)

May

Began the first draft of my quasi-steampunk novel.

June

Completed Calculus II and Spanish III and got my wisdom teeth removed. Fun stuff.

Discovered Debussy.

Finished the 200-line poem I began writing in November 2010.

July

Discovered Alkan and rediscovered Ludovico Einaudi.

Read Under Western Eyes, an amazing, heartbreaking book.

Finished The Marble Faun, my not-so-light summer read.

August

Saw the Canadian Rockies for the first time. <3

Discovered Star Trek TOS. Fascinating.

Changed my major to computer science.

October

Discovered Yiruma.

December

Completed English 101. And that after writing a (Star Trek-inspired) argumentative essay on the threat of androids and robots. *grins*

Finished The Idiot, my second Russian lit read.

* * *

Altogether, I wish I had read more books (these aren't all the books I read, but they're the ones that really stood out). However, nearly all of the books I read this year I loved, so that's cool. I also wrote a lot of poetry, so that was at least one (unexpected) accomplishment. As far as movies go, I would probably say that Sherlock and Star Trek were my favorites. :)

Writing contest!

2011-12-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

...at The Penslayer and Scribbles and Ink Stains, Jan 1 - 31. The theme is "First Impressions", and you can read the rest of the rules at their blogs. :) Count me in! I love analyzing people and comparing first impressions with my ultimate opinion. It's interesting to see which first impressions are accurate and which aren't.

And a little advice from Nathaniel Hawthorne:

This is the secret of all entertaining travellers. If you meet with any distinguished characters, give personal sketches of them. Begin to write always before the impression of novelty has worn off from your mind, else you will be apt to think that the peculiarities which at first attracted you are not worth recording; yet those slight peculiarities are the very things that make the most vivid impression upon the reader. Think nothing too trifling to write down, so it be in the smallest degree characteristic. You will be surprised to find on re-perusing your journal what an importance and graphic power these little particulars assume.

Treasure Island trailer

2011-12-27T10:03:00.002-08:00

A little disappointed that there's no Dr Livesey, but it looks like they combined his character with the Squire, so at least they did that. Squire Trelawney, by the way, is played by Rupert Penry-Jones (also in Persuasion and 39 Steps). Captain Smollett is played by Philip Glenister (also in Cranford and Hornblower)--perfect casting!! Ben Gunn is played by Elijah Wood (hard to imagine, since I always pictured Ben Gunn as 70+ years old). Long John Silver is quite a bit different than the book, but he may be just as impressive. The costumes, if a bit POTC-influenced (eyeliner, anyone?), look fantastic, by the way.

And the sets in 0:19 - 0:27 are so Robert Louis Stevenson! I am muchly excited about this adaptation--it's not my dream adaptation, but it looks pretty close. What do you think? :)

Christmas & today & Tumblr woes

2011-12-26T20:35:00.002-08:00

It seemed to happen so fast this year! Last week, I actually sent out cards...a big accomplishment, for me. Then Saturday evening was Lessons & Carols candlelight service at our church. I sang so much I almost lost my voice. :) My sister and I also played some carols on violin & cello. And yesterday we went to my uncle & aunt's house for dinner, which was fantastic as always.

My family (sorry, Santa) got me some lovely gifts, too: Jackie Evancho Heavenly Christmas CD, Three Tenors Christmas CD, Starbucks, iTunes, Sailing Ships calendar, pajamas, piano sheet music... I've been having a blast with the sheet music--The Best of Ludovico Einaudi, 120+ pages of elegant, Einaudi epicness. And though it stays true to the originals, it's the perfect combination of easy & challenging for me. I played through all of "Password" this morning and had a thoroughly good time. :)

Today I also got a Tumblr account, but I'm probably going to delete it. I liked it at first--the layout & formatting is very nice. But the more I use it, the less I like it. Blogger is much more intuitive and less fast-paced. Case in point: I posted a picture about an hour ago, and within that time, it's received 2 likes and 3 reblogs. And those numbers keep going up as I'm typing this post, literally. And I only signed up this afternoon. O_o

I find the reblog system irksome. As far as I know, it cannot be turned off (let me know if I'm wrong!), and there isn't any filter for content or even similar interests. So if somebody reblogs your post, your post automatically links to their blog. This presents a problem for me, because I always try to avoid linking to any sites with offensive language, content, etc. Tumblr makes that virtually impossible, unless I were to spend all day weeding through the reblogs. Obviously, in "the real world," people use offensive language all the time. But when I come home and log into my blog, I like to escape from the negative vibes (and keep my blog family-friendly).

Anyway, I think the reblog feature is cool--a great way to share artwork and pictures--but I don't like the way it works. Ideally, it would be like YouTube where it says "3 likes" and leave it at that. If it ever becomes customizable like that, I may start blogging at Tumblr again. For now, though, I still have my "Tumblr-esque" blog: chaconne.

Update: Certain Tumblr themes allow you to hide the notes/likes. That helps, kind of.

'What's December without Christmas Eve?'

2011-12-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

Madonna and Child
Merry Christmas!

Writing what you know.

2011-12-23T21:09:00.001-08:00

copyright: André Goerres
"But then no man ever does realize the true interest of the age in which he happens to live. All sense of proportion is lost, and the little thing hard-by obscures the great thing at a distance. It is easy in the dark to confuse the fire-fly and the star."

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Everyone has heard the phrase Write what you know. To which one might reply, Who cares what I know? This is best answered by defining "Write what you know", and, while there must be many definitions, mine is as follows.

It is not, first of all, simply knowledge. While one typically writes better if they expound upon their topic, their bank of knowledge alone doesn't make their novel an account of what they know. When in doubt, there's always the question: do I know it, or did I learn it? Because knowledge can hurt as well as help. After historical inaccuracy, "info-dumping" is the number one reason why a historical novel would receive poor reviews.

What about experience? Doesn't that constitute "what you know"? Again, to my mind, experience on its own is not synonymous with what you know. A person may take a city tour of Boston and remain oblivious to the routes taken or the information they were supposed to learn. Or, equally likely, they may remember every segment of the tour in detail without fully understanding what they saw.

In the same vein, mere emotion does not equal "what you know". While we associate emotion with experience and personal feeling, emotion can as easily be a fundamentally impersonal factor, tacked-on for effect or, worse yet, by seeming necessity. Sometimes it is used to effect another maxim--"Show, don't tell". As such, emotion becomes more of a tool than a genuine thought or the driving idea behind the story.

I believe the only way to truly "write what you know" is to write with your own perspective. Anybody can write about an experience, emotion, or piece of knowledge, but only you can depict it in the way that you see it. Your life and thought processes are unique and uniquely yours, which will make your perspective unique, and thereby your story--the story of what you know--unique.

If this is so, it still brings us back to the question "Who gives a jot what I know?" And I find this a relevant and difficult question, especially for a young, unpublished author. I can name half-a-dozen people in my life who would (and should) make much better novelists than I. Sometimes my writing career seems useless for this fact alone, and I ask myself, "why don't I give up?"

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a man of contrasts. In the quote above, he laments the fact that Sir Walter Scott wrote masterful historical fiction and yet did not write about his contemporaries, the soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars. But after penning "The Final Problem", Doyle demoted his own contemporary masterpiece:

The best literary work is that which leaves the reader better for having read it. Now, nobody can possibly be the better--in the high sense which I mean it--for reading Sherlock Holmes...It was not to my mind high work, and no detective work ever can be...

From the self-assured, arrogant graduate in A Study in Scarlet, to the retired crimefighter on the brink of WWI in "His Last Bow", Sherlock Holmes was always a contemporary character. The Victorian-Edwardian setting--modern in its day--teaches 21st-century readers nearly as much as Sherlock Holmes himself does. And yet Doyle considered it an inferior work to his medieval novels The White Company and Sir Nigel, which have made no long-term cultural impact.

Had Doyle given up after A Study in Scarlet, or even after "The Final Problem", the world would have lost at least half of the Sherlock Holmes series. There might never have been a Hound of the Baskervilles, and Doyle's work could have been largely forgotten, only remembered as obscure classic literature. Instead, Conan Doyle is today recognised as one of the fathers of detective fiction, and his books are read all over the world. Doyle wrote what he knew and Sherlock Holmes--like all good world literature--became a series for the ages.

Don't hesitate, then, to write what you know because you think nobody will care. Oftentimes we are not the best critics of our own work; we are prone to be too forgiving or, like Doyle, too disparaging. The main thing is to be true to what you do know--your perspective--and let the truth speak for itself.

First Hobbit. Now SHERLOCK!

2011-12-21T11:36:00.000-08:00

NEW TRAILER:

+ a few more at Sherlockology's YouTube Channel.

It looks possibly even better than Season 1!

Hobbit Trailer ON NOW!!!

2011-12-20T18:53:00.008-08:00

~~CLICK HERE: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/~~

LOVE Bilbo. LOVE Thorin. LOVE the singing. LOVE the music. Even Gollum is--GOLLUM! SO EXCITED!!!!!

UPDATE: 1:58, a wizard fight?! 2:01, Mines of Moria "YOU SHALL NOT PASS" parallel?!!!

2ND ~~BREAKFAST~~ UPDATE: Is it bad that I've already watched this about four times? And I want to watch it again?

Quick & easy Christmas cards

2011-12-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

{Re-posted from my old (extinct) Christmas blog.}

This is a quick and very simple tutorial for making homemade Christmas cards. My mom and I came up with this idea a few years ago, and it's a great opportunity to "upcycle" used or leftover wrapping paper!

Supplies:

- Sheet of cardstock, whatever color you want the inside & back of the card to be.
- Christmas wrapping paper
- Glue stick
- Ruler
- X-Acto knife or a reasonably sharp pocket knife
- Scissors or a paper-cutter
- Piece of ribbon about 30-36 inches long, a color that matches your wrapping paper.

1. Fold the sheet of cardstock in half, after trimming it down to the right size (if necessary).

2. From the wrapping paper, cut out a piece that is the same size as the front of the card.

3. Glue this piece to the front of the card.

4. Open out the card and lay it down flat with the inside facing down. Using the ruler, mark the center, right on the fold (or close to it).

Then, with your handy pocket knife, make a cut (on the mark) that is a little longer than the width of the ribbon.

5. Lay the ribbon on the card, lengthwise.

Flip the card over, and even out the ribbon so that both ends are about the same length. Be sure that the ribbon is lying flat on the other side.

6. Twist the ribbon ends once, to the right, then lay them flat. Insert the right end through the cut that you made in step 4.

7. Turn the card over and tie a bow with the ribbon.

Tutorial and images copyright © Marian.

Exercises

2011-12-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

Given:
f '' (x) = Tree decorated

Find f (x).

It is intuitively obvious that f (x) = (Christmas break)!

More thoughts on 'The Idiot'

2011-12-06T16:03:00.037-08:00

I am getting very close to finishing this book, and so far, it has been both fascinating and (to my knowledge) truly original. I have a feeling it's going to end badly--but then again, the plot has not been predictable. It keeps shifting from scene to scene, focusing on specific characters and their problems, with no continuous plot except the day-to-day life of Prince Myshkin, a very noble character.

There is the common theme of searching: each character is looking for something, and no one has found it yet. Rogozhin, the anti-hero, is trying to win the love of Nastasya, a mistreated and embittered woman. She, in turn, is trying to escape from her past and find real happiness. The middle-aged Yepanchin couple tries (unsuccessfully) to be conventional, and the youngest Yepanchin daughter is looking for independence. Even Lebedev, a wannabe lawyer, makes it his business to hunt around for gossip.

And Myshkin? He searches for stability, peace, and, above all, goodness. His unfailing, philanthropic love is the source of a lot of his misery, but he doesn't let that stop him. He stands by his guiding principles and does what he can for others.

The irony of The Idiot is that, of all the characters in the book, Myshkin is the sanest, even though everyone calls him an "idiot." They live in their own fantasy-worlds; perhaps he only seems different because he survives in his own reality. He also tries to see the good side of people, but he's not naive. He knows when a person hates him, and he grieves for them. There's a powerful scene in which Myshkin goes to visit his would-be murderer, with an unabashed, courageous attitude of humility. While he does not quite befriend his enemy (or rather, vice-versa), the result is "a soft answer turneth away wrath." Whether he will again be in danger of losing his life is unknown, but for the time, he comes away a victor through his simple act of goodness.

All in all, I've been way more impressed by this book than by my attempted reading of Crime and Punishment. Myshkin is 180 degrees different than Raskolnikov (main character in Crime and Punishment), but there is certainly a similar feeling behind both books: the sense of a disjointed, perverse society and how an alienated person reacts to it. Raskolnikov may be the rule, but that doesn't mean one shouldn't try to be the exception, the Prince Myshkin, if you will.

MONDAY.

2011-12-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am excited about Monday. It's the beginning of the end of fall quarter. To the best of my knowledge, all my finals are on Wednesday, and it's actually been a good quarter. The first autumn in about four years that I haven't felt weighed down with homework, and I'm 100% grateful for that.

Better blog posts coming soon...

2011-11-29T07:06:00.000-08:00

...because school ends next Friday (9th)! Hurrah! I'm especially excited because when I go back in January, I will have only one so-so class (tech writing), and three fun classes (history). <3

Anyway, I have so many blog posts planned for Christmas break, and presumably they will be of better quality due to all the persuasive & analytical essays I've written this fall... I think we have one or two short essays left to write, and one longish "argumentative" one. We got to choose our own topic, so I'm writing about robots. *grins* I'm trying to make it sound academic, I promise. Though you might question my level of normality when I think robots are a "major problem" to be solved.

Got to run, but I'll be posting again soon!

Thankfulness

2011-11-24T11:16:00.002-08:00

In paradoxical, typical-me fashion, I woke up and spent half of the morning grumbling over trifles. Then, of course, it finally clicked in my head that it was Thanksgiving. Way to start the day! Actually, as painful as it is to see how ridiculous I am, I'm glad I caught myself before it went any further. Now I can truthfully say

H a p p y T h a n k s g i v i n g ! :)

Microlattice

2011-11-23T18:30:00.003-08:00

...the "lowest-density material" ever. Pretty amazing! This is how it's made:

The lattice is constructed through several steps, Carter said. First, beams of ultraviolet light shine through a holes in a mask into a reservoir containing a resin that forms polymer fibers when the light hits it. The fibers follow the path the light takes, and using multiple beams creates multiple interconnected fibers.
Next, the rest of the resin is washed away, the polymer fibers are coated with a very thin layer of nickel, and the polymer fibers are then dissolved, leaving only the metal lattice.

"The work is its own reward."

2011-11-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

I love that quote. It is really how I see writing. It's the one place (or one of the few) where I don't feel awkward or inept.

* * *

Speaking of Holmes, there's a new SH book called The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. I requested it from the library...hope it's good! I've read a good number of Holmes pastiches; in fact, I recently tried Death Cloud which is a take on Holmes's childhood. Content-wise it seemed fine, but I got bored and didn't finish it.

Right now, I'm reading through "Worth and Choice", by KCS on FanFiction.Net. It begins with Holmes living on Montague Street, then depicts his meeting with Watson and moving to Baker Street. Not only that, it's written in journal form, very witty and extremely hilarious. Perhaps a trifle too snarky for Sherlock Holmes, but it's one of the best pastiches I've ever read. :)

Et cetera

2011-11-17T16:37:00.002-08:00

For the history test, I ended up writing about Ivan the Terrible and Catherine II the Great. I guess there's just been released a new biography about Catherine the Great. Funny thing is, I love historical fiction, documentaries, and certain textbooks, but I have a hard time getting into these modern, quasi-novel biographies. Anyhow, I might try reading it. She became a good political leader, but her personal life was a bit tumultuous. She and her husband, Tsar Peter III, had an unhappy marriage, and she also had many lovers, most (or all) of them distinguished officers/counts. Additionally, she ascended the throne via a palace coup which overthrew Peter III. Pretty disturbing.

I'm still reading Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, by the way. There are lots of long conversations. In fact, I just finished reading a scene that had two long, major subplots/conversations within it. It's an interesting technique--in this way, the plot moves forward in segments, with most of the progress happening in the long, long dialogue. I wonder if that style would be widely accepted by literary agents today? I rather like it, though you'd have to be an expert at dialogue to make it work.

Historia

2011-11-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is our second Russian history test, and part of that involves writing short biogs on two of the following: Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and Catherine the Great. My problem? I can't decide what to leave out and how to consolidate the rest in 10 sentences. However, I think it's safe to focus on the political aspects as opposed to the personal lives, even if the latter are more memorable. :P Let me see if I can get their years right:

Ivan the Terrible: 1530 - 1584
Peter the Great: 1672 - 1725
Catherine the Great: 1729 - 1796

*checks* Yes, indeedy. Earlier today I was thinking ~~1585 instead of 1584, and 1627 instead of 1672...~~ Er, never mind...

Next quarter I'll be taking three history classes, if I can get them. *rubs hands*

Speaking of writing, my steampunk novel is up to 50 pages now. *cheers* And I actually like it, which is the important part. I'm never quite sure how each chapter is going to turn out, and, in this case, it's turned out to be a good thing. I write better if I don't plan everything.

One thing that I've noticed, though, is that it's not as futuristic as I'd expected. It is set in 2100, but really, at least 99% of everything in it, technology-wise, is already in existence. The main difference is in how that technology is used, and what sort of society uses it. I'm trying to steer clear of the "dystopian novel," though, because that's not what the book is about, even if it could head in that direction.

copyright: ramyo

I'm also finding it a challenge to keep up the suspense and stop my characters from blurting out their secrets too soon. One of them couldn't help herself, and maybe it wasn't too soon...still, at this rate, I must be careful or the book will end before I want it to!

November already?

2011-11-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Pretty soon it will be Thanksgiving...and then Christmas, before you know it!

I spent yesterday doing mostly nothing...well, we did watch some Star Trek original. It's the silliest series I've ever seen (with Robin Hood second and Lark Rise third), but I love the concept and some of the episodes are actually quite good. The characters are pretty good, too (except when they suffer from soap-opera "character development"). One of my favorite parts is whenever they start talking really techy and I don't know what they're talking about but it sounds cool.

Maybe I'm weird, but I always love hearing professionals converse with lots of terminology. Eye doctors, mathematicians, computer experts, etc... It just makes me happy to hear people who are smart, know what they're talking about inside-out, and use the English language intelligently.

Anyway, having got Star Trek on the brain, I've decided to try replicating the uniforms for 11 1/2" dolls (Barbie and Ken doll size). They won't be exactly the same by any means... The biggest problem will be trying to make Star Trek badges/pins on that scale.

In other fascinating news, I also have a persuasive essay to write this week. I'm resolved to write at least one page of it today, if not the whole thing. Once I get into it, I can be pretty verbose...it's just getting myself to start writing that's the difficult part.

I'm a terribly slow writer. I guess I ought to do NaNoWriMo one of these years...probably would be good for me. I actually have an idea for a novel, as well as an idea for a novel rewrite. However, I can't see myself writing 1600 words every day. Besides, even when I do make myself write every day (and I've tried!), it doesn't turn out too good... Still sounds like a fun event, though--good luck to everyone joining it this year! :)

Lovely weekend

2011-10-29T19:42:00.001-07:00

Essay outline didn't get a "fail".
Worked on my steampunk novel, with a successful attempt at writing a flashback.
Saw somebody in a sasquatch costume, walking through town.
Saw somebody else in a gingerbread man costume.
Finished part I of The Idiot and fell in love with Prince Myshkin.
Listening to more Yiruma.
Church tomorrow.
No school on Monday.
Weekend's not over yet. :)

How is your weekend so far?

Jane Eyre (2011) movie review

2011-10-28T20:04:00.002-07:00

Cast, crew, rating, etc: Jane Eyre (2011) on IMDB, Plugged In review
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

My mom, sister, and I went to see this movie when it first came out, and I just re-watched it on DVD. I was really looking forward to this version, having read the book years ago and watched several pretty good versions (Orson Welles, Timothy Dalton, Toby Stephens). It's an excellent movie all-round, so I feel weird saying I was very disappointed. Don't let that discourage you, anyway. ;) The trailer already describes the plot, so I'll skip right to the review.

Firstly, the costumes, setting, and cinematography were gorgeous, not disappointing at all! Yorkshire really looks like Yorkshire, the dresses are really 1840s-50s, and there's even an attempt at Yorkshire accents (not consistent, but a good effort). Visually, there's never been a better Jane Eyre...the bleakness, candlelit rooms, and bright afternoons are wonderfully Gothic/realistic. And I know many people don't care for the Victorian hairstyles, but I thought Mia had the prettiest hairstyles in this film.

The soundtrack was beautiful, too--lots of violin, piano, and strings. I think it'd be a nice one to listen to even on its own. :)

Loved the script, overall. I'm super impressed with how much the scriptwriters fit into two hours, and it doesn't feel incomplete or too fast-paced. The dialogue is also pretty faithful to the spirit of the book. This is a Focus Features film; they also made the 2005 Pride & Prejudice, but fortunately the scriptwriting is way more accurate in Jane Eyre. It's true that Jane's childhood is shown in flashbacks, but I actually liked it better this way--it puts Jane's attitude/character in context and creates some interesting parallels between the two points of her life.

The PG-13 rating is a huge overstatement. There's a scene with a wounded character, but it's not nearly as intense as, say, the surgery in Cranford. Then there's a scene with a closeup of an old painting (i.e. the "nude image" mentioned in the rating), but that's it. There was one swear word. Really, the rating is pretty misleading; this is one of the cleanest costume films/TV series around, especially for the intended audience (teens and up).

Moving on to the cast. Mia is by far the best Jane Eyre I've seen. I'd seen her before in Alice in Wonderland, but as Jane she has much more acting range. It isn't easy to portray someone who was psychologically altered by a harsh childhood, yet Mia convincingly portrays that and the Victorian era in her character, with stoicism and stifled emotions. Not only that, but she definitely comes across as the young and naive nineteen-year-old who Jane is supposed to be. Perfect casting.

It's too bad, then, that the next important character was very badly cast. Rochester (played by Fassbender) isn't much like the Byronic hero of the book; instead, he comes across as just plain boring. There's no mysterious charm and not an ounce of charisma in this portrayal. He's unconvincing in most of the scenes, whether he's trying to be intimidating, witty, romantic, funny, etc. His conversations with Jane are mostly awkward and painful to watch; the main exceptions being the proposal and ending scenes. Other reviewers said he was too good-looking...I didn't think him good-looking at all, though Rochester isn't supposed to be handsome anyway. Again, while Fassbender played the part well enough, they really should have cast somebody with more stage presence and who fit the role better.

Last character worth mentioning is St. John Rivers (Jamie Bell). Though he is only in a handful of scenes, St. John is solidly portrayed in all his narrow-minded, austere self-righteousness. And I never expected to say this, but I ended up liking him better than Rochester. There's much more chemistry between St. John and Jane, and though we despise St. John's obnoxious behavior, we see that they have things in common. They're neither of them very worldly-wise and they're both trying to do the right thing. The trouble with St. John is that he's approaching it the wrong way.

All in all, Jane Eyre is disappointing as a romantic film but excellent as a story and adaptation. Recommended.

I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical

2011-10-26T17:14:00.001-07:00

Life and times

2011-10-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Studying. Opposing viewpoints, musical intervals, and Russia & the FSU republics during the 16th century.

Writing. Not.

Listening. Just started listening to Yiruma. His music is kind of like Einaudi's, except more cheerful.

Reading. Tried The Trial, aka the agonizing life of Joseph K., ladies' man, who gets arrested, angsty, and lost in government buildings. Also tried The Winter Queen, The Poe Shadow, and King Solomon's Mines, all of which I may or may not finish. Just started The Idiot, by Dostoyevsky.

Piano pounding. Debussy's Reverie.

Watching. Will Sonnett and Star Trek Original Season 2.

Thinking. About my irrational lack of energy and its unfortunate effects upon my extracurricular projects.

Middlemarch review/thoughts

2011-10-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

Recently we watched George Elliot's Middlemarch (1994). Now, I've never read the book and have only seen it once before, years ago; so I was almost watching it for the first time.

The main thing that stood out to me was the gorgeous cinematography. Middlemarch has a very vivid, Victorian, magic-realism style to its filming. It uses color-grading very carefully, and does not limit itself to one style/theme. Maybe there was influence from the Sherlock Holmes TV series--Middlemarch has the same look, only richer and on a bigger scale.

On a similar note, I loved the scenes in Rome, because I could just imagine it was an adaptation of The Marble Faun (Hawthorne). There are even characters that look like Hawthorne's--Dorothea, Miriam; Ladislaw, Donatello; etc.

The main characters themselves are rather aggravating. I liked Ladislaw (the painter) the best, which isn't saying much. On the other hand, the Dickensian "multiple-plot & mystery" was very interesting. The main thing I didn't like about the plot was due to the script--there wasn't enough time spent on the main romance (i.e. the couple who get the final kiss), and way too much time spent on the others.

The story seems to be mainly about bad choices. Unhappy marriages are the main feature.

The mystery was kind of skimmed-over. It felt more like it was "there", without being very important in itself.

Some of the supporting characters are quite good...Fred, Mary, and the uncle (Dorothea's).

Despite the misery of various characters, the characterization feels lacking in something. Probably because one doesn't come to care much about the characters, and when bad things happen, it's not as emotionally affecting as in, say, a Dickens or Gaskell story. Middlemarch seems to suppose to be character-driven, but the characters aren't driving and the plot's barely strong enough to take over. There is no what you might call a strong character...good, evil, or otherwise. I personally find this to be exceedingly unrealistic.

Overall, though, I still enjoyed Middlemarch; it's a good one to re-watch, once in a while. I'd recommend it for the cinematography, if nothing else.

Blogging from school, ep. 3

2011-10-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

I usually begin these posts with a description of the morning's weather. ;) Today, I'll make it brief and (not so) witty: fog.

The trouble with deductions--off on a totally different topic, here--is that you cannot know whether they are correct or not without walking up to your subject and asking them some very extraordinary and irritating questions. Sherlock Holmes's rudeness, which so jarred on Watson's nerves in Ch. 1 of The Sign of Four, seems to me to be a kind of naive callousness. It came from a raw, abrupt, irrepressible search for the answer to a problem, which, in Holmes's brain, presents itself as a puzzle first and a personal matter second. There is an almost Spock-like (to tie Star Trek into it!)...an almost Spock-like lack of emotion in Holmes's deductions. He obtains brilliance but, unbeknownst to himself, pays for it dearly. Their viewpoints were first broadened and then limited, incredibly limited, by logic.

But I make a point of saying Holmes is almost like Spock. There is at least one important difference; and that is, Holmes has an imagination. Spock has very little. Holmes's vivid imagination, which Lestrade & co. so often scorned, actually assists him in his logic. It's what makes him take up the bizarre and seemingly trivial cases, and we get epic quotes like:

You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which the parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day.

And, apart from that, his imagination helps keep him human.

On a similar note, there are indeed people who emphasize the "machine" side of Holmes, people who even consider him to have an android-like way of thinking. But if that were so, I don't think he would have dueled Moriarty. I think if Holmes were really all that cold-blooded, he would have let Moriarty continue to commit crimes in order that he (Holmes) would have something to solve.

Well, I'm going to go read Kafka and drink coffee now. ;) Also have an essay to write this afternoon.

Speaking of school, we had our first history test yesterday. I think I have Vladimir I's biography totally memorized now...

Guest post: Wuthering Heights character analysis

2011-10-10T16:25:00.001-07:00

Wuthering Heights character analysis | Nelly Dean

By Emiko

"The story of Cathy Earnshaw and the wild Heathcliff as they fall in love on the Yorkshire moors spans three generations and is seen through the eyes of the narrators Lockwood and Nelly Dean. Emily Bronte tells of the passion between Cathy and Heathcliff with such vivid intensity that her tale of tragic love has gripped readers for over 100 years." - Amazon

I've decided to do a character-analysis on Nelly (Ellen) Dean, the housekeeper in Wuthering Heights. Not just because she's my favorite character, but because she's just about the only person in the book with a moral character and personality, which provides a great contrast against the other characters. Now I could go on and on about her, but for the sake of space and your patience, I'll try to keep this brief. :)

I went on Google to see which characters in the book other people liked. Heathcliff topped the list. Hareton and the younger Catherine also seemed to be popular. But no one, as far as I read, mentioned Nelly. True, she's not considered a major character. But she narrates the majority of the story, she's in most of the scenes, and she frequently has a part in the dialogue. Not merely housekeeper talk, but when confided in by others, particularly both the Catherines. She look at things from a principled point of view and tries to have a good influence on the less moral characters. Now I'm not saying I agree with everything she says and does. She can be a little superstitious at times, and some things that she did aren't necessarily the things I would've done if I was in her shoes. But compared to most of the other characters in Wuthering Heights, Nelly's by far the most upright and conscientious person in the book.

Her relationships with the other characters differed from person to person. For example, with Heathcliff and the older Catherine (who were about the same age as herself) it resembles that of two foolish, selfish children and a sensible older sister. Whereas with Hareton, the younger Linton, and also the younger Catherine (yeah, it can be confusing), who are about half her age anyway, she is more like a mother to them when she is around them.

Nelly can be critical and rebuking:

    (Catherine addressing Nelly): “'...did it never strike you that if Heathcliff and I married, we should be beggars? Whereas, if I marry Linton, I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother's power.'”

(Later in the dialogue): 'Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind—not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being. So don't talk any more of our separation again; it is impracticable, and--'
    She paused, and her face in the folds of my gown, but I jerked it forcibly away. I was out of patience with her folly!
   'If I can make any sense of your nonsense, Miss,' I said, 'it only goes to convince me that you are ignorant of the duties you undertake in marrying, or else that you are a wicked, unprincipled girl. But trouble me no more with your secrets; I'll not promise to keep them.'

...but she always maintained a sense of concern and care for people, no matter how much she disliked or detested them. If she reproves or reprimands, it is for the recipient's own good.

(Heathcliff speaking): 'I'm trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don't care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do!'
'For shame, Heathcliff!' said I. 'It is for God to punish wicked people; we should learn to forgive.'

Overall, I see Nelly as a kind, principled, moral character who is underrated and overlooked too much. I think she played almost as big a part as Heathcliff even, in her own way. But anyway, hope you enjoyed my “brief” character-analysis. :)

Awarded

2011-10-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

...the One Lovely Blog Award, from Celtic Traveler! Thank you! :)

The rules are:
List 7 things about yourself and
award 15 other lovely bloggers.

7 things about me:

I once toured the replica of Captain Cook's HMS Endeavour, which later contributed to the production of Master and Commander (2003). :)
I've been obsessed with operatic tenor singing, ever since watching a PBS re-run of the Three Tenors.
I like the original Star Trek (the show in general, not all the episodes).
I'm planning on majoring in computer science.
I have a blue "Sherlock" scarf and a black pea-coat/jacket, which I've indeed worn together. Technically it's a costume, but nobody else knows. *grins*
I can drink coffee with sugar & cream, coffee with only cream, or just black coffee. (i.e. I love coffee.)
I like trees as much as flowers. Especially Douglas fir, oak, ginkgo, and cypress.

Now, there are tons and tons of blogs that I follow and like to read, so please feel free to take this award/tag if I follow your blog and you'd like to have it. :)

New blog

2011-10-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

So I'll admit: I've been looking at everyone's Tumblr pages and admiring them wistfully. Internet trends usually bother me...but this one I rather like. In fact, I like it a lot. ;)

Except I decided not to get Tumblr. After all, Blogger lets you have up to 100 free blogs (starting to sound like a TV commercial...grr), and I wanted to be able to check all of my blogs in one fell swoop. Hence, new blog:

Things I will be posting there that generally won't be posted here:

Quotes I like
Pictures I like...lots and lots of them
Pencil sketches, digital art, by me
YouTube videos
Other random, short, "in a nutshell" posts

Of course, everything else (including posts with many photos) will stay on this blog. :) This blog is not retiring, by any means!

The power of poetry

2011-10-06T17:28:00.003-07:00

credit: timmalone45 | license

Ten years ago, I'd have never expected to be blogging this. I didn't like poetry. In fact, I cordially disliked it and never went out of my way to read it. Today, however, I'm not just an eager poetry reader, but an avid poetry writer. Who'd have thought.

The only poem from my childhood that I somewhat liked is the famous "The Road Not Taken." The imagery and the flowing, 'musical' stanzas intrigued me. I couldn't find a message in it, but even my childish self thought it was a sad poem and that there was something behind it.

Still, it was years later that I began to love poetry; and even then, it took a 1000-page book to make me understand the power of poetry. The Lord of the Rings is well-known for its songs, poems, and mottos in verse. Poems about life, death, humor, and irony--my blog's name comes from one of them. The poetry has purpose in the story: the characters turn to poetry when soliloquies and speeches fail. By the end of the book, it made me realize something I'd thought impossible: that, sometimes, prose is inadequate.

Or is it even replaceable? This spring I read Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, which I've raved about more than once and am currently re-reading. Onegin is written in chapters of poetic stanzas, whose particular scheme is called the 'Onegin stanza.' Nevertheless, this doesn't detract from the story--quite the opposite. Pushkin's ability to propel the story through verse is remarkable: flexible pacing and emotional range bring as much story into this novella as you might find in a much longer book.

Writing it in poetry made that possible.

As I mentioned above, I write poetry, too. At first, it was just for school, but within the last year or two, I've been writing poems because I actually want to--or perhaps I should say need to.

I wrote my first 'real' poem a year or two (or three) ago. For this post, it doesn't signify what the topic was; but suffice it to say that it had been banging on the walls of my mind for months. It disturbed and fascinated me. So, I sat down and wrote a poem, "The Masquerade"...non-rhythmical and somewhat short. The meaning is buried behind the words, the topic itself makes no visible appearance; but in that tangle of broken lines, I had driven the figurative dragon away. I suddenly felt I could move on.

I've written about 30-something pages of poetry now, in the same way. The first words often spring into my mind like fireworks; the other words and the rhyming scheme, whatever it may be, often just come naturally. This not to say I'm a good poet, not at all. Rather, the force of combined perspective, emotion, and poetry's flexible form all act as a catalyst to the writing process. It's not even a process--it's a thunderstorm of words, which you drive into the paper until you're worn-out. You don't have to worry about paragraphs, fragments, and punctuation. There aren't any rules to choke inspiration, and the pacing is whatever you want it to be. There's no need for characters, because you're all of them, if you want to be.

You don't even have to hide your emotion; you can bring it to the forefront and cloak it in cryptic words. Happiness is then tempered by the satisfaction of having adequately expressed it, and sadness is diluted with the presence of words. The problem doesn't go away, but each poem is like a piece you've chipped off of it--a real set of words that can be put onto a page, folded up, and put away.

Poems I love

2011-10-06T16:57:00.004-07:00

Today is National Poetry Day--found this out at Libby's blog, Catching the Stars. :)

I've only started reading poetry (as in, seriously reading it) this year. But already I have many favorites. Here are some of them, in no exact order:

The Sea-Bell - Tolkien. Surreal and melancholy. Tolkien actually recorded this one, which is worth checking out--he reads in the old, beautiful style that we don't hear these days.
Eugene Onegin - Pushkin.
Jabberwocky - Carroll.
Star-gazers - Wordsworth. Short, but full of interesting sentiments. 'Is nothing of that radiant pomp so good as we have here? / Or gives a thing but small delight that never can be dear?'
Resolution and Independence - Wordsworth.
Memories - Longfellow.
The Raven - Poe. Basil Rathbone's recording is the best.
EDIT: She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways - Wordsworth. Very bittersweet.
Still Round the Corner - Tolkien.
The Road Not Taken - Frost. My favorite poem from before I actually appreciated poetry.

What are your faves? Any recommendations? (I like more contemporary styles, too.)

Rain...rain on the Barrow Downs

2011-10-05T18:44:00.000-07:00

It's late afternoon, and the weather outside is rather curious. The ground, the trees, everything on the surface of the world is black and green, almost as dark as sunset. But behind the fir-tree tops, the sky is chalky white--an utterly bright, pale grey. Until you get right up close to the window, and then you can see darker, feathery clouds, right above.

It changed just a moment ago--now everything has a greyer, more mellow look to it. The darkness and light are more evenly distributed. The rain's picking up, too.

The lights just flickered...

I wish I had a picture to share, but my camera is practically oblivious to atmosphere and rain. It can only see black trees and grey sky...so narrow-minded!

In lieu of a photo, check out this stormy painting, by Bierstadt:

And this ocean scene by Friedrich:

Which somewhat resembles the Oregon Coast:

credit: USFWS Headquarters

Utterly gorgeous.

That eerie moment

2011-10-03T20:38:00.001-07:00

When you find out that the actor who inspired one of your characters just happens to live (or have recently lived) in a place that shares said character's name.

Do these kind of "writing coincidences" happen to you? Or am I just weird.... :P

Peyto Lake {Canadian Rockies}

2011-10-03T17:22:00.000-07:00

My favoritest lake--indeed, one of my favoritest places on the trip--was this lake:

Just like a fairytale world. {These photos are unedited, by the way--the water is even brighter blue-green in real life.}

Blogging from school, ep. 2

2011-09-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

Imagine a mountain facing the sun, with its shadowy back towards you and layers of fog trailing down like a cloak. Rich, golden-purple fog sunken low in the valley, with the hazy-grey tops of fir trees brushing the horizon. The car floats down a hill, seemingly headed for the mountain, and the golden fog, and the furiously pale sky.

But it never gets there...it just crawls into the school parking lot. The sun throws the fog out and we have good weather. And here I am.

They impounded the window-desks in the library and replaced them with green chairs and ottomans. Ottomans, by the way, are threatening to take over the campus; good old-fashioned chairs are headed for extinction. But the absence of the window-desk--the wonderful little desk with the awning over the top--this is a more serious thing. The narrator has been deprived of her study-space with a view...the sky, the red trees, the lawn, and the people migrating into the Science Building.

They would have to change perfection, wouldn't they?

Speaking of study, my homework today consists of writing our first official essay. We have written others--ones where you have to race against the clock-on-the-wall-behind-you and writhe in pathetic agony over a blank page with blue lines. I suppose it is a useful exercise, but better for developing quick thinking than good writing.

To quote one of Abby's characters, I either 'over-think or I don't think at all.'

I'm trying to reach a middle ground, somehow. In my steampunk book, for example, I have a rough outline and a smattering of ideas, but I don't 'engrave them in stone.' It's a drawing in the sand, rather--a wave or two of new ideas could brush another out. I think this style works better for me. I've tried detailed outlines and spontaneous books, but writing with a rough guide seems more flexible and focused.

I'd love to work on the steampunk book today...I just have to finish that essay first. :P

On a similar note, I've been posting on Tulgeywood more regularly, so check it out and please follow if you like. :) And I'm currently reading The Winter Queen, by Boris Akunin. It's kind of like Sherlock Holmes set in 19th-century Moscow. The English translation is exceptionally well-written, and so far, the story's pretty good. I'm so used to quirky detectives, though, that Erast Fandorin is a bit boring...none of the 'little grey cells' speeches for him, lol.

Off to Russian history lecture now....

And they all lived...

2011-09-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

Earth Prelude / Einaudi

Theme song for the ending of my steampunk book. If you were watching this in a theater, the screen would go blank and the credits would show up at about 3:27. ;)

P.S. If anybody knows where I may legally purchase and download this song, do let me know...I've already checked iTunes and Amazon, and they don't have it.

Neutrinos, faster than light?

2011-09-23T17:42:00.005-07:00

Check it out: Tiny Neutrinos May Have Broken Cosmic Speed Limit

Neutrinos are among the weirdest denizens of the weird quantum subatomic world. Once thought to be massless and to travel at the speed of light, they can sail through walls and planets like wind through a screen door. Moreover, they come in three varieties and can morph from one form to another as they travel along, an effect that the Opera experiment was designed to detect by comparing 10-microsecond pulses of protons on one end with pulses of neutrinos at the other.

Emphasis added. Utterly mind-boggling, even if they don't turn out to be faster than light.

Credit to my history professor for mentioning this in class!

Blogging from school

2011-09-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

It rained today...a delicious, autumn-y, evergreen kind of rain. The sun hit the sky in a shock of yellow, but the sky itself was purplish pink. I'd post a photo, but it's at home, on my camera.

English class is rather entertaining. Surprisingly, the professor hasn't lectured us on grammar, or threatened us with humiliation, or anything unpleasant like that. Not only that, but the longest paper we have to write is only 5 pages (yes!). So far we've mostly done a bit of reading, group discussion, and joking around...nothing sinister yet. Today we talked about the narrative essay and thesis, along with references to dead fish and Theseus in the Labyrinth...

Music class today consisted only of a short, ungraded assessment test. The only thing I forgot was the definition of a tonic. I had to guess...luckily it was the correct answer!

Russian history looks to be a great class with an excellent professor, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. The professor uses a pointer-stick and considers English to be a "beautiful" and "rich" language, which made me incredibly happy (so tired of people bashing English).

Now I'm going to finish re-reading "The Murders in the Rue Morgue." I just love Dupin. He talks a lot like Holmes (or vice-versa, I should say). Not quite as quirky, and much more gloomy, though.

Awe-struck

2011-09-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

Yet shall not melt

2011-09-19T13:48:00.002-07:00

A dreamer may dwell so long among fantasies that the things without him will seem as unreal as those within.

Sometimes, too, the Past comes back, and finds me here, and in her train come faces which were gladsome when I knew them, yet seem not gladsome now.

And when, at noontide, I tread the crowded streets, the influence of this day will still be felt; so that I shall walk among men kindly and as a brother, with affection and sympathy, but yet shall not melt into the indistinguishable mass of humankind. I shall think my own thoughts and feel my own emotions and possess my individuality unviolated.

In our brief summer I do not think, but only exist in the vague enjoyment of a dream.

all quotes from "Foot-prints on the Sea-shore", Nathaniel Hawthorne

Writing contest at The Inkpen Authoress!

2011-09-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

Click here to learn more: The Merry Auld England Writing Challenge

I don't know yet if I'll be entering it, but it looks fun! The deadline has been moved to the 23rd.

School and scribbling

2011-09-14T18:16:00.001-07:00

School starts next week. Daily routine, more or less, will be thus:

Mon - Fri.
Morning. Wake up, pretend to be a morning person. Attend English, music theory, and Russian history lectures.
Noon and onwards. Homework. Blogging, if my brain permits and if there's anything interesting to say.
Weekends. Real life, homework.
Rinse and repeat.

I'm muchly looking forward to Russian history. Music theory should be interesting, too. English...well, it should be ok, though I don't care for essay-writing. The splendid thing is, history is my last class; so by the time I'm fully awake, I'll be in (presumably) my favorite class. ;)

Not alone in Spring's armorial bearing,
And in Summer's green-emblazoned field,
But in arms of brave old Autumn's wearing,
In the centre of his brazen shield;
{Longfellow}

Hopefully, I'll find time to work on my steampunk novel, too. Writing it has been as slow as molasses circumnavigating the globe, but I like how it's turning out, so far. I'm kind of regretting not writing it in first person, though. Instinctively, I write books in third person; but first is, in some ways, easier.

Which do you think is easier to write, and which do you tend to use?

Canadian Rockies: Sheep, Bears, Gondola

2011-09-13T11:34:00.001-07:00

Our next major animal sightings were a herd of bighorn sheep, and two baby bears: Sheep, Bears, and Banff

I thought we might see the mama bear, too, but we didn't... From what I've heard, they can be pretty scary, so probably it was a good thing. :) As for the bighorn sheep, that was super exciting because we'd never seen them before, and there were so many (more than in the pictures)!

There's also a picture I took in Banff...nice town with lovely mountain views, though very touristy.

We took the nearby gondola ride, which was amazing: Gondola Ride

The views were well worth it--360 degrees of epic mountains, valleys, and lakes; and on several levels, because once you get to the top, there's a boardwalk you can take up to a "cosmic ray" tower (looks like a Gondorian beacon to me). The large, castle-like building in the valley is the Banff Springs Hotel.

Next installment: glacier rides, elk, and creepy canyons...

Poetry without words

2011-09-12T21:14:00.001-07:00

I never listened to Debussy, until earlier this year. But I found his was just the music to listen to, when homework got unpleasant (i.e. often). In fact, if I had a theme song, I would say it's a tie between this Arabesque and Brahm's Rain Sonata (mvt 1). My other Debussy favorites are Valse Romantique, the violin sonata (mvt 1), and Reverie.

SHERLOCK 2...Hounds of the Baskerville!

2011-09-07T15:00:00.002-07:00

First Footage from Sherlock Season 2

"Oh, they're probably paw prints. Could be anything there, or nothing." <3

I have a feeling I'll be re-watching this a billion times. Until the next trailer...

Canadian Rockies: Ghost Town, Trees, Lake Louise

2011-09-03T16:52:00.002-07:00

IT. RHYMES.

Here's our next slideshow: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town

The first photo is the roof of the 3 Valley Gap resort. The others are of the ghost town, which is comprised of original and imported buildings from the late 1800s, and retro/vintage collectibles. They also had an antique vehicle & train collection, which was pretty cool.

We were really heading into the Rockies, by this time. We started to see mountains, rivers, & aspen trees, and we also saw Lakes Louise and Moraine. Another of our stops, much lesser known, was a boardwalk through a cedar wood--a really lovely trail! You can see photos here: Trees, Lake Louise

The last lake photo--the *really* blue one--is Lake Moraine. Louise is nearly as blue in real-life, but it didn't show up on the camera...

Again, let me know if the slideshows don't work--I can re-post them here, if so. :)

Canadian Rockies: Minter Gardens

2011-09-03T09:53:00.010-07:00

On the map, driving from Washington to Banff, Alberta, looks like a piece of cake. But our first day involved an estimated 400 miles of driving, and that was just to Kelowna, B.C.

Our main stop was one of our favorite B.C. places: Minter Gardens. The weather was unusually warm and sunny, and there were still lots of flowers. And since flora is my favoritest thing to photograph, click here: Minter Gardens slideshow
{Let me know if the slideshow doesn't work}

That eccentric building in the last two photos is a new feature...not sure what it's supposed to be. I call it the 'home of the mad scientist'. ;)

As we continued on to Kelowna, the landscape changed, ever so gradually. I'd seen two types of forest-mountains so far--Mt Rainier and Yellowstone--and this was something different yet. The trees stand very close and dry. Some of them suffer from some kind of bug or disease, and all that's left is a grey husk. The mountains make ours look like miniatures; and the green, dusky undergrowth crawls right up to the stream's edge, by which the road seems to be always running, in a very winding kind of way.

I muchly enjoyed this scenic route, myself. :)

Coming soon, Day 2--ghost town, cedars, and Aspenglow...

Hello again!

2011-08-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

I've been dreadfully un-blogger-y this month, with my last *real* post being on August 7th! It doesn't feel so long ago. But I suppose that's what happens when the pages of your life start turning faster.

The week of the 14th involved not one, but two summery picnics. And the weather here was sunny for both. The church picnic was lovely as always, and our family picnic was fun. We visited with relatives we hadn't seen in months, and I met relatives I didn't know I had. :) And of course, there was KFC and the most fantabulous salads & deserts.

Then the next week, we went on a driving trip to the Canadian Rockies, and just got home yesterday. It was a great vacation, with dry, sunny weather all week long! I'll be blogging about it soon, so stay tuned for more pics...

In other news, we are getting four new chickens from my aunt--we're actually going over to pick them up today. I'm not really an animal person, but it is exciting. :) We have three hens already, but they're six years old and approaching retirement. I just hope the hens aren't mean to the newbies...they're going to be separate at first, but eventually they'll have to learn to get along in the same living space. Two of the hens are pretty mild-mannered; but the third one has no manners whatever. In fact, I'm a bit scared of her. :P

Her name happens to be 'Daisy'. Ironic, I say.

School starts about three weeks from now. I always study like crazy; but this year, I'm also quite resolved on Order and Method [to quote a certain detective]. Neatness, methodical study, and more confidence. And, in order to further this goal, I have a list of things to-do in the meantime:

Clean my desk. Once I do that, I'll actually have space in my room for writing; and I mean to work on my stories every day, if time permits.
Clean out & organise my files and folders, on my laptop.
Sort through my shoes, and hem coat sleeves. I love having a variety of jackets (more than shoes or tops), and my mom found several amazing ones for me this summer! Two of them do need a little hemming, but it's no big deal.
Lastly, do some pencil sketches, while I still have free time...

We'll see how this whole 'order and method' thing works out, in the light of a ton of homework. *sigh*

Oh, another thing I did was solve a math puzzle correctly! The puzzle is called "Petty Cash", and it's from a book of such puzzles called A Tangled Tale, by Lewis Carroll. You can read "Petty Cash" here. I have a whole new respect for Carroll. The book is much more about logic than math--the math, in fact, is the easy part. The logic is incredibly complex. "Petty Cash" is, to me, the easiest of them all, since it involves minimal use of logic. Altogether, the fact that I figured it out is more due to my reviewing Algebra rules/techniques, than any real talent of my own. :P Additionally (no pun intended), I found the answer a bit differently than Carroll, but I think the procedure is similar and equally valid. If more convoluted...

I love the ending quote:

“You can do Arithmetic, I trust?” her aunt said, a little anxiously, as Clara turned from one tablet to another, vainly trying to collect her thoughts. Her mind was a blank, and all human expression was rapidly fading out of her face.
A gloomy silence ensued.

I can relate.

Speaking of Carroll, I'm reading Sylvie and Bruno. It's part fairytale, part nonsense-fantasy, and part romance. I really like it so far. It gives you a better perspective of the author than the Alice books do. I think that, rather than writing pure nonsense, Carroll simply used nonsense and fantasy as another way to illustrate [or study] logic and the real world. I do think artists with highly analytical minds will often bury their ideas behind fantasy or vague prose, because,

Fantasy is an effective, flexible outlet for expressing complex ideas; and
Analytical people themselves are so used to "hunting for hidden truths", that it seems natural to them to write enigmatically.

But I digress, dreadfully. I have a sewing project to post about as well, but I'll save that for another day. ;)

What he said...part II

2011-08-26T19:16:00.004-07:00

The actual experience of even the most ordinary life is full of events that never explain themselves, either as regards their origin or their tendency.

It is a great mistake to try to put our best thoughts into human language.

...they looked like fragments of the world, broken adrift and based on nothingness...

It is the special excellence of pictured glass, that the light, which falls merely on the outside of other pictures, is here interfused throughout the work.

She had lost--and she trembled lest it should have departed forever--the faculty of appreciating those great works of art, which heretofore had made so large a portion of her happiness.

...he sometimes discovered that they looked fanciful only because so absolutely true.

She chose the better and loftier and more unselfish part, laying her individual hopes, her fame, her prospects of enduring remembrance, at the feet of those great departed ones whom she so loved and venerated; and therefore the world was richer for this feeble girl.

Every crime destroys more Edens than our own.

- The Marble Faun, Nathaniel Hawthorne

I want to be understood.

He yawned frequently. He drank large quantities of tea, he walked about aimlessly, and when he sat down he did not budge for a long time. He spent some time drumming on the window with his finger-tips quietly. In his listless wanderings round about the table he caught sight of his own face in the looking-glass and that arrested him. The eyes which returned his stare were the most unhappy eyes he had ever seen.

...to live without fear, was also happiness.

I produced, even upon myself, the effect of a dumb helpless ghost, of an anxious immaterial thing that could only hover about without the power to protect or guide by as much as a whisper.

- Under Western Eyes, Conrad

O Sole Mio {never fails to make me smile}

2011-08-23T15:26:00.002-07:00

What he said...part I

2011-08-17T21:38:00.001-07:00

I sat down by the wayside of life, like a man under enchantment, and a shrubbery sprang up around me, and the bushes grew to be saplings, and the saplings became trees, until no exit appeared possible through the entangling depths of my obscurity.

Allow your fancy pretty free license, and omit no heightening touches because they did not chance to happen before your eyes. If they did not happen, they at least ought, which is all that concerns you.

The fact is, I have a natural abhorrence of pen and ink, and nothing short of absolute necessity ever drives me to them.

- Nathaniel Hawthorne

The side of the ship made an opaque belt of shadow on the darkling glassy shimmer of the sea.

Necessity, they say, is mother of invention, but fear, too, is not barren of ingenious suggestions.

My polite insistence must have had something menacing in it, because he gave in suddenly.

- The Secret Sharer, Conrad

I took his face to pieces in my mind, like a watch, and examined it in detail. I could not say much against any of his features separately; I could say even less against them when they were put together.

- "Hunted Down", Dickens

But, as it sometimes chanceth, from the might
Of joy in minds that can no farther go,
As high as we have mounted in delight
In our dejection do we sink as low

The Crags repeat the Raven's croak,
In symphony austere

Whither is fled the visionary gleam?
Where is it now, the glory and the dream?

With admiration I behold
Thy gladness unsubdued and bold;
Thy looks, thy gestures, all present
The picture of a life well-spent

Oft do I sit by thee at ease,
And weave a web of similies

- Wordworth

What I've been up to

2011-08-07T17:43:00.133-07:00

Sewing. A blue blouse with ruffles.

A doll dress that frustrates me...will it ever resemble the inspiration?

A blue skirt for my sister.

Writing. My quasi-steampunk novel.

Photo-taking. God's beautiful Creation.

I have a partiality for macro. Maybe because I'm nearsighted...

Listening. Owl City. Plácido Domingo. Ludovico Einaudi. Jackie Evancho. Not all at once.

Drawing. Nothing. I do have a sketch of Sherlock to finish, though.

Reading. Blog posts. Hawthorne, Twice-Told Tales. Conrad, splendid as always. Avoiding Beowulf.

Piano pounding. Pretending to play Mozart.

Watching. Lark Rise to Candleford 3 & 4. Wives and Daughters. Original Star Trek (new to me). Muchly amused.

Thinking. That Pacific Northwest summers are lovely. No matter what people say.

Letter tag

2011-08-04T10:16:00.001-07:00

Comment to this entry/post and I'll give you a letter. List ten things that you love that begin with that letter and then post that list on your journal/blog.

I got the letter G from ever_maedhros at LiveJournal. :)

God
(my) Grandparents
Grieg's piano concerto, mvt 1
Gruffudd (Ioan) in Hornblower and Amazing Grace
Gandalf
"Giorni Dispari" by Ludovico Einaudi
Grey (the color)
Green grass. And trees.
Gothic classic lit, Hawthorne and Melville style
Google

Fun! I think I could add several more.... :)

My staycation in Rome

2011-07-29T16:39:00.001-07:00

By Andreas Tille (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

By Aaron Logan (http://www.aaronlogan.com/ and http://www.lightmatter.net/gallery/albums.php) [CC-BY-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

By AngMoKio (selfmade photo) [CC-BY-SA-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

Kleuske at nl.wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

I went to Rome this summer; Hawthorne was my tour guide. I saw catacombs, cathedrals, gardens, tombs, fountains, picture galleries, countryside--he described it all, with great detail. And we met some interesting people, too.

There was Kenyon, the American sculptor, studying the statuary and working on a portrayal of Cleopatra. He's a "well-informed" gentleman, with an unfortunate tendency to go off onto long, philosophical discourses whenever he has an opportunity to do so. It is very like him not to choose a Roman legend as his subject...wherever he is, his truest thoughts seem elsewhere.

They revert often back to Hilda. She is a New England girl; and she has a gift for copying the classic paintings. That is how she makes her living in Rome. Ironically, while capturing perfectly the masters' art and dedicating her life to its study, her own artistic originality is neglected. In her personal life, she is upright, optimistic, and rather naive. I find her easy to understand.

Hilda's friend is a mysterious painter, known only by the name of 'Miriam'. Nobody knows where she comes from. She's beautiful and independent, but her life is haunted by a strange acquaintance of hers, who follows her wherever she goes.

And finally, there's Donatello--a cheerful young count, with apparently not a care in the world. They say he resembles the Faun of Praxiteles, and that, under his curly hair, he has pointed ears. He fell in love with Miriam and would do anything for her, but he also has a capricious streak in him that is very dangerous.

By photo: Ad Meskens, sculpture Charles Hodge Mackie (Own work) [Attribution, GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Marble Faun is very similar to Moby-Dick. Two-thirds of it is history, sightseeing, and in-depth descriptions. I felt some pictures would have been helpful in the description department--I've never actually been to Rome, and so I could only picture it vaguely. In the end, you feel as if you know Rome, inside and out, and simultaneously don't know it at all.

The other 1/3 of the book is one intense story. You can think of it as a tragedy of star-crossed lovers, or you can think of it as a biblical allegory...it's both. Hawthorne's Gothic tone shows up as well, in some very poignant scenes, such as Donatello in the forest, or Kenyon at the carnival. Altogether, Hawthorne took an epic theme--the Fall of Man--and studied it through the lives of four characters. The garden of Eden, the temptation, sin, guilt, and punishment are all there. The Marble Faun is often described as fantasy, but I'd hardly call it that--the truth in the book far outweighs the fantasy elements.

Overall, I give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars. It takes patience. Sometimes the descriptions were as wearisome as taking a city tour in Converse shoes (just speaking from experience, here). But the story itself holds so much truth, and moments of genius, that I think it was well-worth reading. :)

the

2011-07-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

" thē before a vowel; thə before a consonant "

I can live happily ever after now, in thə knowledge of thə correct pronunciation of the.

First photo of THORIN!

2011-07-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

...at TheOneRing.net

All I can say is...wow!!!

Book Review: Under Western Eyes

2011-07-12T16:39:00.001-07:00

Under Western Eyes (1911)
by Joseph Conrad
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars

By his comrades at the St. Petersburg University, Kirylo Sidorovitch Razumov, third year's student in philosophy, was looked upon as a strong nature—an altogether trustworthy man. This, in a country where an opinion may be a legal crime visited by death or sometimes by a fate worse than mere death, meant that he was worthy of being trusted with forbidden opinions.

Forbidden opinions...those are precisely what Razumov wishes to avoid. An illegitimate son of a Russian nobleman, Razumov lives alone and has no expectations in the world, nothing except what he can earn through persevering work. Content with his life, he tries to ignore the revolutionists on campus and instead turns his energy towards earning "the silver medal", by which he can better his academic standing. But one day, he comes home to find an assassin hiding in his rooms, expecting aid in escape. Razumov's reaction ruins his life as he knows it, and drives him to insanity with his own hatred, fear, and conscience.

At a glance, one would say that Under Western Eyes is about secret agents and the Russian revolution, but taken as a whole, that's not quite the focus of the book. It is much more a ghost story than a story about revolution. And the actual, intended point of the book seems to be to portray how Russians and Westerners perceived things--namely life and politics--during the times this was written. As such, and with the characters' abstract style of speaking, it's not really written for 21st-century readers. You'd at least have to know the Russian history concerning that time to fully appreciate this illustration; and as of now, I don't know enough about the subject to say whether it's an authentic portrayal or not.

But intriguing, fascinating? I'd say so. As I've mentioned before, nobody writes about psychology/human nature like Conrad; and it's through human nature--something that makes us all related--that he did a great job depicting different viewpoints.

Personally, I could hardly put the book down. Conrad has the power all writers wish for--of pulling you along breathlessly through the story, even if it's during an excruciatingly long dialogue between two rather boring characters. His use of phrases, remarks, and word choice to achieve subtle but powerful effects is, I think, at its height here as well.

But to me, the very climax of Conrad's style is all condensed in his protagonist, Razumov. Razumov has the heart of a hero and the head of a villain; he is, in a sense, the worst and best character of the book. More importantly, he's human. And not like the self-deceived characters of many novels, whose human-ness is usually unrepentant vice, self-justified and glorified by society. But rather, Razumov is an honest human; whatever he does, good or bad, he is inwardly honest about it...there's even an ironic sense of honesty in him when he's up to his neck in lies. His last journal entry (or confession, if you will) has got to contain some of the most brilliant and heartbreaking paragraphs in literature. Spoiler: As wretched as he is, I think he's ultimately a hero. There's that verse about "the wicked shall prosper"; and, sure enough, Razumov had a chance at earthly happiness after all his deceit, hatred, and evil intentions. But in the end, he chooses to repent. Again he loses everything; but he accepts his punishment and miserable future. While other fictional characters would give up, for even lesser reasons, Razumov did the right thing, and that takes real bravery.

The plot is secondary to everything else in the book, but it's still interesting and rather complex. The first part follows Razumov, the second and third a young lady named Nathalie Haldin, and the last part ties everything together. As for the minor characters, half of them are boring and the other half are the ghosts in the ghost story, resulting in some very chilling scenes. Nobody thinks of Conrad as famous for his characters; but certainly, each one has their own voice and makes an impression on you.

The ending isn't exactly what I'd call a happy one--"pure misery" was my mental note. Yet it was also strangely excellent. There was the very good and the very bad, all wound up together in a sort of poetic justice; and it left me convinced that, however depressing it seemed, there couldn't have been a better ending written for it.

Tatyana costume

2011-07-11T15:22:00.003-07:00

Latest entry in my literary heroines sewing project. Inspiration: this costume from an opera production, as well as this one, and, of course, the book. :)

It's similar to the Young Victoria costume, being from the same era and all. I basically used the same pattern pieces, based on view D from Simplicity #9521 and a sleeve pattern from another set.

The hardest part was the sleeves, which were a colossal pain and turned out way too tight. It looks ok, but I've learned my lesson this time--for Barbie-sized sleeves, never ever again try to make lace fluffy and extra-gathered (unless the lace is super thin). All I got was added thickness. *fail*

Overall, though, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out... The blue & white color scheme was new to me, and it was fun to work with. ^_^

30 Favorite Characters

2011-07-08T19:17:00.001-07:00

From Thoughts of a Shieldmaiden.
Rules: Without thinking about it too much, list 30 fictional characters that

you really liked, or
identified with, or
who you think influenced you, or
who you simply will not forget!

Well, you know me--I always over-think and over-analyze stuff. So this should be fun! *turns off analyzing-mode*

EDIT: Silly me, I forgot to tag someone! Well, I tag anybody who wants it. ^_^

Sherlock Holmes. Yeah, I'm a broken record. Yeah, he tops every list, in my opinion.
Starbuck. The one man who had the guts to stand up to Captain Ahab.
Gollum. Memorable, yesss he is. I'll never be able to say the word "precious" again...
Boromir. Gondorian knight from Lord of the Rings. I realise he's an unpopular guy, but he may also be the most realistic, and one of the most epic, characters in the whole trilogy. Underneath all the anti-heroism, he has a noble heart.
Fanshawe. The enigmatic "suffering student", from Hawthorne's novel of the same name. I didn't much like him at first, but I understand him better now; and he makes a very striking, Gothic type of character.
Eustace Bright. Another college-student character by Hawthorne. A cheerful, slightly eccentric young man, who enjoys telling stories to his army of younger cousins.
Marian Halcombe. Strong, persevering heroine from The Woman in White, who will even go up against the evil Count Fosco, in order to save her sister. Not a fan of the '98 movie, but the scene where she's eavesdropping on the balcony (or roof?) in the pouring rain is unforgettable! One of the best heroine-moments in literature.
Count Fosco. Speaking of. The unique Fosco, with his mice and cigars and Rossini overtures and horrible conniving. *shudders*
Digory Kirk. Apart from his cool name, I'll always admire Digory. I love the fact that he stands up to his nasty Uncle Andrew...someone had to do it.
Athelstane. Am I the only one who likes this minor character from Ivanhoe? He's dreadfully lazy, not very clever, and "dies" only to wake up at his own funeral. Oddly likeable, compared to the boring title character. *ducks tomatoes*
Nancy Drew. As portrayed by Emma Roberts. Starts out as a Mary Sue, but her naivete and eccentricities make her very likeable. I love how she tries to get along with everyone, unashamedly "likes old-fashioned things", is a neat-freak, and talks to herself. I'll admit I don't have a sunshiny personality (alas), but I sure can relate to the old-fashioned and mystery-loving side of her.
Lt. William Bush. As portrayed by Paul McGann. How did I not think of him SOONER?! The ultimate, austere naval officer with a strong sense of duty and justice. The guy you'd want by your side in battle. The guy who never smiles; but when he does, it's 100% more special. (I'll shut up now, I promise...)
Alexander Taylor. The charming tutor from the sadly out-of-print Williamsburg Years, by Nancy Rue (any other fans?). One of my all-time favorite characters from childhood. I literally can't explain how wonderful Alexander is...charisma is just part of it.
Scarecrow. "It's no use screaming at a time like this--nobody will hear you! HELP!" <3
Cpt. Edward Pellew. Classic Pellew: "You behaved rashly--you had no right to open fire on that French ship--you ought to be ashamed for feasting on fresh beef when there were wormy biscuits on board--and by the way, I'm glad you made it back alive, son." Gotta love Pellew...he's always there to give Hornblower a rant and a "Good job".
Eugene Onegin. Personally, I call him an anti-romantic-hero. Very flawed, memorable, and from another era entirely.
Amy Dorrit. Dickens's Cinderella character. It would be interesting to read another author's take on Amy's story...I think Bronte or someone could have really highlighted the emotional/psychological struggles that Amy went through, in unfailing patience. We do get glimpses of it.
Dr. Livesey. The good, sensible doctor from Treasure Island. There's nothing like a sensible character.
Legolas. The only guy who can wear long, pristine blond hair and get away with it. Legolas is unbeatable in this department. And he has some mean archery skills. <3
Alan Breck Stewart. I'm horrified that I didn't remember him until just now...DUH, Marian! Alan Breck, with the silver buttons, brilliant swordfighting, childish vanity, and persevering patriotism. After Sherlock Holmes, he's my favoritest fictional hero in the world, and that's saying a lot.
Prince Rilian. The enchanted prince from The Silver Chair. A very haunting, tragic character at first; the whole enchantment scene gets me choked up. I like how (perhaps unintentionally) C. S. Lewis took the traditional fairytale-prince stereotype and turned him into someone the reader actually cares about.
Mr Guppy. One of those (many) Dickens characters that you just can't un-remember. He's funny, shrewd, and endearingly annoying.
Gandalf. What can I say? Gandalf is epicness in fictional character form. In fact, he probably ties with Alan as my second-favoritest character. He's got a sense of humor too--"And just bring out the cold chicken and pickles!"
Hastings. As portrayed by Hugh Fraser. Great character; he has such patience to put up with Poirot and his little grey cells. Scary driver when it comes to the car chases, though!
Sir Guy Morville. The unhappy hero of The Heir of Redclyffe. Has a terrible temper but always, always tries to do the right thing (people today would call him OCD in this respect). Frankly, I admire him all the more for it; and it's too bad he's been eclipsed by Darcy, Heathcliff, and other heroes that are popular with modern readers.
Philip Morville. Well, you can't talk about Sir Guy without mentioning his devious cousin, Philip, who drives the story. You don't like him, but you can't really hate him, either. Well-written character.
Lord John Roxton. Big-game hunter and protagonist in Doyle's The Lost World. His confident and cheerful attitude is a much-needed relief in the story, plus he's wonderfully British.
Michel Dufrénoy. Main character in Verne's Paris in the 20th Century. Michel feels like a misfit--he is a student of literature, but the world he lives in is all about technology, and it's the only way by which a person can succeed. Michel isn't the most inspiring of characters, but there's certainly a lot of truth in him.
Alice. Only Alice would run headlong into a rabbit-hole. She's funny, clever, compassionate, talks to herself, and is a little too confident in her stock of knowledge. Wonderful character.
Mr Venus. Another hilarious Dickens character. And a taxidermist. It doesn't get more Dickensian than Mr Venus. :)

Alkan's genius

2011-07-07T09:42:00.001-07:00

On one of my ramblings through the classical music on YouTube, I randomly came across a composer named Alkan (1813 – 1888). I don't think I'd ever heard of him before, but I wish I had.

Alkan, to me, is kind of like a combination of Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Chopin; yet the incredible complexity of Alkan's music sets it in its own world. It's not that it's terribly melodic, in that the melodic lines aren't quite as "focused" as those in Chopin or Schumann. But Alkan's use of chord progression is magnificent; and the overall effect is somewhat abstract, without the horrors of Expressionism or the tedium of Minimalism.

If you have fifteen minutes to spare, check out the Overture for solo piano as well--it's pretty epic.

Perspective

2011-07-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!

{Gandalf - The Hobbit - Tolkien}

Summertime Ramblings, v1

2011-07-06T13:12:00.001-07:00

I hope you had a great Independence Day! I did, though sadly I have no pictures to prove it. In "typical me" fashion, I forgot my camera on the day when the weather was sunny, the food splendid, and the fireworks extra stupendous. We always go to my aunt and uncle's house, for a cookout and fireworks; and in their neighborhood, there's a de facto fireworks show coming from all directions, from around nine o'clock and onwards. Absolutely gorgeous! Even in our own neighborhood, you can hear them 'til you fall asleep; and when I woke up, everything was unexpectedly silent.

Much nicer than last night. I dreamed school had just started again, and I was three days behind in homework, with a paper due in second-year Spanish class. Ugh. Then I woke up to find that I had fallen asleep while reading. Hawthorne might have something to do with it; his vivid descriptions of Italian parks and flowers in The Marble Faun are enough to make any sleepy person even more sleepy. But that wouldn't account for dreaming about school. And failing in a class I'm not even going to take. Or perhaps the juxtaposition of two contrasting scenes makes them directly related somehow. O_o

Today I'm going to pull weeds, which is fine with me. There aren't a whole lot. And I've been terribly lazy this summer...oh, I do my chores and stuff. But lately I've been feeling kind of useless. I've read some books, I've done a little writing, and I've been working on sewing projects. It just starts to seem trivial, that's all. Except for writing.

Last month, I finally finished that gargantuan poem, the one I started in November of last year. It's 200 lines, in AABA rhyming scheme. Without giving it away, I can say that the topic is pretty deep, and it's probably one of the better things I've ever written, in either poetry or prose. They say to write what you know--the chief problem with that is whether your audience gives a jot about what you do know. But this topic ought to appeal to a fairly large audience. And, no, it's not a romantic ballad. >_>

I do think poetry is the most subjective of all art forms, even more than visual or musical. You can show me something by Picasso, or make me listen to Schoenberg; I can't stand either of them, but I'll admit that, in all their grotesque and disturbing dissonance, there is something slightly interesting in them. On the other hand, read me a free-verse poem by a contemporary poet; and it probably won't make the least impression on me, except that "I don't like it". Most poetry--especially free verse--is too sparse, and too dependent upon the author's individual thought processes, to be universally understood in any extent. So whenever I am inclined to despise my own poetry, this aspect makes me think again, and keeps me believing that somebody somewhere will like it, whether I do or not.

Jörg Hempel [CC-BY-SA-2.0-de], via Wikimedia Commons

Speaking of poetry, I had to look up celandines, which seem to have been Wordsworth's favorite flower. They remind me of buttercups; actually, they're related, according to Wikipedia. As you can see in my profile pic, my favorite flower--or one of them--is probably forget-me-nots...I don't think any poem I could write would do them justice. But back to celandines...Wordsworth wrote some great lines about them (emphasis added):

Eyes of some men travel far
For the finding of a star;
Up and down the heavens they go
Men that keep a mighty rout!
I'm as great as they, I trow,
Since the day I found thee out,
Little flower!--I'll make a stir
Like a great Astronomer.

And about daisies:

Proud be the Rose, with rains and dews
Her head impearling;
Thou liv'st with less ambitious aim,
Yet hast not gone without thy fame;

On that sunshiny note, I think I'll go do the weeding now...

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations...You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes. - Washington, Farewell Address, 1796

Book tag: The End

2011-06-30T12:30:00.002-07:00

29. Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)

How about the saddest?

That would be Sherlock Holmes...it seemed so real, almost as if a real person had died. I was a serious little girl, who never cried over books at that age; but nonetheless, I was pretty heartbroken.

Another sad death was that of you-know-who in A Tale of Two Cities; it was especially intense since I didn't see it coming. Then there were the two deaths (SPOILER IN WHITE: Boromir and Gandalf) in The Fellowship of the Ring, and two of my favorite characters (Gandalf and Frodo) virtually dying at the end of The Return of the King. Nobody writes death scenes like Tolkien, that's for sure.

30. The End: do you prefer everything tied up or to be able to 'make up your own mind'? What is the worst ending to a book you have read? And the best? (careful, spoiler tags!)

Generally, I prefer complete endings that leave no more questions, as in Jane Eyre and Bleak House; but on the other hand, I love the bittersweet, ambiguous ending of Eugene Onegin, which leaves the characters' futures up to the reader to decide (and interpretations, from what I've heard, vary drastically). It's such a perfect ending for that story, full of "poetic justice" but not engraved-in-stone.

Probably the absolutely worst ending I ever read was in Johnny Tremain, which ends *right before* he enters the battle. It doesn't even tell whether he "gets the girl" (who isn't that nice anyway). So annoying. Romeo and Juliet had a terrible ending, too--not even romantic. Moby-Dick...well, it has one of those excellent endings that you hate. It completes the story with a dose of realism, but I think it's tragic that (Starbuck) died.

Apart from Eugene Onegin and A Tale of Two Cities, I can think of at least two other books with outstanding endings: The Lord of the Rings and Kidnapped. Both are real tearjerkers. SPOILER: Nobody exactly dies...in Kidnapped, the journey ends and Alan has to go into hiding again; in LOTR, Frodo and Gandalf (the characters who began the story) both leave to go to the Undying Lands (fictional parallel to Heaven)...Gandalf, because "his work is done", and Frodo, because he is physically and emotionally dying from his battle with the Ring. But they're not just sad for melodrama's sake...Kidnapped's ending is about how "life goes on", and LOTR reminds you that, in the real world, happy endings come at a price for those who make them happen. I guess the ideal book ending, to me, is "bittersweetly ever after".

Book tag! {part 22 - 28}

2011-06-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I have major catching up to do! :P

22. Your "comfort" book

I have about four, actually...the book of Psalms (KJV), Kidnapped, The Encyclopedia Sherlockiana, and The Federalist Papers (seriously).

23. Favourite book cover including a picture!

Here's some of them (wait 10 seconds for the next batch):

24. Favourite fictional relationship (romantic, friendship, familial)

Oh, that's impossibly hard. How about one of each? (And that still doesn't include all my faves.)

Romantic: Lucy Snowe and Prof. Emanuel (Villette, C. Bronte). At first, all I could think was "How does she ever fall in love with such a rude, authoritarian guy?" But, of course, the professor has a nice side, she falls in love with him, and I ended up rooting for them, too. I especially admire how they ultimately respect each other's differences and don't try to convert/change each other.
Friendship: Alan Breck Stewart and Davey Balfour (Kidnapped, Stevenson). Alan is egotistical and Davey is self-righteous...they have a hard time getting along. But in the end, they become as close as brothers and stick by each other no matter what. My favorite chapter in the whole book is "The Quarrel", because it illustrates the very worst and best moments of their friendship.
Familial: The Holmes brothers (Sherlock and Mycroft). Ahem, there's no sibling rivalry between them (yes, BBC writers, I'm glaring at you). Mycroft governs England, Sherlock polices it. Sherlock genuinely believes Mycroft's the smarter brother, and Mycroft isn't ashamed to say that Sherlock "has all the energy of the family". Sherlock even seems to trust Mycroft more than Watson. So even if they don't meet but a few times a year, I think Mycroft and Sherlock--in their own eccentric way--are pretty close siblings, not to mention two of the coolest in fiction. ;)

25. Most annoying character ever

Mary Russell, from The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Laurie King). Most obnoxious, irritating, cringeworthy character EVER. And then King marries her off to my favoritest character in the world...who, by the by, is old enough to be Mary's grandfather. O_O

Honorable mentions: all the main characters in Wuthering Heights. Oh, and Ishmael in Moby-Dick.

26. Most quotable novel or 5 of your favourite quotes from any books.

Some of my faves:

- "I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule." (Sherlock Holmes) {A bit narrow-minded, but I love the mathematical spirit behind it.}
- "'I will have no man in my boat,' said Starbuck, 'who is not afraid of a whale.' By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward." And later on: "Starbuck was no crusader after perils; in him courage was not a sentiment; but a thing simply useful to him, and always at hand upon all mortally practical occasions." (Moby-Dick)
- "I don't know that I care much about living on and on after everyone I know is dead. I'd rather live an ordinary time and die and go to Heaven." (Digory, The Magician's Nephew)
- "No man of sense who has been generally improved, and has improved himself, can be called quite uneducated as to anything." (Doyce, Little Dorrit)

27. Any five books from your "to be read" stack. What makes you select a book for your “to be read” stack?

Hornblower and the Hotspur, The Mark of Zorro, The Children of Hurin, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and War and Peace. (More complete list here.)

How do I compile my reading list? It's an interesting question... People probably think that I only read classic lit--which is mostly true, but I don't mean to boast or appear snobbish about it, because I'm not. It's more of a result than a cause--older books tend to have better morals, less chance of objectionable content. I'll gladly give a contemporary book a try, but so often I've had to give up on it, that it's much easier just to stick to the classics. So it's my concern about content, rather than any sense of "elitism", that I read classic lit.

Besides that aspect, it's hard to say how I select a book...variety's the keyword, I guess. There's books I feel I ought to read...Beowulf, Shakespeare, Greek classics. (Though Shakespeare gets on my nerves...) Then there's the "Boy's Own" adventure books, a great genre. Sci-fi, sea-stories, and those grittier kinds of adventure stories are even better, not to mention highly educational. Romance stories...good ones are hard to find, but I like them. Detective fiction is always interesting. Historical fiction, if well-written, is good. And finally there's the weirder stuff, like Kafka and Wells, which (if it's good) joins my favorites, just because it got me to think outside the box. Oh, and one more--Joseph Conrad. He writes about psychology/life/people like nobody else I've read. And I couldn't rave enough about his amazing writing style...

In the past, I used to read one series or author for weeks before moving on. I don't do that as much, anymore, but I still like reading by authors...I like getting a good understanding of their beliefs, perspective, era, and style; and that's what makes the connection between the works of any great author.

Lately, too, one of my goals has been to branch out and read classics from a broader range of countries, not just England. So more Russian, American, Italian, Spanish, and French books will be showing up on my reading list. :)

28. Some firsts: First book you remember loving/being obsessed with. First book that made you cry. First book you gave to someone else as a gift.

- I think it was either The Chronicles of Narnia or the Trixie Belden series...don't remember which came first. Narnia...pretty self-explanatory. Trixie Belden, because the mysteries are really good, the supporting characters are lovable, and Trixie herself is very clever, brave, and stubborn (in a good way). Very underrated series.
- A Tale of Two Cities, maybe? I know I was all weepy at the end of The Return of the King. But who wouldn't be, after 1000 pages of drama, and my top two favorite characters practically dying...
- The Boxcar Children: Mountain Top Mystery, to my brother.

Concerning movie & book reviews

2011-06-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Question for my readers--would it be a good idea to open up a new blog, just for book reviews? I've always posted them here; but they kind of get lost amongst all the other posts, and it would be nice if they were organised more neatly. On the other hand, an extra blog might be inconvenient to followers. On the other hand, not everyone reads book reviews, and those who do might find it more convenient if the reviews were all in one place. What do you think? :)

Now, poll results...

Sewing projects

4 (44%)
Book review

5 (55%)
Movie/TV review

9 (100%)
Music videos

2 (22%)
Writing tips/discussion

6 (66%)
Thought-provoking

3 (33%)
Art

3 (33%)
Photos

3 (33%)
Quotes

4 (44%)
Tags/quizzes

6 (66%)
Random

4 (44%)
Other (comment & let me know!)

0 (0%)
Votes so far: 9

...indicate that more movie/TV reviews would be cool with everyone. I'll be posting some for Jane Eyre (2011) and Alice in Wonderland (2010), one of these days. Any specific costume dramas you'd like me to review? I can't guarantee anything, but I'll consider all ideas, especially if they're on my list of faves. ;)

Book Review: The Mysterious Mr Quin

2011-06-25T14:01:00.001-07:00

by Agatha Christie
My overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars. Mixed feelings.

Polite, elderly Mr Satterthwaite lives a luxurious, carefree, and rather humdrum life--or so he thinks. He is ever the people-watcher, the friend of the rich and famous, and the patron of the arts. The man who knows everyone and what they do, but who never seems to do anything interesting himself.

That all changes when a stranger shows up at a New Year's Eve party, one stormy evening. Mr Harley Quin is a tall, quiet, and melancholy gentleman, who says very little but appears to be able to direct conversations--and sometimes actions--at his will, and all toward the purpose of clearing up some mystery. He strikes up a friendship with Mr Satterthwaite; and half-consciously Mr Satterthwaite finds that he, too, can solve the mysteries of the lives around him, when Mr Quin helps him "see things". But Mr Quin never stays long. He "comes and goes", and Mr Satterthwaite never quite knows when or where he will see him next.

My thoughts: What do you do when you're recovering from wisdom teeth extraction? Well, you read the books you hadn't finished but always meant to finish. For me, that was Mr Quin--a series of short stories by the "Queen of Crime", Agatha Christie. Having read the Miss Marple, Tommy & Tuppence, and (most of) the Poirot books, I had certain expectations; but I was also looking forward to something a bit different.

The stories themselves, though incredibly unlikely, were certainly page-turners (though I did skip the two that involved the seance stuff). Most of them had the typical Agatha Christie-style tragedy, but some of them had happy endings. Nothing much different than the Poirot and Marple stories, except that, maybe, these stories were even more focused on past actions/events. And without a real detective, there's a bigger sense of the fantasy side of things, resulting in a slightly darker atmosphere.

I really liked Mr Satterthwaite, for the most part. He's inwardly nosy, extremely gallant, hates discomfort, and is forever visiting wealthy people or the Continent (think "Moment of Luxury" and you've got his life in a nutshell). On the other hand, he has a good understanding of human nature, and he's not afraid to speak up and play his part "in the drama". Interesting character, probably one of Christie's best.

The most disappointing aspect of the book is Mr Quin himself. Now, for most of the stories, I thought he was a great character. Handsome, clever, "mysterious", solving mysteries, preventing suicides...he seemed very likeable. But the last story (it's always the last one, isn't it?) was downright bizarre and almost changed my mind 180 degrees. I say "almost", because I'm not sure it fits in with the rest of the book--it's more like what fanfic writers call AU (alternate universe). I strongly suspect this last story was just a whim of the author--it was that out of character for Mr Quin. SPOILERS IN WHITE: The last story implied, and not very subtly, that Mr Quin led another character to her death. That's right...literally led, and I'm not kidding. Mr Satterthwaite freaks out at the idea (and rightly so!), and the story just ends with Mr Quin disappearing. Disturbing.

And who is this guy, anyway? Mr Quin is sometimes referred to as a "friend of lovers"; and the Harlequin ballet character in the last story is referred to as the "eternal lover" or something like that. Hm. It is also implied (in at least one story) that Mr Quin might be some spiritual being. Not only does that change the whole nature of the series, but it's rather disturbing and subsequently irritating.

Supposedly, Quin and Satterthwaite were two of Christie's favorite characters; and she even dedicated the Quin mysteries to the title character, Harley Quin. Maybe she saw him as representing some kind of tragic, romantic hero (he's always described as sad). If this were the case, it would explain why he is more of a fantastical character than a real person, and it would also partly explain Mr Quin's creepiness in the last story (though not to any more credit on his part).

I think there's always a danger of assigning the wrong roles to your characters, and thereby changing them until they contradict themselves. By having Mr Quin go from being a behind-the-scenes philanthropist to a ghostly being who symbolizes some bizarre kind of love, he loses the nobility of his character. He's reduced to being a mere outlet for pathos and morbidity.

Back on topic... ;) I guess it's this odd combination of fantasy (or is it wizardry?) with detective story that bugs me. In the big picture, the mysteries are like any other Agatha Christie's. But within these mysteries, you'll come across these weird little things that make you uncomfortable. Overall, I enjoyed most of the mysteries, and I've read enough Christie to know not to take it all seriously. But I'd suggest skipping the seance stories ("Voice in the Dark" and "Bird With the Broken Wings"). As for the last story, I'd be very glad to hear other people's thoughts/interpretations.

First PHOTOS from The Hobbit!!

2011-06-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Click here. Three photos, no less!

Cinematography, costumes, Bag End...it looks amazing. It's possible, of course, that this mightn't be an actual screencap, just an early promo photo. Nevertheless, it's very exciting... And my sister and I have been following this production for a year or two now, so December 2012 doesn't seem like much of a wait to me. ;)

What do you think of the photos?

The admirable life

2011-06-22T22:09:00.001-07:00

I can't write.

Not at the moment, anyway. I've had this writer's block for two weeks now--or maybe longer? When it's this bad, there's isn't much to be done about it...I'm not one of those people who, in this state of things, can sit down and hammer out words.

With mild writer's block, maybe. Even then, it's not the best. Forcing yourself to write doesn't work too nicely for me. It's too mathematical, ends up sounding dry and heartless, like "plugging in values for x and y".

Last year, on recollection, I think I did pretty well. From around December '09 through around May or June '10, I worked consistently, nearly every week, on my first real novel (Calantha). I got about 2/3 through, which wasn't bad for someone more experienced in short stories. It was only a first draft, and not terribly good; but the mere consistency of my writing habits was encouraging (as was the page count, I'll admit).

And then what? Well, I don't know what went wrong, but ever since then, my writing's been pretty much sporadic. Within the same amount of time--from December '10 to now--I haven't accomplished anything much. Some new ideas, yes...but that's all. You'd think that, with such a long break, I'd be ready to write again, by now... Apparently not.

It gets to the point where you start imagining what it would be like to give up writing and just stick to your school-year studies. Just worry about your grades and nothing else. Just get one, normal job and nothing else.

Scary thought, to me...but why should it be? That's what most people do. Open your quarterly magazine from the local center of academia, and you'll find all sorts of men and women who have earned status and honor in all sorts of professional fields--most of which, if you can pronounce them, you still couldn't begin to understand. Fields as intricate as studies of particular shellfish and the purpose of their existence, which required the individual to spend an enormous amount of time just gathering data. Latin drifts smoothly through their speech; they know what they are talking about and they are respected for it. They gain experience, exalted careers, recognition from the government. Their work does good in some area of life, of public life. They will have reasons to retire with a sense of having done that good...and all in that normal job that they stuck to most dedicatedly.

It's a genuinely admirable life, and it's not for me. But why not? I couldn't say exactly. I do know that the idea of it--applied to me--makes writing, however hopeless it often seems, to appear more and more worth the effort, even as a side-career. Strange that writing in obscurity, and all the extra work it entails, should sound somehow comforting and worthwhile, but so it does.

I don't even know if I ought to post this, as it sounds like one long, silly complaint/rant/wail from a very pretentious young person who ought to be doing something useful instead. However, just to prove that I'm not entirely silly, here's a good poem--not entirely off topic--that's well-worth the five minutes to read. It's called "Resolution and Independence", by Wordsworth:

I

There was a roaring in the wind all night;
The rain came heavily and fell in floods;
But now the sun is rising calm and bright;
The birds are singing in the distant woods;
Over his own sweet voice the Stock-dove broods;
The Jay makes answer as the Magpie chatters;
And all the air is filled with pleasant noise of waters.

II

All things that love the sun are out of doors;
The sky rejoices in the morning's birth;
The grass is bright with rain-drops;--on the moors
The hare is running races in her mirth;
And with her feet she from the plashy earth
Raises a mist, that, glittering in the sun,
Runs with her all the way, wherever she doth run.

III

I was a Traveller then upon the moor,
I saw the hare that raced about with joy;
I heard the woods and distant waters roar;
Or heard them not, as happy as a boy:
The pleasant season did my heart employ:
My old remembrances went from me wholly;
And all the ways of men, so vain and melancholy.

IV

But, as it sometimes chanceth, from the might
Of joy in minds that can no further go,
As high as we have mounted in delight
In our dejection do we sink as low;
To me that morning did it happen so;
And fears and fancies thick upon me came;
Dim sadness--and blind thoughts, I knew not, nor could name.

V

I heard the sky-lark warbling in the sky;
And I bethought me of the playful hare:
Even such a happy Child of earth am I;
Even as these blissful creatures do I fare;
Far from the world I walk, and from all care;
But there may come another day to me--
Solitude, pain of heart, distress, and poverty.

VI

My whole life I have lived in pleasant thought,
As if life's business were a summer mood;
As if all needful things would come unsought
To genial faith, still rich in genial good;
But how can He expect that others should
Build for him, sow for him, and at his call
Love him, who for himself will take no heed at all?

VII

I thought of Chatterton, the marvellous Boy,
The sleepless Soul that perished in his pride;
Of Him who walked in glory and in joy
Following his plough, along the mountain-side:
By our own spirits are we deified:
We Poets in our youth begin in gladness;
But thereof come in the end despondency and madness.

VIII

Now, whether it were by peculiar grace,
A leading from above, a something given,
Yet it befell, that, in this lonely place,
When I with these untoward thoughts had striven,
Beside a pool bare to the eye of heaven
I saw a Man before me unawares:
The oldest man he seemed that ever wore grey hairs.

IX

As a huge stone is sometimes seen to lie
Couched on the bald top of an eminence;
Wonder to all who do the same espy,
By what means it could thither come, and whence;
So that it seems a thing endued with sense:
Like a sea-beast crawled forth, that on a shelf
Of rock or sand reposeth, there to sun itself;

X

Such seemed this Man, not all alive nor dead,
Nor all asleep--in his extreme old age:
His body was bent double, feet and head
Coming together in life's pilgrimage;
As if some dire constraint of pain, or rage
Of sickness felt by him in times long past,
A more than human weight upon his frame had cast.

XI

Himself he propped, limbs, body, and pale face,
Upon a long grey staff of shaven wood:
And, still as I drew near with gentle pace,
Upon the margin of that moorish flood
Motionless as a cloud the old Man stood,
That heareth not the loud winds when they call
And moveth all together, if it move at all.

XII

At length, himself unsettling, he the pond
Stirred with his staff, and fixedly did look
Upon the muddy water, which he conned,
As if he had been reading in a book:
And now a stranger's privilege I took;
And, drawing to his side, to him did say,
"This morning gives us promise of a glorious day."

XIII

A gentle answer did the old Man make,
In courteous speech which forth he slowly drew:
And him with further words I thus bespake,
"What occupation do you there pursue?
This is a lonesome place for one like you."
Ere he replied, a flash of mild surprise
Broke from the sable orbs of his yet-vivid eyes,

XIV

His words came feebly, from a feeble chest,
But each in solemn order followed each,
With something of a lofty utterance drest--
Choice word and measured phrase, above the reach
Of ordinary men; a stately speech;
Such as grave Livers do in Scotland use,
Religious men, who give to God and man their dues.

XV

He told, that to these waters he had come
To gather leeches, being old and poor:
Employment hazardous and wearisome!
And he had many hardships to endure:
From pond to pond he roamed, from moor to moor;
Housing, with God's good help, by choice or chance,
And in this way he gained an honest maintenance.

XVI

The old Man still stood talking by my side;
But now his voice to me was like a stream
Scarce heard; nor word from word could I divide;
And the whole body of the Man did seem
Like one whom I had met with in a dream;
Or like a man from some far region sent,
To give me human strength, by apt admonishment.

XVII

My former thoughts returned: the fear that kills;
And hope that is unwilling to be fed;
Cold, pain, and labour, and all fleshly ills;
And mighty Poets in their misery dead.
--Perplexed, and longing to be comforted,
My question eagerly did I renew,
How is it that you live, and what is it you do?"

XVIII

He with a smile did then his words repeat;
And said, that, gathering leeches, far and wide
He travelled; stirring thus about his feet
The waters of the pools where they abide.
"Once I could meet with them on every side;
But they have dwindled long by slow decay;
Yet still I persevere, and find them where I may."

XIX

While he was talking thus, the lonely place,
The old Man's shape, and speech--all troubled me:
In my mind's eye I seemed to see him pace
About the weary moors continually,
Wandering about alone and silently.
While I these thoughts within myself pursued,
He, having made a pause, the same discourse renewed.

XX

And soon with this he other matter blended,
Cheerfully uttered, with demeanour kind,
But stately in the main; and when he ended,
I could have laughed myself to scorn to find
In that decrepit Man so firm a mind.
"God," said I, "be my help and stay secure;
I'll think of the Leech-gatherer on the lonely moor!"

Book Review (short): Round the Red Lamp

2011-06-21T22:25:00.000-07:00

Round the Red Lamp, Being Facts and Fancies of Medical Life
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
My overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Round the Red Lamp is not a novel, but a collection of short stories. Each is somehow connected with doctors and their work, of the late Victorian era; but beyond that, they hold few similarities. Nostalgia, romance, horror, comedy, science-fiction, realism--the genres vary drastically from story to story, with plots ranging from the heartwarming to the nerve-wracking. And oftentimes, the reader can only guess at what is Fact and what is Fancy.

The subject of Victorian doctors may sound, at a glance, boring; but I found this book to be a real page-turner and excellent reading (with a couple of exceptions). I especially loved the "day in the life" stories that seemed firmly based on reality (i.e. "His First Operation", "A Medical Document"), and the hilarious "A False Start", about a young doctor desperate for patients. "Lot No. 249"--a creepy, Egyptian mummy story set in Oxford--is probably my favorite. And "A Physiologist's Wife" was another one that stood out to me, such a sad story.

As in the Sherlock Holmes series, Doyle's writing style is particularly powerful in the short story format. Within a few pages, you can go from disliking a character to liking them; and the action flows naturally, with plenty of witty dialogue and vivid, but efficient, description. The characters, too, are very life-like, especially for a short story. I don't know how he does it, but it's genius...

Recommended for anybody who likes late-Victorian lit.

Book tag! {part 17 - 21}

2011-06-21T11:04:00.018-07:00

17. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?

Two Years Before the Mast...didn't even finish it, though I hope to someday. It's interesting enough, but the writing style is tedious. Same with The Children of Hurin (J. R. R. Tolkien).

In terms of books I've read completely, Ben-Hur probably takes the cake.

In terms of content, I thought The Hiding Place, The Heavenly Man, and The Island of Dr Moreau were all very difficult to read, though worthwhile.

18. Your favourite book series & your favourite book out of that series

Not to be a broken record, but yeah...Sherlock Holmes! My fave novel is The Sign of Four...it has hidden treasure, a "damsel in distress", Toby the hound, a disguise, Holmes's sense of humor--a little bit of everything. And I have many favorite short stories, like "The Copper Beeches".

19. Your favourite picture, junior fiction and Young Adult books

- The Children's Book of Virtues. <3 I have good memories of my dad reading it to me when I was little.
- The Boxcar Children, all sixty-odd books that I could find at the library. Up through the Charles Tang (I remembered his name!?) illustrated books, it's all great, clean reading for kids.
- The Magician's Nephew and The Silver Chair, by C. S. Lewis. (I'd like to think these count as YA). Pure genius.

20. Least favourite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise

The romantic plots (or subplots) in which the guy suddenly falls in love with the girl (or vice-versa) merely because s/he looks stunning and says nice things. And it isn't just a plot device, it's a standard formula found in many books. So annoying.

21. A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte. I think the reason it's underrated is that it's neither typical Regency romance nor typical Bronte...it's something in between. Still a good read, though. :)

Book tag! {part 12 through 16}

2011-06-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

12. Book borrowing – do you use the library? Do you prefer to try before you buy? What about lending your books to friends? Are you a good borrower, do you remember to return books?

I love the library--I have (almost) nothing but good memories of libraries. I generally prefer to borrow before buying, just to be on the safe side... And I haven't yet had an opportunity to lend books to anyone, outside of my family.

13. Do you reread a lot? Why (not)? Name a book you have reread many times.

These days, not a lot. I like to move on to something new, especially since my reading list is 20000 leagues long. When I was a kid, there were numerous books (Narnia, for instance) which I liked to re-read.

14. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?

It's not a new book to me, but still: Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I don't know if it's the amazing prose, my (albeit fractional) Scottish heritage, or what; but there's something about this book with which I can strongly connect. And it's the sort of book I think I could re-read every year without tiring of it. Maybe because it's almost a "day in the life" kind of book--it's not like Alan "rids the world of evil" or Davey "gets married and lives happily ever after"...but rather, it's about imperfect people, imperfect friendships, and continuous struggles against injustice. A very "grey" book, with glimmerings of a fairytale. Just like real life.

As for new books, the best would probably be Eugene Onegin, the epically romantic "novel-in-verse" by Alexander Pushkin. Full of ambiguity, subtlety, depth, and drama...

15. Do you recommend books to other people? If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be?

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes! It's the only fictional book which I could wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.

I also think The Metamorphosis and The Lord of the Flies are well-deserved classics. I wouldn't recommend them to everyone; but they're certainly worthwhile, especially if you have an interest in analysis and psychology/human nature.

16. Adaptation: What book would you most like to see made into a film? Do you like to read the book first or see the film? Any books you have read after seeing the film version?

My entire movie wishlist is too long to be named here. ;) But it includes: Eugene Onegin, Sherlock Holmes (accuracy, accuracy!), The Heir of Redclyffe, and The Blithedale Romance.

I prefer being a book-firster, in general--there's a lot that just can't be portrayed on screen, especially when it comes to the Brontes or books like Heart of Darkness, which involve a heavy emphasis on the human mind, not "action" or spoken words. I did watch Moby-Dick (1956) before reading the book, though. The inevitable abridgment of the story, coupled with the excellent portrayals of Ahab and Starbuck, definitely made me want to the read the book. Also, certain stories have been made into better films than books, such as The Wizard of Oz or even North and South. I've read both of those, but I do think that the films were more worthwhile.

It's over now...

2011-06-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

~~...the music of the niiight~~

Er, school, that is.

I spent last Thursday and Friday in a dazed kind of boredom. No more composers, formulas, or verb conjugations to worry about. No more hours of alternating tedium and hilarity and awkwardness and Jolly Ranchers. No more late lunches. No more, no more, no more. It's summer and I couldn't believe it.

Yesterday, I got my four teeth of wisdom removed, which went splendidly as far as those things go. ;) I have to take things easy for a few days, which is just as well since I have a bad case of writer's block. Still, there's a million things I'd like to do. It's an annoyance...having all these things you want to do (including spruce up the blog) but don't feel like doing. Anyhow, at least this time I have a good reason not to do anything... I don't know; I'm one of those people who's constantly busy and tends to feel guilty if I'm not doing anything. O_o

Character questionaire

2011-06-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

From Thoughts of a Shieldmaiden. It's pretty fun--I tag all authors who'd want to take it! :)
Here are the rules:
1-) Choose 3 of your Cs
2-) Make your Cs answer these questions
3-) Tag 3 other people

My characters: "Patrick" (hero), "Joaquin" (villain), "Elsie" (heroine). All from my 18th-century historical-fantasy (think early Colonial American times, with a bit of Jane Austen and sci-fi/adventure).

Do you want a hug?
Elsie: No, thank you, a handshake will do...
Patrick: *glares* Don't you dare.
Joaquin: *bear hug*

Do you have any kids?
Elsie: No.
Patrick: Of course not.
Joaquin: Nope.

Have you killed anyone?
Elsie: No, indeed.
Patrick: No, and FYI this is getting old already...
Joaquin: Killed anyone? Me? Why should I do that? How very absurd. *smiles deviously*

Love anyone?
Elsie: Well...yes. But I don't expect to see him again.
Patrick: Not that I know of.
Joaquin: Um, myself?

What is your job?
Elsie: Schoolteacher.
Patrick: I'm in exile and under disguise, to the extent that I can hardly eat breakfast in broad daylight. So, needless to say, I'm unemployed, at the moment.
Joaquin: I am the governor... I strive to serve the people and all that jazz.

Favorite season?
Elsie: Spring!
Patrick: They're all the same to me...
Joaquin: Summertime.... (Me: PLEASE stop singing.)

Who’s your best friend?
Elsie: Mary; she's like a sister to me.
Patrick: No such thing.
Joaquin: Lady Victoria, I suppose...

Hobbies?
Elsie: I like walking at the beach.
Patrick: Does staring at carpets count?
Joaquin: Ooooh, poisons...er, chemistry, I should say....

What are you going to do when this tag is over?
Elsie: Make a cup of tea for my aunt.

Patrick: Find Joaquin and tell him off.
Joaquin: Beat Patrick up, when he gets here.

What is your eye color?
Elsie: Brown...
Patrick: Grey, but my author insists it's bright blue, like Frodo's. *shakes head*
Joaquin: My author describes them as "glittering". I suspect there are serpentine connotations, but I'll take it as a compliment.

Are you good? Or bad?
Elsie: I try to be good.
Patrick: I do my duty, but I don't claim to be good.
Joaquin: Good? Bad? Everything is relative...

What is your greatest fear?
Elsie: Being a failure to those closest to me.
Patrick: The dark. I don't know why.
Joaquin: n/a (Me: Actually, he fears losing power.)

What do you think of your parents?
Elsie: I'd do practically anything for them.
Patrick: I'll always love my father, but I don't want to become like him.
Joaquin: No comment.

Any siblings?
Elsie: Sadly, no.
Patrick: I did, once.
Joaquin: Nope.

Was it fun to answer all these questions?
Elsie: Yes!
Patrick: Not particularly.
Joaquin: Sure, why not?

Do you have any weaknesses?
Elsie: *sighs* More than I'd like to name.

Patrick: No comment.
Joaquin: No, indeed! (Me: Er, he has many--particularly his sudden temper.)

Your favorite element?
Elsie: I'm sure I don't know...
Patrick: Um, water? Ice cold, please.
Joaquin: FIRE!

Do you care what others think of you?
Elsie: Sometimes.
Patrick: No, I got over that long ago.
Joaquin: Yes, my dear, that's the most important thing in life!

Your theme song?
Elsie: "Only You" from The Young Victoria.

Patrick: *groans* My author says it's "Alaska" by Sky Sailing. She seems a trifle obsessed with my fear of the dark.
Joaquin: I really am too epic for theme songs.

What’s your species?
Elsie: Human.
Patrick: Human. And I'll answer for Joaquin--he's a bona fide, non-sparkling vampire.
Joaquin: Human, of course.

Seattle...

2011-06-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

...in timelapse:

Book tag! {part 8, 9, 10 & 11}

2011-06-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

08. The last book you acquired, and how (begged, bought, borrowed?)

I think it's the original Nutcracker stories (by Hoffmann and Dumas), which I ordered from B&N.

09. Your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next.

Last read, which I didn't finish, was Huntingtower, by John Buchan.

Current reads (subject to change):
The Mirror of the Sea, by Joseph Conrad
Five Weeks in a Balloon, by Jules Verne (re-reading)
Through the Magic Door, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

My next read...I have no idea. :)

10. What author do you own the most books by and why?

I believe it's a tie between Doyle and Tolkien. Doyle, because his minor works (i.e. The White Company, Sir Nigel, The Lost World) are great reads, too. Tolkien, because there are so many editions of The Lord of the Rings. And I have that paperback Children of Hurin still to be read...

11. Do you own multiple copies of any book? What are they? Why do you have multiple copies?

I own two or three paperbacks of The Fellowship of the Ring, a paperback TTT, and a paperback ROTK, in addition to the complete LOTR trilogy paperback. I had some idea of loaning FOTR to some like-minded person, someday. :P I tend to pick up multiple copies at thrift stores and $1-bag garage sales, just to have on hand...

Musings of a potential NOOK user

2011-06-10T15:25:00.004-07:00

To avoid grade detention and other penalties,
return all library materials by June 10

It was that sign, proclaiming words to this effect, that reminded me why I was returning the school library books this week. From my backpack, I took the four paperbacks, all crisply laminated, and dropped them through the book return. However Gothically menacing the technicolor sign might appear, there was still a sense of reluctance hovering round in my mind. I hadn't finished The Mirror of the Sea & A Personal Record (Conrad); and it was jolly inconvenient because now, the beginning of summer vacation, would have been the perfect time to finish it.

Well, no worries...I'll check the local public libraries.

So I go home. I run a library search.

So much for that. It only takes a few seconds for me to find out that neither of the libraries have The Mirror of the Sea.

Well, I'll check the bookstore. It's worth buying, anyhow.

Barnes & Noble search.

That edition looks nice. Oh, never mind, it's NOOK. And there's another one. Ah, here's a paperback...wait, it's *how much* for such a short book?!

The book's in the public domain and only 136 pages...$10+ sounds a bit steep. So I decide to do the only practical thing, and that is to wait until I get back to the school library (whenever that will be) to finish The Mirror of the Sea.

That's too bad.

Time for new reading material. But all of my own books I've either read or am not ready to read yet (let's face it, Frankenstein doesn't sound like a summertime read). So I head over to Wikisource (new friend of mine) and find a delightful, nonfiction book: Through the Magic Door, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I read a couple of chapters, all the while thinking:

Love the way Doyle writes. He really loved books, didn't he? I'm so glad this book is online. *Scrolls down* Trouble is, it's too easy to lose your place on the page. And computer screens bother my eyes..they're gonna get pretty dry after a while. And I'd rather be sitting in my room. *Scrolls, scrolls, scrolls* This scrolling-down is getting old. And it'll be bedtime soon. Once I turn off the laptop, there goes the book. That's too bad...

This whole sequence of events, as well as memories of similar experiences, led me to my conclusion this morning--which is that owning a B&N NOOK may not be such a bad thing. And, lest anyone suspects me of plotting treachery against printed books, allow me to explain myself more clearly.

I'm an old-fashioned girl, when it comes to electronics. My mp3 player (which I have no intention of replacing) is a few years old, is one of the penultimate versions of the Sony Walkman, and holds a grand total of 4 GB. My beloved laptop, "Hastings", is also some years old and rather slow. I still own plenty of CD's, and I use iTunes sparingly. Such is the basic extent of my collection of gadgets.

I'm also a longtime lover of books and libraries. I love old editions of books, I love the scent of paperbacks, and I love the old libraries with high bookshelves, where the book you want is either at the very bottom or very near the top. I will go into bookstores, with little expectation of finding the book I'm looking for; but still, I'll inwardly "ooh and aah" over the magnificent display of literature on the walls. I'll inwardly shriek when I hear of someone highlighting or underlining in their books; I'll inwardly weep when I accidentally bend pages; I'll inwardly *facepalm* if someone dares to touch my books with licked fingers (icky icky icky!!!). In short, printed books are muy importante to me.

But there is a third factor--one which puts e-readers in a positive light--and that is obscure classic literature. Particularly in recent years, my reading list has included more and more lesser-known books, or books that are special in some way (i.e. the Gummere translation of Beowulf). Alas, obscure lit (as aforementioned) is terribly difficult to find in printed form. Even if you do find it, it's far from what I'd call affordable. However, find it in e-book form and it's either free (at Project Gutenberg, for example) or only a few dollars. Suddenly, a seemingly sinister gadget now appears to me (the obscure-classic-lit geek) a highly practical, ultimately frugal way to read more books. Especially since 95% of what I read is in the public domain, anyway.

So I just might, might be getting an e-reader. *jaw-drop*

Would I stop buying paperbacks? By no means. For more mainstream lit, I'd still buy lovely new paperbacks and bring them along on vacation (because frankly, pages and 'book perfume' are still way cooler than touch screens). The only difference is, I'd be carrying my NOOK--aka The Mirror of the Sea and other unknown books--along with them. Call it weird, if you like...I suppose it might seem so. ;) But to me, it'd be "the best of both worlds"; and I'd gladly add an e-reader to the bookshelf, if it allowed me to read more classic lit.

Last day of school

2011-06-08T09:42:00.001-07:00

Which is why I'm hunched over my books, studying like I live and breathe vocabulary words. Er, not (yet).

I did do some math and Spanish review last night, and then I planned out my summer...attempted to, that is. I have this horrid feeling that 3 1/2 months--however you slice and dice them--isn't enough time to rewrite a book and get it (self-)published. But it's worth a try, if nothing else.

I have several sewing projects I'd like to work on, as well--costumes, doll outfits, summer clothes, semi-formal... {Ok, so there's rather more than several.} To those of you who sew, reading your blogs has been very inspiring! :)

Also, I hope to set up a website dedicated to the "awareness" of obscure classic lit (yes, I'm an incurable geek), particularly Victorian classics. So that's another project in the works. And I'd like to get more practice using my tablet, for digital paintings and whatnot...

So if all goes as planned, ignore the last two paragraphs and you'll have my summer in a nutshell. XD

UPDATE: I just finished my last math test. Ever. It's almost sad.

Book tag! {part 7}

2011-06-07T12:25:00.001-07:00

07. What fictional character are you (secretly) in love with?

Er, I don't think it gets any more un-secret. Really. And I'm not just talking about actors' portrayals, however excellent they certainly are. No, I'm talking about the original character, the eccentric tobacco-smoker with the grey eyes, "hawk-like nose", and receding hairline. The detective who is as unromantic as "the fifth proposition of Euclid". Who knows nothing about the Solar System and everything about poisons. Who could make a fortune with his brain power, but who will gladly fight crime for nothing. Who now lives in the Sussex Downs, beekeeping. IMHO, no Darcys or Thorntons can hold a candle to this guy. ;) Time for some picspam!

[All images are in the public domain and are from Camden House.]

He may also be the most quotable character in fiction.

Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.

My mind rebels at stagnation.

It is of the first importance not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities.

I never make exceptions. An exception disproves the rule.

Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the roofs, and peep in at the queer things which are going on, the strange coincidences, the plannings, the cross-purposes, the wonderful chains of events, working through generations, and leading to the most outre results, it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable.

08. The last book you acquired, and how (begged, bought, borrowed?)
09. Your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next.
10. What author do you own the most books by and why?
11. Do you own multiple copies of any book? What are they? Why do you have multiple copies?
12. Book borrowing – do you use the library? Do you prefer to try before you buy? What about lending your books to friends? Are you a good borrower, do you remember to return books?
13. Do you reread a lot? Why (not)? Name a book you have reread many times.
14. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
15. Do you recommend books to other people? If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be?
16. Adaptation: What book would you most like to see made into a film? Do you like to read the book first or see the film? Any books you have read after seeing the film version?
17. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
18. Your favourite book series & your favourite book out of that series
19. Your favourite picture, junior fiction and Young Adult books
20. Least favourite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
21. A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
22. Your "comfort" book
23. Favourite book cover including a picture!
24. Favourite fictional relationship (romantic, friendship, familial)
25. Most annoying character ever
26. Most quotable novel or 5 of your favourite quotes from any books.
27. Any five books from your "to be read" stack. What makes you select a book for your “to be read” stack?
28. Some firsts: First book you remember loving/being obsessed with. First book that made you cry. First book you gave to someone else as a gift.
29. Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
30. The End: do you prefer everything tied up or to be able to 'make up your own mind'? What is the worst ending to a book you have read? And the best? (careful, spoiler tags!)

Sewing projects	4 (44%)
Book review	5 (55%)
Movie/TV review	9 (100%)
Music videos	2 (22%)
Writing tips/discussion	6 (66%)
Thought-provoking	3 (33%)
Art	3 (33%)
Photos	3 (33%)
Quotes	4 (44%)
Tags/quizzes	6 (66%)
Random	4 (44%)
Other (comment & let me know!)	0 (0%)