ThE bLoG oF A. e. heDgES

Tunnels

2011-07-28T16:15:00.002-05:00

Maybe one of the many things that differs Christianity from other religions is:

Well, first, we're all in dark tunnels, bur Christians always see a light [Jesus] at the end of theirs. But! Lots of other religions have their own lights at the end of their tunnels, too, which they completely believe in. Their lights are different than ours - theirs isn't Jesus.

But! The point I wanted to make - or really, just throw out there as food for thought - is that Christians see other people's tunnels and worry about other people's lights at the end of their tunnels. We are called to think about the light at the end of other people's tunnels, and try to share our light with them.

Ideally, we could somehow share the light at the end of our own tunnel with all the dark tunnels we come across.

I'm not a very good light-at-the-end-of-tunnel-sharer. Need to work on that one.

Something gross, Yay!

2011-07-16T01:30:00.002-05:00

So, wanna read something really gross? No? Then go away.

;)

I got my cartilage pierced this year, and I just got brave enough to change the earring myself for the first time tonight. I kept the first one in for the required 12 weeks, then had a friend change it for me, and that one has been in probably a lot longer than 12 weeks. Not sure how long. But anyway! I just took it out myself. It HURT.

Blood kind of exploded from my ear, and there was this gross buildup of what I assume to be dirt, sweat, and ear snot (I guess... O.o). Anyway, after a minute of panicking, cleaning, and freaking out about getting the next earring in, we're all good, and instead of a little blue circle that has a sleepy face and says 'sleepy' I have a little lighter blue circle that has a silly face and says 'silly.'

Sleepy and silly are probably the two moods/feelings that come over me the most, as my little sister and Dad will both tell you. Sorry, y'all.

So, if I'd been born to different parents, it's very possible they could've aborted me just because I'm not a boy.

2011-07-13T14:19:00.002-05:00

I read most of this article on sex-determined abortion just now, and thought it was interesting, you know, important things to read about, but very sad. If any of those unborn baby girls could, would they be asking their parents what Anne asked Marilla in Anne of Green Gables? (Yes. I am making this reference.)

"You don't want me because I'm not a boy?"

Sad! This makes me really, really sad. When you grow up in a good home with parents that were praying for a girl (or so I'm told), it's hard to imagine that there are people out there who are cruel enough and blind enough to abort the soul inside them just because of the gender. It's mind-blowing. In a bad way.

Anyway - it's an interesting article, though I don't think it takes a careful read of the whole thing to get the jist of what's being said.

As I sit here...

2011-06-22T17:41:00.002-05:00

...desperately trying to procrastinate history. I'm sick of it. And I haven't even done most of it yet.

I just glanced at a few old blog posts. Recommendation: Don't go look at them! I was a horrible writer back then. Very, very heavily influenced by 1950's fantasy literature, which isn't a bad thing, but it's a bad mix for a barely-teenager that's not a good writer yet.

I used words like 'quite' and 'rather.'

Words which should be broken, banned, pieces left to scatter to the wind, then picked back up again and put back together.

Queed and Rother!

I queed like that. I rother think you're wrong.

I think I'm onto something with this. I really do. Who's with me?!

In other...stuff.... for those of you who read my blog that don't talk to me every day, I'm now a college student, still a writer, not as diligent a reader as I'd like, and still knitting. I love my dog. I've acquired (HA! Fun word that reminds me unpleasantly of 'quite' and 'rather...' )a little sister since I posted here last. I always thought having a little sister would be misery, but I was wrong! It probably helps that we didn't meet until past our ferocious stages of being little and/or thirteen-year-olds.

But still. ;)

...Huh!

2011-04-22T10:32:00.002-05:00

So, I just realized as I was commenting on Mythopoeia's blog that the story I'm working on right now sometimes reminds me of Charles Dickens. Not so much in the style (although I have written about this character before in Dickens style as assignment in writing class) as in his story.

I'm really mean to him.

Sorry Peter. BUT!

Unlike many of Dickens' books. Stories, novels. Potato tomato potato tomato. Peter gets a happy ending somewhere down the road. (Books ought to have good endings - J.R.R. Tolkien.)

And the other day, (I was spacing out, so I didn't catch all of this, unfortunately) I was told by my nearly-six-year-old nephew that stories always have happy endings.

So there you go.

Used to Want to be a Cowboy by John Bird

2011-02-01T12:22:00.002-06:00

First of all, you should know that I know John personally. Isn't that cool? I know someone that wrote a book that's for sale on amazon! (Two people, actually, because my brother wrote a book too!)

Second of all, you should know that back when I was...ten, I think, John and Amanda (his awesome wife) came to our church, and we all got to be really good friends, them and me and Mom and Dad. They're really great, and we miss them.

Third of all - I was thrilled to get read John's book, because (well, it's John!) it's about bull riding and cowboy-ing. I've never done much of that sort of thing myself (obviously not the bull riding...at all....), and I don't read literature on it very often, but I had a lot of fun reading John's book. My Dad used to be a bull rider, and it was great to get a glimpse of what that world is like. And it was great to get to know John better! He got me to laugh.

So, if you're interested in what it's like to be a bull rider and work on a ranch, you should go check it out. You can do so by clicking here.

You can also check out John's blog by clicking here.

I don't think I'm going to try to mess with doing a book of the month this year (since I only post reads a few times a year, now...) but if I were going to, I would have featured John's book.
Thanks for reading! :D
Anna

First Reads Post in FOREVER.

2011-02-01T12:12:00.003-06:00

Okay! So I haven't posted a Reads post since last summer.

That's messed up.

I should stop not doing things like that. But I don't have a ton of readers on this blog, so I don't feel very.....obligated to post. I don't think I've *ever* had a blog with lots of readers. It's just something I do occasionally, for fun. Or when I'm doing a new 'evil' blog project with my friend H....mwhahaha!

Yeah, ahem, anyway. ;)

I'm not going to go through all the rest of my reads from last year, because frankly, there weren't very many. But there were a few that definitely deserve a mention!

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The final book to the Hunger Games Trilogy! Of course I loved it. I was very animated whilst reading it, too. I screamed at it, I hit myself in the head with it, and I got all teary-eyed near the end. Don't read this one unless you've read the first two books, though. And you haven't read the first two books, then - you've missed out on one of the few good books for teens out there. It's so well done. It's ridiculous. It's not fair. I want to be a good writer! But the best way to become one is to write and read good writers - so, whether you're a writer or not, this is a great story.

2. Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
This is the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle! Of course it's not as good as Howl's Moving Castle. For a long time, I was actually a bit bored....but I kept interested, because there's a magic carpet, and I like magic carpets. Me and North like magic carpets. North gets a magic carpet! You don't know North. Huh. Too bad!
Anyway, it got more interesting when a black cat showed up, and then even more interesting when it turned out that Howl was there the whole time.....

3. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
This isn't the only Shakespeare I read last year, but it was definitely one of my favorites. By far my favorite comedy - maybe because it had such a great movie? Kenneth Branaugh (or however you spell his last name - he was Gilderoy Lockhart in the second HP movie!) and Emma Thompson! I think that's her name! But it was *great!*

4. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
It's no Howl's Moving Castle - but I'll be returning for the sequels. And the kid has nine lives! And there's a character named Tacroy. I had to like it. Tacroy is a great name. If I ever have a male cat living with me again, I might have to name it Tacroy. I might even name a dog or a fish that!

5. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Okay. This was amazing. It was breathtaking. (That's a really cliche word, isn't it? Huh.) I thought it was brilliant, though. I was in a Shakespeare class last fall, and I (not having read the play) volunteered to read Ophelia. That was a mistake on my part. I hate performing. Why did I think it would be any better to just use my voice? I don't know. And I didn't do Ophelia justice at all. And I didn't like her nearly as much as I thought I would....I was drawn in by her character sketch. It mentioned mad speeches about flowers, and that sounded fun to do, but I got the idea that she was a fun person when I read that, not a depressing one....
Hamlet, however, was a *great* character, and my favorite in the play besides Horatio. And I *loved* watching David Tennant's version. I tried to watch Kenneth Braunaugh (however you spell his last name) and I got extremely bored and didn't finish....

Okay. That's all for *this* post. I'm going to do one more because the book I'm going to talk about deserves it's own post, all by itself. Cause it's special.

The Tigger Hat

2010-12-04T20:29:00.002-06:00

I've recently started to knit, and this is the first project 'I' finished. (I actually only did the hat part - my friend H. did the ears and ties. ;) )

I took this one day when I did not want to be seen. In case you can't tell.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2010-11-19T12:00:00.003-06:00

1. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. I got there around eight with friends and waited four hours. Thankfully, we did not have to wait outside, because if we had, it would have been VERY COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I didn't dress as warmly as I thought. So that's a good thing.

3. I didn't get to eat my candy....because I was afraid the whole theater would glare at me if I tried to open it and made that irritating crackle noise. Oh well. I can eat it today. :D

4. This movie followed the book closer than any of them, except maybe the first three, and especially Prisoner of Azkaban/Sorcerer's Stone. It was epic!

5. It was also really dark, morbid, and depressing. I mean, it was Harry Potter, so it was in an awesome way, but it's the saddest book in the series up till the end, and it's been a while since I read the book, so everything was really poignant. (Think about: Ron leaving, Hermione being tortured, Harry and Hermione visiting Harry's grave, Bathilda Bagshot....) All of it. Amazing. They really outdid themselves with acting this time....

6. I was up till around 4. It took about twenty minutes to get out of the theater parking lot, and then probably around fifteen minutes to take my friend home, and then I went to my brother's house, grabbed my stuff out of the car, fumbled for a key. It's 12 PM now. I woke up a few times this morning and went back to sleep, but I think I got roughly around seven hours. My body clock is so messed up, now....even more so than usual.

7. I wore an awesome t-shirt that Jordan made me, and also my Tigger hat, which I/Hayley made for me.

8. I'm going to try to get up and stop feeling pathetic and exhausted and almost-sick ish, because there is a write-in here in a few hours, and I really need to do school and get to Barnes and Noble, pick up three friends.....

9. Oh, afterthought: I quit NaNoWriMo this year. A week or two ago, actually. I didn't much like my story, and I had another character kicking me in the ear to come back and work on his. And there's really not much I can do when they get that insistent. So I obliged, tossed NaNoWriMo aside like a shoe with a scorpion on it (I found a scorpion on one of my shoes yesterday and I'm still very unhappy about it. I just saw it - I wasn't putting it on or anything, and then I got someone else to kill it. I hope there's not more.) ...tossed NaNoWriMo aside like a shoe with a scorpion on it, and I'm trying to work on other writing projects that I really want finished before Christmas. I'm not sure how to write after watching Harry Potter. Because when you try, Harry Potter sticks its tongue out at you and waves because it knows - knows - that you cannot write anything like it. Man, Stories. They get a big head when they get older, don't they?

10. Okay. Now I"m done. And hungry...and excited about wearing my t-shirt and Tigger hat *again* today. :)

Melts Oh, come on. Just start it......it'll warm your heart......

2010-11-05T00:21:00.000-05:00

Well, why wouldn't you say it?

2010-11-05T00:11:00.001-05:00

This movie is just as epic as the music makes it look. No, it's not corny. Don't even try to go there with me.

2010-11-05T00:05:00.002-05:00

Okay, so...

2010-11-01T20:55:00.001-05:00

sometimes I'm shocked at how weird people are. I mean, really. And then I feel stupid for not realizing how weird people are, and that's a bad thing because I'm a writer and I'm supposed to figure that stuff out.

There is no such thing as a real-life stereotype.

And the archetypes will rebel. I'm just pretty sure of it.

NaNoWriMo Title, Genre, Summary 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-29T21:39:00.002-05:00

Genre: Science Fiction

Title: From Up There

Summary:
Somewhere in the future, perhaps not too distant, the Earth is dark and cold. But still kicking.
A foreign shape like a saucer appears in the sky. It crashes, and the Earth holds its choked, infected lungs for a moment, and the whole world is silent, listening, but hearing nothing.
And in those hundred and eighty seconds of still silence, someone dies, someone goes crazy, someone’s heart breaks and half-mends.
If you, there, are wanting to know the person who died, the person who went crazy, the person who’s heart broke and then half-mended, and all the people that came after....well, you’ve got the right story in your grasp.

Course it's all rubbish because I coughed it all out in fifteen or so, but that'll give you a general idea. Opinions and thoughts welcome!
Anna

Dom and Gillian Kallon

2010-10-10T21:20:00.003-05:00

Dom and Gillian Kallon are uber cool.

Why?

Because they have a portal to an alternate reality in their bedroom. They're twins - bro and sis. They argue a lot. They complain. The share their favorite songs and youtube videos. They like Doctor Who and Psych. Dom aspires to be a ninja and Gill has a Hermione gene.

Check out the fictional blog that my friend Hayley and I are writing at domandgillian.blogspot.com.

Subsribe, post the link everywhere you can think of, get us readers! Review us! Recommend us! Or if you don't like us, tell the world. We want publicity. We want people to read about Dom and Gillian's escapades. Check them out - if you like nerdy things and alternate realities and great taste in music, you'll really like them.

Anna

Today I...

2010-10-04T14:34:00.002-05:00

...wrote a sort of 'I'm going to write a novel' pledge thing.

Not that I wasn't already going to write a novel. 'Finish' is really more accurate. I'm already writing a novel. Or several. Ahem. Anyway.

I'm going to write, finish, and publish a novel.

And there is absolutely nothing that any inhabitant of this Earth can do or say to stop me.

I guess I'm posting this because writing it (at the command of the talented writers of 'Writing Fiction for Dummies') felt important-ish. So I wrote it, taped it the mirror in my bathroom (again at the command of said-talented writers) and...I guess that's it.

Bye!

Horror Stories

2010-09-29T11:14:00.003-05:00

I think I just figured out something about Horror Stories.

Why are they so scary?

It's because....in the best ones, the ones that really scare you...the bad guy wins. There is no hope of winning. They are stronger than you, and their goal in life is to terrorize you. To horrify you.

Maybe that's why I'm not good at writing bad guys. It's hard for me to trick myself into making it look like the bad guys are going to win. To pretend that they are. And that's why the 'horror' story I'm writing right now isn't going to be horrifying...creepy, I hope. But I think I'm okay with creepy.

I worked through this whole concept just now when I was thinking about The Slender Man. It's a worthy creepy (horrifying) story that you should google. But I was trying to figure out in my brain how to defeat him (even though he's not real) and I realized - that's why he's so scary. He's never been caught. He's been around for hundreds of years and he's never been caught - and the whole idea is that he never will be. He's just there. Waiting.

....
BOO!

(Hey, it worked on me last night. My friend poked me in the shoulder and I screamed bloody murder. Classic. Everyone else laughed at me.)

Embedding experiment and...

2010-09-29T11:12:00.002-05:00

and!

I think it's interesting how writing, like everything else that takes effort, is hard to get started on. Yesterday I had such a hard time getting started, and then I flew through it all afternoon until I ran out of time to work on it. Now...*sigh* I'm back where I started. XD

Also, I'm listening to the Signs Soundtrack. I've been having trouble with embedding, so I'm going to try doing it here, and it it doesn't work, I'm too lazy to fix it today.

I have nothing clever to put as the title for this blog post, so there you go.

2010-09-26T16:03:00.002-05:00

I'm starting school tomorrow, and I'm excited. :)

This year is going to be fun! I get to do things that I will actually enjoy doing, along with the less exciting stuff, like SAT Math and Biology. Both of those are okay in moderation, they're just not fun. There will be an abundance of reading and writing and Spanish this year, and I'm pumped for those!

Happy start of term for me!!!
(I had to say 'term' because it sounds Potter-ish.)

.....

2010-09-22T22:27:00.001-05:00

I'm starting to gain a reputation of being odd, weird, strange, unique around my house.

Just because I do some of the things Bob Dylan does... ;)

Desultory Enigmas Promo

2010-09-15T15:19:00.002-05:00

Desultory Enigmas is the 'short' story serial I've been working on a little bit this summer, and will hopefully be continuing work on this fall. I wrote a promo for it today. :)

PROMO FOR DESULTORY ENIGMAS, SEASON ONE:

They were fresh out of the Labyrinth, a prison riddled with mystery, friends, enemies, and death. They were tired, they were hungry, they were desperate.

Quidderick Squidders and Peter Thomas are just your ordinary young men framed for murder, until they stumble into Desultory Enigmas, a mysterious freelance organization dedicated to investigating the riddles of the world. (Yeah, then they become even more ordinary.)

Though warned that they had better have nothing to lose, Quid and Peter are soon sucked into a world of savage enigmas and strange people, many of them blessed - or cursed - with gifts that make them different and dangerous. And the further they go, the more they realize that their own lives are intertwined with the hundreds of unexplained events happening on the dark side of the planet.

[ Hope you like cheese! Because some of this sounds really cheesy now that I'm looking at it.....]

..........

2010-08-28T19:28:00.003-05:00

I just felt like posting something.

YOU'RE WELCOME, WOOOORRLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome people I would like to meet off the top of my head:

Earnest P. Whorl
Luna Lovegood
Gabil the White Bat
Shawn Spencer
Quid Squidders
Esmeralda
[The entire cast of characters in Fringe: Olivia, Peter, Walter, Astrid. The Observer. :) ]

School

2010-08-27T14:24:00.002-05:00

I'm still on vacation, for the most part.

When I got off, I didn't even want to think about school. I was beginning to feel really smothered. I felt unproductive.

I'm still not ready to start, but I'm ready to think about it. So....maybe in another three-ish weeks I'll be there. :)

Country Music

2010-08-07T12:46:00.002-05:00

All the girls sing about boys, and all the boys sing about tractors.

Over half of them sing with fake accents through their noses.

Frogs, Nazis, Birds, Cats

2010-08-06T00:30:00.003-05:00

I staying in a room with a cat and a bird. The frogs outside are jumping on the window to get in. *deep breaths*

Freaky?

Just a bit yeah. Mostly because the Cat has scary good night vision and keeps chasing this irritating fly around like it's a butterfly - and the only light is coming from my laptop! He also keeps jumping off the bed and then jumping back on, really viciously, like he's going to attack me. I might regret not leaving the door open. Oh, and then the Beagle is howling away outside like the world is going to end.

I saw Sorcerer's Apprentice today. Great movie! Loved it! Gave it five stars on Netflix.

Now the cat is eating. I can hear his teeth as he cracks that dry, tasteless cat food....

Divers Things

2010-07-30T11:38:00.003-05:00

1. Three points to me for using the word 'divers.'

2. Upcoming (we'll see) blog posts:
- Art work of Doctor Eleven, Doctor Ten, Short Story Poster, Memory Thief sketches (explanations with pictures)
-A post about Book in a Week
- List of favorite/least favorite Doctor Who Series Five Episodes
- Book/Movie Reviews

4. I am now the proud owner of a filly named Billie Belle, Billie for short. Hopefully I'll do a post on her soon, maybe even with pictures!

5. I went to see Inception. Oh. My gosh. Brilliant. Why are other people's minds so brilliant? It was so brilliant.

6. Considering doing a review of each Psych Episode this Season. :D

7. My birthday is coming up...seventeen. Wow. That's weird. I'm half and half. Peter Pan Syndrome all the way...but then again, there are so many advantages about being older. Oh well. Age is really only a number. Who cares if I'm seventeen? I like what C.S. Lewis said about parts of him being fifty when he was twelve and parts of him still being twelve when he was fifty. I'm like that.

8. Enjoying White Collar this season

9. I have got nothing exciting to say about myself now that I've told everyone that I have a horse. Okay. I'm done blogging, for now. :)

WHAT'S UP?! I love this. I cannot WAIT for this.

2010-07-16T13:04:00.001-05:00

Brandon Flowers Solo Album!

2010-07-12T21:41:00.003-05:00

Okay, so today, while listening/watching music vids by Michael Buble, I saw a scruffy looking man out of the corner of my eye, and I guess he looked a bit familiar, because I looked again, and it was Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers!

He went solo this year, although it has been confirmed that The Killers have not broken up. A few days ago, Brandon Flowers' new music for his video was released. I already have it on my iPod. Big fan of Brandon Flower's music and writing - can't wait for the actual album, which comes out on September 14.

The music video is weird - as all Killers music videos are - but I like the song. I don't always especially like all of the lyrics, but I always love the sound. Here's the video, if anyone is interested in the song.

Cornelia Funke also comes out with a new book on September 14. ( I think it's all on the same date, anyway.)

AND the Second Season of Fringe comes out on September 14! Of course it all comes out after my birthday.... ;)

Even Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins comes out after my birthday. Exactly one day after, on August 24th. That's all okay though - I'll probably still end up with all three things. (One of my) favorite musicians, authors, tv shows, and authors/books. :)

The Hottest Chili Pepper in the World!

2010-07-12T21:38:00.001-05:00

Okay, I found this link on 22 words, and I was laughing out loud as I watched it. Some of it may be put on, but kudos to this kid. If I took a bite of the hottest chili pepper in the world and my reaction was real, I wouldn't want my very honest agony posted all over the internet to be observed. Check it out - it is definitely worth your time.

Star Wars is awesome, even in parody. Especially when American Pie is involved...

2010-06-27T18:48:00.001-05:00

I figured out something

2010-06-21T23:42:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure exactly what brought this on - probably a number of things. Most of my brilliant thoughts or ideas are a collaboration of previous thoughts and ideas I've either already had or that have been put to me by something else.

I figured out the two most important questions you can ask about a character.

1. What makes him different than everybody else?
and
2. What makes him the same?

They might seem like really simple questions on first examination, but look again. An almost endless amount of possibilities reside in those questions. Because there are a million different answers for every character. You just have to answer them. Also, I just watched Gattaca. Movie of the Month next month. I'm loving the soundtrack, too.....

Doctor Who Spoilers/ Rant

2010-06-19T21:08:00.000-05:00

RORY DIED! Okay, not SO SO awful, since he's coming back in the Pandorica Opens. BUT I knew this was going to happen. What I didn't know was how wonderfully acted it was going to be, how heart-wrenching, and then AMY FORGOT HIM!

And then the Doctor pulled a thumping piece of the Tardis out of the crack in time! AAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Movie Cuts

2010-06-14T12:34:00.002-05:00

Goood Moooooovies!

Okay, the three I picked are sort of obscure, but very good.

1. The Fall

Really sweet, original indie film about the friendship between two patients at a hospital. Imaginative, magnificent.

2. What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Obscure Johnny Depp/Leonardo DiCaprio movie. Wonderful drama, not at all generic. Superb acting, kooky characters, fun soundtrack (if you get temporary obsessed with the movie as I did.) I think I like this movie so much because the characters are incredibly real. They're not archetypes, they're not stereotypical, they're just really believable. Everything makes sense. I. Love. It.

3. Moon

Okay, last one! This was great. Sam Rockwell did an outstanding performance. The language is rough and there's some really brief nudity at the beginning, but the rest of the movie is brilliant. Just watch the trailer, you'll be very curious if you like science fiction or space at all.

Reads. Every three months is becoming a bad habit.....there might be four read posts this year. O.o

2010-06-14T11:52:00.004-05:00

March:

1. Star Trek Academy by William Shatner

I really did enjoy this a lot. It made me laugh, it was interesting, and it was a fun couple of weeks. (Lazy reader this year.) I found out that Shatner is not planning a sequel, because this one did not do well. That's disappointing. I'll be returning for more, though - he's written other Star Trek novels about Kirk. I strongly recommend it for Trekkies.

April:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

These are books that I think I'm going to end up re-reading through every two years. Last year I read the last four, because I had read the first three the year before that. I love J.K. Rowling. Wish she would give me some of that writing talent...

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
I, of course, read the second one after wards. I actually really like the second one, and I collected fun quotes from each of the books this time, but I won't post them just now. Lockhart is funny.

3. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

My first full introduction to Shakespeare's pure genius! I loved it. I took lots of notes, collected quotes, and thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to his works. I read the whole thing in a single day - I was traveling all day via plane with my brother, so when I wasn't talking to him or rushing through a random airport somewhere, I was reading. I also discovered where the whole 'greatness' speech came from.

...Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
- William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

:D It was fun to find that. I used a 'Shakespeare Made Easy' copy, so it was fun to see how everything translated (partly because some of it is funnier in modern English, some of it was just jibberish to me.)

May:

1. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

I enjoyed this. Such a fresh, new take on fantasy. Very dark, but it was refreshing. but it had such an excellent ending! I was drawn into the characters - Richard and Door immediately, the marchis de Carabis more slowly. I really did not like Hunter at all. I did like Anaethesia - or however you spell her name - and I was sorry that she never appeared again. I was misled on something by the summary on the back cover, but since it did not happen the way I thought it would, it combined with another idea to form a short story idea, so I'm quite happy about that. :)

2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I started this expecting it to be fairly good. I was wrong. It was thumping brilliant. I loved it. The style is extremely unique - written in first person present, and occasionally dropping into first person past when the main character, Katniss, was remembering something. The psychology of this character is excellent, the imagination of the author better. It's a jewel in the world of mediocre teen novels. It's romance, adventure, post -apocolypse and science fiction all rolled into one with brilliantly developed characters. I. Loved. It.

3. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The sequel to the Hunger Games might have been better than the first - I was already attached to the characters, and I am know furiously voting for Peeta. Katniss had better not disappoint me. All of the characters are done so well...Finnick makes me laugh. More brilliance.

4. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

I loved this one! I liked it a lot better than Twelfth Night, possibly because I was able to watch an extremely well done movie adaption starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. It has some fast-forward scenes in it and a bit of irritating crude humor, but all the acting was superb. The soundtrack made the movie - it was brilliant. Oh, and weird thing: Michael from Lost was Mercutio! He was great. A very far cry from Michael. The guy is a great actor.

For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

5. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

Reread this in preparation for the movie. I forgot how much I hated Jacob at the end. Jerk. He was so much better in New Moon. Bella really made me mad too, though. Half of it was her fault.

June:
1. A Praying Life by Paul Miller

I reread this book again - this has got to be the best book I have ever read concerning the spiritual Christian life or theology. I love it. Such a big help. I think I'll be returning to it another two or three times this year. Every page has got gold on it.

2. Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis

The first Dekker book I've read this year - wonderful. Emotionally moving, and extremely thought provoking. Anyone interested in the Middle East, The Good Samaritan, modern parables and Jesus' greatest commandment should think about reading this. It's a challenging book. Wonderful.

3. Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

I reread Perelandra for the second time picked up on a ton of things that I missed the last time around - the psychology/thought process of Ransom is phenomenal, as is the logic that Lewis uses in which to build his fantasy world of planets, which include eldila and Oyarsa. It is very difficult to keep straight that it's fiction - the way he explains all of it makes so much sense. The book is an excellent science fiction/fantasy story with great theology elements. Now I've got That Hideous Strength to look forward to reading...for the first time. Never read it. :)

4. Star Trek 4 by James Blish

This was pleasant and fun. It made me eager to go watch some of the episodes that I have not seen in a while - specifically The Enterprise Incident and Devil in the Dark, both of which were novelized in this one.

That's all, for now - I'm still working on other books, and will hopefully post reads more frequently now. I'm reading The Making of Star Trek right now. Can't remember the author's name. Stephen Whitfield maybe?

Anywho.

Cuts for recommended books of the month are:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (and the sequel)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis

O.o

2010-06-11T12:15:00.003-05:00

Well, I had never heard the original before I saw this. I knew some of it would be funny.

But some of it is a little bit....haunting, in a really weird way. Anywho. Saw it via 22 words.

Deadline.....horror.

2010-06-07T22:58:00.002-05:00

June 25th draws near. AAAAAAH!!!!!

I've given myself a very strict writing schedule for the summer. I must edit and rewrite (and finish) the entire Great Elation book by June 25th, and then get the formatting properly done and all that so that I can send it in for my free printed copy.

But I don't want to fall anymore behind on my short story project. And just think! To be finished with The Great Elation! At least for awhile. Someday I'm sure I'll go back to it and edit and rewrite again, someday. But to finish it....

I also have to finish a very long short story this week (The Phantasm Battery) and write a whole other short story.

And again next week with yet another short story.
And again the week after that.
And again the week after that.
It's a year-long thing. Every year, I hope. My cousin's ideas and me stealing Ray Bradbury's technique combined.

I must finish Bumping Midnight this year. This summer? I don't know.

Book in a Week in August. *quakes*

I don't know how much of this I've already posted. Pfft, no I'm not scatterbrained....

Oh, darn. so behind in reading too.

The Saturday of A.E. Hedges

2010-06-05T18:17:00.002-05:00

1. I gave my dog a haircut today. Poor thing....

2. Spent most of the afternoon writing - I was forced to split my short story in two. It was reaching the short story limit, twenty-thousand words. I was kind of planning on splitting in two anyway, so I went ahead and did it. I expect I'll cut out quite a bit in the editing/rewriting stage (whenever that is) but it also gave me a sense of accomplishment to be able to say, "I finished the first half of my story today!"

3. I do have an excuse for this short story being so long. It is the first in a series of short stories I've decided to write, *almost* in the tradition of a TV series. This is the pilot, and the pilots are usually two to three hours long; double the length of time for a normal TV episode. Thus, this first one is doubly long.

4. I have some really good ideas for this short story project, but I'm not really ready to share them at de momento. Someday.

5. I ate lots of whoppers. It is HARD to quit those things once you start. I can quit chips. Weird thing: chips and popcorn, not my faves. But whoppers? Heck yes.

6. I started the second part of my story (titled The Phantasm Battery) but have quit for the day, even though I'm still horribly behind on it. Editing and rewriting of my Great Elation novel beckon me. I'm running out of time, and I need to get caught up on some of that tonight. I have until about June 25 or so to edit and rewrite it and have it ready to be made into a free bound copy on Create Space. I have a coupon from NaNoWriMo for it, so I have to work on that!

7. Plus, Doctor Who will be starting in the next few hours. Mustn't miss that. I wonder what the Eleventh Doctor'll say tonight? He's had some ger-reat lines this season, I'm telling ya. ("Tardis bang bang, Daleks BOOM!")

8. Reading also beckon me. Behind already. I needed to finish a book, start and finish another, catch up on Les Mes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

9. Darn Coldplay, gave me an idea for a painting I'm itching to do. Well, I've been fairly productive, come up with ideas for further short stories, and I'm getting to the point where I think I can actually make a routine of writing. :)

10. Have I ever mentioned that list-making is so addicting that I just want to keep doing it?

Meh....

2010-05-31T18:35:00.002-05:00

I wish that everyone WOULD have to pay for Facebook as of August 15, 2010 so that this horribly addictive time waster/brain melter device would be obliterated, and I would have a good excuse to get rid of mine.

I'm contemplating not getting on facebook AT ALL for the entire summer. It's not as drastic as deleting my account, and people will still be able to get in touch with me through e-mail, if they have to.

I'd probably save myself an entire day - or two - of time if I decide to do it.

Mmm...

2010-05-28T12:12:00.002-05:00

1. I lost some clever lines last night when the internet failed to work and the computer failed to save what I had copied when I restarted it. I can't remember them, only that they were really good. Jack Sparrow epic-ness.

2. Reading/watching Romeo and Juliet. The DiCaprio version...I've seen the other one so many times. I like it. The soundtrack is a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

3. Painted outside with Dad all morning. It was fun, in a hot, sweaty kind of way.

LOST

2010-05-24T12:39:00.003-05:00

1. I liked the Series Finale. A lot. No, that's not how I would have done it, but I like it. It's alright with me.

2. Except for one thing.

3. BEN DIDN'T GO INTO THE CHURCH!!!!! He should have. I'm not happy about that.

4. I have a great idea for a Ben t-shirt....now in the makings. I'll either design it on cafe press or buy a t-shirt and do it myself. It will be epic Benry.

5. Desmond could really be a great Doctor Twelve.... I agree with Mythopoeia on this. :)

6. Plans for a gigantic MUSE art project. It's actually prolly gonna be a painting. *Gasp* I haven't painted in forever. Not a good one, anyway.

7. Plans for a Sherlock Holmes art project. Not painting. Either pencil or ink or both. *gasp* on coffee stained paper. We'll see about that one....

8. Must stop blogging now.

9. Oh. NEW BOOKS! So much to do! This is why I must stop blogging now.

10. :)

Never a day without a line of writing

2010-05-19T20:25:00.002-05:00

I read this advice long ago in the same writing books for kids that inspired in me the passion for a good writer's notebook.

I wrote too lines today, and they go together in the same story. They were:

Har har. Too bad.

Brilliant. I could rival Shakespeare.

..........

Not really.

I found out that Doctor Who fanatics have a name. Whovians! I love it. I am a Trekkie as well. I wonder what Star Wars fanatics are called? If anyone knows, I'd love to know. Star Warriors? Haha, idk.

And now, I'm off for a shower. The best part of my day is the one or two times when my hair is sopping wet and partially tangled. I dislike my hair being dry. After that, a big, lovely snack and Lost with Dad. Wonder what happens this week...? ???? Something amazing, I hope.

I'm loving Season 5 of Doctor Who, but I'm only watching them as fast as BBCA puts them out - once a week. I'm only caught up to Flesh and Stone; if anyone has links, that'd be awesome. :)

Psych art project. Super secret. O.o

Has a Doctor Who bug at present - I need to get a holt of some books and work on drawing Doctor Eleven. I'd draw Doctor Ten, but my friend has already done two brilliant ones which I LOVE. Can't wait to see her second one completed!

Must look into photo shop.

Must consider Prismacolor art markers as b-day present.

Terrified about the idea of a SAT test.

Must stop blogging now. All this useless information. It's almost as bad as facebook....

Anna

A Story Sort of Day

2010-05-14T19:46:00.004-05:00

Mmm...today it was wonderfully rainy outside.

It was a good day (unproductive as far as school went, but....after next week, things should slow down. Or I'll stop doing things to make it slow down.)

I was just thinking today in the car that when clouds settle over the world, stories do too. Who hasn't felt more creative on a cloudy day? Reading a good book, watching a good movie, burying yourself in an art project, writing a story - stories settle over the world on days like this and mix in the air. Thunder = the voices: laughter, screaming, talking, crying. Lightning = moments of heightened emotion or drama: love, hate, happiness, joy, sadness, death, life. Rain = the magic that ties it all together. It's the latin spells from Harry Potter, the elvish words of The Lord of the Rings, the music from Narnia, the sound of the Tardis, the stars in Star Trek and/or Star Wars, the wonder in every Steven Spielberg movie you've ever seen. It's the kiss in the romantic comedy. (Happens in the rain all the time). The mist is the mystery, the conflict, the villain, the hidden treasure, the alien, the adventure. You've got everything you need to be creative on a rainy day.

Romance, compassion, drama, adventure, fantasy, science fiction, action, comedy, plays, poems, novels, reality, short stories - it's all there. Just go find it. :)

A plea for the lurkers...if I have any.

2010-05-11T20:06:00.002-05:00

I wrote this post a long time ago, and only one person commented. This makes me think that all of my lurkers are cowards (haha, just kidding) or that I only have one reader that checks regularly.

Here's the old post (edited) - I'm asking again. If you're a blog lurker, just comment already, leave an anonymous comment if you want your identity to remain secret. (I won't publish most anonymous comments, but I will this time if you actually post something about short stories. ) Thanks! But my gratitude will be in vain if you don't comment. So make it worth while.

I want to get into short stories this year - as in, I want to read them and I want to write them.

Here's what I'm interested in:

Short stories that use the same characters over and over (like Sherlock Holmes)
Anything fantasy or sci-fi
Adventure/archeology type stuff
Any collection of short stories/vignettes/entries that are continuous and in the same book (parts of The Prestige are written in diary form)

But I'm also open to other things. Very open. Especially that stuff, but I want to read all kinds of short stories.

So if you are a lurker that rarely comments, now is the time to be heard! What are some of your favorite short stories or favorite writers of short stories? I like long comments. So leave long lists.

Anna

PS (me again, not the old post) I have actually started what I am going to call my first short story. I'm proud of it. It hasn't got a title yet, though.

Crazy

2010-05-08T19:37:00.002-05:00

Crazy things *do* work. And even on the days they don't, it's something that something crazy was tried.

:) :D ;) ;D

2010-04-30T15:59:00.005-05:00

Well, I feel like making a quick, happy list, even though school awaits me and I haven't got very long to do it.

1. I need to do school.

2. Tonight I am going to attempt to make my friend Beth's birthday present - I think it's safe to say it on this blog because I don't think she knows it exists....but just in case, you'll have to highlight the next bit of black space to see what I'm doing - I bought some red journals yesterday and I'm going to try to draw on Dustfinger, Gwin, and fire. If Dustfinger fails, then I'll suffice with just Gwin, with his little horns, and fire, and perhaps a few other things to make the cover look filled. Maybe even the green lizard, or the spider from the cover...but either way it's going to be a homemade Inkheart Journal. I may have to make myself one at some point, because the journal package I got has three, all red. Anywho, I'm excited about trying, and it gives me an excuse to think about the book, and I'm seriously considering rereading it.....

3. My, that last one was long

4. A new writing project has been thrust upon me, when that requires diligence on the same project for two weeks, and as soon as that two weeks is up, on to the next. Details later, probably, but as it involves short stories and characters from my Bumping Midnight books, I have decided to create a time line on brown paper. Some people can't stand doing stuff like that - outlining - but I love it, and as hard and confusing it's going to be to make one, I'm very excited. It will be a gigantic time line. Maybe I'll post a picture.

5. I want to keep writing things and posting them, but I've got to stop if I have any hope of getting some school done in time to make dinner and then have time to work on the Dustfinger journal, a friendship bracelet in Dustfinger colors to go with it, work on the timeline, clean my room, fix something on my Script Frenzy, talk to my friend Naomi, work on some papers for my writing class, finish watching The Wrath of Kahn for the third or fourth time, AND watch some Fringe.

6. I have more to do than I thought. So I better get started. Posts, updates, books/movies o/ the month soon!

My Weekend Summed up Thus Far:

2010-04-11T17:38:00.002-05:00

Lots of sleeping and lots of Star Warzing. What is Star Warzing? Star Warzing is like bejeweling - instead of bejewling a bag or a jacket, for instance, you Star Warz it. I have been Star Warzing my trusty purple bag, my bag that goes with me on most trips beyond the grocery store and Wal Mart. (Library, class, meeting, overnight, plane trip, etc....)

Thus far I have put Darth Vadar, Han Solo, an Ewok, R2D2, a stormtrooper, the millenium falcon, three TIE fighters and the Star Wars logo on it. My next challenges are:

Princess Leia
Anakin Skywalker
The Death Star
Chewbacca
Obi Wan Kenobi

and perhaps, if I have room, further quotes (I've already got A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... on there), C-3PO, Padma Amidala and Luke Skywalker. The problem with all of these challenges - especially the people - is my drawing skills. Han Solo is a lucky exception because of an outstanding photograph that can be reduced perfectly to pure black and white with no in-betweens. The biggest challenge thus far is either a toss-up between Han Solo and the stormtrooper. Those are about to be wiped off the board when I attempt Anakin Skywalker and Princess Leia. I think Chewie will be easier. Obi Wan is going to be difficult. Blah. But I'm so excited that the bag is coming together so well! Now to make a wonderful evening of fried chicken, reading, a movie, further Star Warzing, and possibly getting out and/or hanging out with Autumn. I hope. ;)
Anna

And wouldn't you know...

2010-04-06T01:03:00.001-05:00

that I went and watched bits and pieces of A Very Potter Musical instead?!

I'm liking these random posts that are just lists of random things.

2010-04-05T22:11:00.002-05:00

1) Rewatched the Primeval episode with the raptors in the shopping mall. I love the part when Connor asks Abby for the gun.

2) Strawberries and whipped cream? Oh my gosh. New favorite snack.

3) Enjoyed Castle tonight - I love it when there's a line that makes me and Dad both laugh out loud.

4) Finished rereading a book today, can't wait to start another one

5) Behind on Script Frenzy

6) A bit behind on most things writing related, actually...I'm on a normal schedule for my writing assignments though. I always wait till last minute.

7) Behind in Les Miserables, but loving it anyways

8) Thinking I need to go get my violin out and play with it here in a few minutes....

Ah!

2010-04-03T00:19:00.003-05:00

I don't want Nick Cutter to be dead, and I don't want to wait a year to see how Connor, Abby and Danny are gonna get out of their fix! They're stuck! Are they gonna die there? STARVE?! GET EATEN! AAH! I need to know now, but I can't, because they've only just started filming! -_-

For the record, Connor Temple is hilarious. He makes me laugh frequently. And I like the fingerless gloves. And his little taped in box at Lester's house, with all of the 'DO NOT' notes. That was nice. :)

Tomorrow....creation/creativity galore.

Hopefully...but no promises....lots of reading, as I'm behind on a lot, lots of writing, about to be behind on a lot....Script Frenzy, you know, plus the FIVED projects, plus The Great Elation really needs to be finished. Plus I miss Bumping Midnight.

Art has been beckoning me for a few weeks now. I need to do my bag (I'm converting my purple bag into a Star Wars extravaganza with Sharpies and Fabric Markers) AND I have bookmarks to do AND I really want to make a Harry Potter Poster.

And I want to make some friendship bracelets.

And draw some posters for my book and it's musical counterpart.

And compose songs for the musical counterpart.

Tomorrow will be fun. :)

AnNa ;P

hehehe: This makes me laugh.

2010-03-29T13:29:00.001-05:00

A Good Book

2010-03-29T12:54:00.002-05:00

Has there ever been a book that you could return to again and again, and just know that it would bring joy and comfort to you, every time? A book that always challenged your imagination, your heart, your emotions, your logic, every time you opened it and read a sentence?
A book that you like to bring with you on trips?

Mine is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Whilst looking for a quote by Tolkien I saw a few from The Fellowship of the Ring, and it reminded of a time when I was troubled about something, but I had to leave home for one night. I had been wanting to read the book, so I took it with me, and it somehow made me feel better to know that I was taking something familiar with me. Sort of like a security book.

After seeing those quotes, I'm suddenly all psyched to read The Two Towers - I read The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring last year. *sigh*....this promises to be excellent. To quote Bilbo: "I think I'm quite ready for another adventure." :)

Anna

A nice list:

2010-03-28T13:49:00.004-05:00

1) My sore throat is gone. Zip. I am very happy. I feel like it's just barely still there...but it doesn't leave me miserable and complaining, so that's good.

2) I'm craving tea. This is weird; I don't very often, but it's the only kind of tea I ever drink, so I need to go to the store and get some today.

3) Slept horribly late. I'm sure I'll pay for it tonight.

4) Hoping this afternoon will be more productive than yesterday - although I did do some writing on The Great Elation.

5) Addicted to Primeval :P

6) I like apples with peanut butter. :D

7) I was in a strange state of mind when I woke up. I'm not sure that I can explain it; but I was barely awake, and it reminds me of the time when I was just barely awake and I thought I was a CD, and I needed to get to the right song before I got up. ;-/ No I didn't make that up.

8) Oh...no sore throat....just sneezing. Maybe coughing later. That'll probably develop next. But who cares? The sore throat is gone! Coughing and sneezing are almost enjoyable! Well, especially sneezing.

9) :D

Today =

2010-03-27T10:52:00.002-05:00

1) Catching up on Theology Reading
2) Catching up on Les Mes Reading
3) Finishing Star Trek Academy book
4) Starting a new book
5) Writing in The Great Elation
6) Outlining Writing Assignments
7) Cleaning Room - sort of
8) Artsy Stuff
9) Primeval and Castle. :)
10) Hmmm............I'm sure they'll be something else. OH Editing. there you are.
11) Oh yeah. Reading Script Frenzy Stuff and preparing.

Will I get all of this done? Probably not. Can I dream? Oh yes I can!

Reads. Yes, I am actually posting my reads. Try not to faint.

2010-03-26T18:18:00.002-05:00

I am finally posting my reads of this year! The count is horribly low. :P But I'm still posting them, and hopefully someone will profit from them in some, small, irrelevant way. Or a great big relevant way. Whatever works.
January:

1. Star Trek 1 by James Blish
I love these. Only a Trekkie would, though - these are novelizations of the original series episodes. They're just fun to read. Plus, you'll get facts you didn't know existed, occasionally, and inconsistencies, which are fun to find. (At one point Spock talks about a moon - but Vulcan doesn't have one. ;) ) I can't remember all the stories included in this book, but they aren't in the order of which they were aired.

2. Star Trek 2 by James Blish
Same goes for what I said up there - another thing about them is that since they aren't chronological, you can skip around and read them in whatever order you want to. :) I got a set of five of these for Christmas, in this cool box. It's very pretty.
3. Star Wars by George Lucas
This was brilliant! George Lucas's novelization of the movie - and it's also different. It has a lot of stuff about Luke that wasn't in the movie, and that was great to read. And I love reading all the technical terms. It's good education for a budding science fiction writer. I'm going to continue on and read the novelizations of The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi - then I might turn around and read the prequel trilogy, too. :)
4. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
Hysterical! I love this book! I've bought the sequel, but I haven't read it yet. I'm letting my friend read it first because I already have a gazillion things to read. I'm not really exaggerating that much. ;) This book was funny, creative, original...but especially funny. And creative. And original. From the Fangs of Dang to Podo the Sockman, the book offered very nice fantasy in Tolkien-esque terms. I think the sequel will be even better. It also had a great ending (I saw it coming - but what can I say. I see stuff coming a lot.) I also collected a few quotes from it. :D
5. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney
A more serious book. I liked this. It was very good, and I enjoyed reading it a lot! It occupied my time every morning for awhile. :)

February: 1. Beyond the Deepwoods by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Okay, this could have been sooo good. It was so creative, and original, and so vivid, but....the writing was lacking. And sometimes, bizarre creatures, when they come one after the other and are just gross in a boring way...well, it gets old. I was ready to be finished with it. I won't be going back for more.
2. Star Trek 3 by James Blish
:)
3. A Praying Life by Paul Miller
Oh my goodness! This book was great! I'm going to read it again. I feel like I need to, to really help me get it. But it was so good. I read it hungrily.
March: 1. Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
I liked this, but it was still a little bit disappointing. I mean, I expected great things after reading The Inkheart Trilogy! This took a long time to read. And....*sigh* I was a bit bored. I'm not cutting the author at all. The Inkheart Trilogy is one of the most brilliant achievements ever. Especially the first two books.
2. The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Did this book deliver? Oh yes it did. But now how I expected. The POV sections of the book for Andrew Weston were lacking for me - I still liked them, and found the whole twin thing intriguing. The part I enjoyed the most was actually Rupert Angier's section - surprise, surprise! Borden has always been my favorite, but I'm liking Angier better for two reasons now: 1) I read his part in the book. I just like him. 2) I like Hugh Jackman better after seeing him in X-men and Australia. So here's my take: the book is very good. But sometimes, a brilliant idea goes astray. The movie brought it to its full potential. And I hate to say that. The books are *always* better. But I guess they aren't - because the movie is better. The plot of the movie is better. The characters in the movie are better. The ending in the movie is better. Therefore, I am going to watch it tonight.

My cuts for Books of the Month are:
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
A Praying Life by Paul Miller
The Prestige by Christopher Priest. (I still really did like reading the book. A lot. Just... the movie is better. But the book pulls its own weight in value. Go ahead and read it. I was very impressed. The movie is better thought. That's all. Yes, I know I have repeated myself several times. It's called dry humor. I think. It might not be, but we'll pretend it is.)

Right now I'm reading Star Trek Academy by William Shatner. I love it! It just might be book of the month next month - or at least get an honorable mention. ;) I'll finish it this weekend for sure. I'm a little bit anxious, though - it was published in 2007. The sequel isn't out yet! Where is it?! Bill Shatner, you need to deliver.

March has been terribly lacking in reading! Blah! Well, I hope to boost that up soon over the next couple of months. But alas, Script Frenzy approaches. As does a ginormous, hopefully brilliant paper from writing class. And also hopefully the finished First Draft of my NaNo book. Don't worry; you will know about it when it is finished. My whole neighborhood might, actually. I might scream. Or attack my Dad with a hug that breaks his ribs...something. ;)

Anna

Yay!

2010-03-26T16:26:00.001-05:00

I just checked up on a very important sequel.

Batman the Third has been confirmed. Christopher Nolan is directing, Jonathan Nolan is already working on a script. WHAT'S UP?!

And it'll be the end. No more sequels after that. The very last, in a perfect trilogy. Probably. If it's anything like the first two, how could it not be perfect?!

I checked on Star Trek, too - it'll be 2012 before it comes out, looks like, but it's in the making, and that is very exciting. :) No script for it yet though....:-/

The Great Elation: Official Playlist

2010-03-22T23:59:00.002-05:00

Official Playlist for The Great Elation (character's name/initial appears after song, so you know who's thinking it - E stands for Ensemble/Everyone)

-Far Away, Nickelback (E)
-Hard Times in New York Town, Bob Dylan (E)
-I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, U2 (Hurley - also her theme song. :D)
-Hang On, Seether (Dex)
-Meant to Live, Switchfoot (E)
-If You're Gonna Jump, Natasha Bedingfeld (Dex)
-Let Me Die in My Footsteps, Bob Dylan (Dex)
-Dreams, The Cranberries (E)
-Everybody's Changing, Keane (Marty, Hurley, Dex)
-Paper Planes, M.I.A., (Hurley)
-Starlight, Muse (E)
-Heroes and Thieves, Vanessa Carlton (Hurley)
-Next in Line, Meese (Marty)
-Get Off of My Cloud, The Rolling Stones (Dex)
-Spaceman, The Killers (Hurley)
-Barking at the Moon, Jenny Lewis (Cody)
-Discover, Minnutes, (Hurley)
-Read My Mind, The Killers (Dex)
-Feeling Good, Muse, (Hurley)
-Such Great Heights, The Postal Service, (Dex)
-Send Me On My Way, Rusted Root (Cody)
-Shark in the Water, V.V. Boom, (Hurley)
-Supermassive Black Hoke, Muse, (Dex)
-End of the World, Blake Lewis, (Marty)
-1000 Miles, Blake Lewis (Marty)
-Fools Like Me, Vanessa Carlton, (Hurley)
-Leave Out All the Rest, Linkin Park, (Marty)
-Satellite Heart, Anya Marina, (Xarryn)
-Done All Wrong, Black Revel Motorcycle Club, (Dex)
-Dare You to Movie, Switchfoot (Dex)
-Dancin' in the Moonlight, Toploader, (Gabriel)
-Someday We'll Know, Jon Foreman and Mandy Moore, (E)
-Everything Will Be Alright, The Killers (Hurley, Gabriel, Cody)
-Satisfy, Vedera, (Hurley)
-Set the Fire to the Third Bar, Snow Patrol, (Shada)
-Stick with me Baby, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (Marty)
-Smile Like You Mean It, The Killers (Hurley)
-All These Things That I've Done, The Killers (Marty)
-Goodnight, Travel Well, The Killers (E)
-Neon Tiger, The Killers (Dex)
-Savin' Me, Nickelback, (E)
-Hero, Nickelback (E)
-Little Wonders, Rob Thomas, (E)
-Maybe, Kevin Hammond, (E)

I couldn't find the song Discover by the Minnutes anywhere. But there's a link to the last song on the list - it wasn't available on playlist.com. It's very important. It's one of my favorite songs on the playlist. :)

Enchanting Old Books, Poems, and Notes Written in Pencil.

2010-03-22T17:14:00.004-05:00

One of the books I've been using for school this year is a very old 'Complete Course in Freshman English.' I'm not sure if it's meant for highschool or college, but I've been reading through it, and since the beginning of the year, I've started picking and choosing what to read in the last section of the book, which has essays, short stories, poetry, and plays, among other things.

Today I read Tiger, Tiger by William Blake - a poem I just like, even though it's a bit dark. I just like Tigers, so the poem has always appealed to me.

All through the book, I find various notes or little sentences underlined in pencil. I love old books like that. But today, I really realized the value of the book for the first time - it's an old thing, coming apart, with all of these great penciled notes that I generally can't read very well! How cool is that? I always assumed that it was my brothers' book, but I'm not sure now - I found some dates scribbled in the contents that make me think that it was used long before their time. They were all born in the seventies and eighties; the book has some dates from the sixties written about titles. Here's the poem and the notes I found today:

[illegible word - it looks like amystic, but that doesn't seem to be a word. :/ ]

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame they fearful symmetry? ['symmetry was underlined, with a note saying: 2 identical sides]

[illegible word - evil. just going about its business. all a part of creation.]

[In God's sight, the Tiger is not evil.]

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when they heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was they brain?
What the anvil? what dread gasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did He smile his work to see?
Did He who made the Lamb make thee?

[beautifully designed as the Lamb, stars and heaven.]

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame they fearful symmetry?

The notes were even better than the poem. I'm not sure who wrote them. Can't tell if the handwriting belongs to any of my brothers or not- and I can't tell if it belongs to either of my parents, but it doesn't look like it! Too neat to be Dad's. It could be Mom's. No one's name is written on it, either. :/

Well, whoever wrote them - I'm glad they did. They made the poem a great experience to read.

I'm a bit obsessed with anything tiger-related right now because I had an idea for a story involving them the other day....

So. You romantics out there, I hope this post was fun to read. ;)
Anna

YAHOO!!!!

2010-03-21T22:56:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since I've had one of these.

I have 14 and 1/2 chapters to go, roughly, before The Great Elation is FINISHED! FIRST DRAFT COMPLETED, WHAT'S UP?!

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm very happy about this. :) First book to ever be completed....

And then rewriting and adding and more and more and more of that! Yay! If I did victory dances, I would do it now. But instead, I'm going to go enjoy some warmth and a good book. Maybe I'll get this evil knot out of my neck, too. ;)

Anna

And yes. Someday I will do book reviews. Someday. Really. Honest. Someday.

New post. New post, New post, New post....book reviews?! SHOOT!

2010-03-19T09:38:00.003-05:00

The fact that I have yet to write book reviews has come back to haunt me. Shoot.

Well, today will be busy.

1. It's Friday. Okay, so that's not really a reason for it to be busy, but I do have school to do today. And that Star Trek novel to finish...mmm. Mmmm. Ice cream. Star Trek. Ice cream. Mmmm.

2. As I said, I have to do school.

3. And lots of reading, I hope, but probably not.

4. The reason for that is: I have friends in town. They'll prolly steal my weekend.

5. I would still like to organize my room today. I brought my table back in from the apartment. Art beckons me, and so does that table. And I am not going to make the apartment a studio. It's too inconvenient, to have to walk all the way out there? Besides, it's cold. And it feels funny.

6. So my art supplies will be coming back in.

7. It'll be a mess, my room will be cramped again.

8. This is a good thing. With a housekeeper that cleans compulsively, it is refreshing to have a messy room and/or a messy bathroom. I keep my door locked now to keep them out. I feel no remorse for this. At all. I love my room to be messy.

9. I guess I'll stop at nine. I think it's possible that making lists is an addicting thing. What do you think? I think making lists is addicting.

10. OH! I'm going to make dinner tonight. Probably. :)

Hello, my good sir/madam. (British greeting)

2010-03-17T17:58:00.003-05:00

1. I feel very, very creative today. I have come up with all sorts of ideas. I am very excited about them, and I hope to soon execute the ideas for drawings/paintings/art projects in general. And perhaps learn how to spell. I just corrected a spelling mistake in this paragraph. See if you can find it...just kidding. :)

2. Back to creative ideas - lots of great ones for novels and such things. Again, very exciting, though those will take longer to put into affect than the artsy ideas. I got one...that I would love to tackle in April, during Script Frenzy, but I doubt that it'll happen, as I already have a plan for that, and I'm determined to stick it through to the end. Probably a grisly, miserable end, but I'll stick it through.

3. I went to the library today and came away with an Alfred Hitchcock Collection of Ghost Stories, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and The Gunslinger by Stephen King, his first Dark Tower book. I've never read any Stephen King before. I'm curious to see if I'll like him or not.

4. My mouth is hot from eating sausage. *Sticks out tongue and breathes to cool it down*

5. Book Reviews. Very soon. I just keep putting it off. But soon, very, very soon...because I'm way behind. And I need to pick books for this month and then get ready for next month!

6. I like having a Driver's License. I go to Lubbock a lot now for my writing classes and to meet with my friends for 'writers' group.' We have lots of fun.

7. I'm having fun making this list.

8. So I will add that I have rediscovered the delights of Blue Bell Ice Cream lately - just to make the list longer and also because I have really been enjoying Mint Chocolate Chip, Dutch Chocolate and Cookies 'n' Cream very much.

9. Again, to make the list longer - was anyone else confused by the ending of the Psych Season Finale? Because I was. I think I was supposed to be.

10. Loving Lost this year. Especially last night's episode. Sawyer is on my top five, and the whole alternate scenario was so funny. Especially the bit when he was watching Little House on the Prairie....

11. I need to stop making this list now, I'm afraid....

12. The End.

13. No wait - this can be The End. After Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Event books. 12 can be (is) penultimate. :)

Sniff

2010-03-15T23:51:00.002-05:00

I just watched Dr. Horrible again. How can something be so funny and then ironic and horribly (no pun intended) sad at the same time? I could almost cry! Poor Penny...

and to think. It's Captain Hammer's fault!

I have to admit though, Captain Hammer's best line was: "I'm in pain! I think this is what pain feels like! Oh, mama! Someone maternal!"

Haha. Yes, I must definitely find the commentary and watch it. Or buy the DVD. Definitely download some songs from it.

Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

2010-03-15T09:35:00.005-05:00

Okay, first of all, this had to be brilliant. Joss Whedon came up with it.

Second of all, I was interested in it for other reasons besides Joss Whedon having created it, but when I was thinking about watching it, I found out that Nathon Fallion (Fillion, whatever) was in it. I'm a big fan of Firefly, Serenity and Castle, so this made me excited to watch it.

Third of all, WOW! It was so funny! I don't laugh at stuff by myself much. For some reason it just isn't as much fun to laugh if there's no one laughing with me - but I was giggling all through it.

Fourth of all, I like the music. There two or three songs especially that I liked, sung by Dr. Horrible and Penny.

Fifth of all, it was very original and different. Captain Hammer was extremely annoying. (Nathon Fallion/Fillion's character...but at times he was funny too, mostly because he made Dr. Horrible that much funnier. Dr. Horrible was likeable and sweet. The story itself was funny, but the ending was actually extremely sad. I was a little bit shocked, because I hadn't been expecting an ending like that. The heroine was sweet, although a little bit blind...(she ended up with Captain Hammer instead of Dr. Horrible. Gag.)

I liked it a lot. :) And it's really short, too. Like 42 minutes.

Anna

Oh, and the trailer itself is very funny. And you can watch this whole thing on Youtube. If you have 42 minutes, an evening alone, and an excellent TV dinner or pint of ice cream, I suggest you do so.

Short Stories

2010-03-14T23:57:00.002-05:00

I'm sleepy and cold, so this blog post will be short.

I want to get into short stories this year - as in, I want to read them and I want to write them.

Here's what I'm interested in:

Short stories that use the same characters over and over (like Sherlock Holmes)
Anything fantasy or sci-fi
Adventure/archeology type stuff
Any collection of short stories/vignettes/entries that are continuous and in the same book (parts of The Prestige are written in diary form)

But I'm also open to other things. Very open. Especially that stuff, but I want to read all kinds of short stories.

So if you are a lurker that rarely comments, now is the time to be heard! What are some of your favorite short stories or favorite writers of short stories? I like long comments. So leave long lists.

Anna

Recent Watches

2010-03-08T11:07:00.004-06:00

1. Sherlock Holmes
I loved this. I went to see it in the theater twice. Robert Downy Jr. Is a brilliant actor, and I always like some Jude Law. The movie was funny, well done, and now I'm all psyched to read the novels/short stories. They're probably completely different from the movie, but I don't care. I've been curious for a long time, and want to read the entire collection over this year and maybe next year. When it comes out on DVD, this is a good one to get. To buy. And then watch multiple times.

2. Avatar
This one won't come out for awhile, but it's definitely worth a watch. The special affects and the music were both incredible, but it would have been better if they cut forty-five minutes. It was very long. But don't get me wrong, it was really good. But it's not the best movie ever. Sherlock Holmes was much better.

3. Secret Window
I always like me a Johnny Depp movie - and for some reason, I'm in a thriller mood. I blame it on Alfred Hitchcock. This weeks' Psych is going to have a lot of Hitchcock allusions in it, so I want to see Psycho before then so that I'll get it - and I always hear about that one...so when Psycho was unavailable to get on DVD (Dad isn't much for watching on the computer unless he has no choice) I got Secret Window instead. Mwhaha. Brilliant ending - I was disappointed in it, but not because it wasn't good. It just didn't turn out the way I wanted, but it was still really good, and surprisingly, the movie didn't bother me much. It was just...fun.

4. Empire of the Sun
Steven Spielberg and Christian Bale all in the same package?! Bring it on! I don't know why it took me so long to get to this one. I've wanted to see it for a long time, but I just never got it. However, Corinne (new friend :D ) was telling me how good it was the other day, so I think it was the first movie I got from Netflix afterwards. It was amazing. Christian Bale was a great actor even when he was thirteen. The soundtrack was great (John Williams, how could it NOT be great?!), the characters, plot and acting were all extremely engaging; the whole film was beautifully done and very artistic. New favorite. And like all Spielberg movies, it was a story told with wonder. So, the cuts for Recommended Movies o/ the Month are:

Sherlock Holmes
Secret Window
and
Empire of the Sun.

Empire of the Sun might be my favorite, but if it is, Sherlock Holmes is a close second.

Further Promises

2010-03-05T18:01:00.000-06:00

Still wanna do book reviews. Very soon. Tonight or Tomorrow-ish. But maybe there won't be a tomorrow - there wasn't one today.

;)

Groundhog Day. Classic Bill Murray. Anyways...*clears throat*

Book reviews. and Movie reviews. and Music reviews. Soon. Very soon.

Promises, promises

2010-03-02T17:40:00.002-06:00

I'm sure I've said at some point in the past two months that I would post my reads.

Well, I'm back, saying again. If I have time, I might do it tonight. But I will definitely try to as soon as I finish Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke - I haven't read a ton yet this year. I'm hoping to turn that around this month. But I have lots of reads to post from the past two months, so - soon.

Oh, and movies, too! Maybe music...Maybe I just need to set aside a blogging day this week. ;-/

Anna

Oh, but I will say, that when I went to Barnes and Noble on Sunday, they still didn't have The Prestige (which doesn't matter anymore - i caved in and ordered it) so I picked up a Doctor Who novel and flipped through the first fifty or hundred pages or so, looking for Ten. :) Would you believe that reading Ten is just about as much fun as watching him? I love reading about his smile. He's always smiling, and it was good for me to see that there are more ways to describe a smile than 'grinning from ear to ear.'

Perhaps my smile descriptions will improve from reading about Ten.

Hmm continued

2010-02-25T23:02:00.001-06:00

And wouldn't you just know that they wouldn't have The Prestige there anymore?

So perhaps I'll buy it for cheaps online. Because after one chapter, I *must* know...is it as good as it's opener?

Hmm

2010-02-25T09:58:00.003-06:00

Sometimes events during my day are very small. For instance, today:

I'm going to go see Avatar
I have a meeting with my writer's group from 3:30 - 4:30
And I"m incredibly excited about the opportunity to read The Prestige by Christopher Priest in Barnes and Noble while I wait for my Dad to pick me up. I've been waiting for a chance to do that for two weeks. Why don't I just buy the book?

I'm afraid I'll be disappointed if I actually give it all of my time...I'm 'shelf' reading it. Dad does this all the time on hour Barnes and Noble outings. We just go for a few hours, I read, wonder around in B & N and/or shop in the mall, and he just picks up the book he was reading last time we were there and reads where he left off. I think I've started doing this with The Prestige.

But I think I'll take A Praying Life by Paul Miller to finish and Les Miserables so I'll have gotten a little bit of school done today....

So
Avatar
Writer's Meeting
Finish A Praying Life
Read in Les Miserables
The Prestige by Christopher Priest reading/daydreaming session
Dinner with Dad
Movie with Dad ( - ? if so, it'll prolly be a dollar theater showing of Sherlock Holmes - again. ) :D

Handsome Heroes Tip #1

2010-02-25T00:03:00.003-06:00

If you're writing a story that involves a charming, handsome hero type with a past that nearly everyone likes, let him get beat up. Fans loving nothing better than to see their favorite hero suffer physical pain over something personal - whether it be over his job, girl, or childhood feud.

Why don't people see through devices like this?

Well, maybe they do. But the character is real and the character is suffering. And even if they notice this device, they'll still fall for it. Why?

Because I know what that is, but I still fall for it. Heroes aren't heroes unless they suffer. Compassion for a character is a sure shot way to get fans.

Random Things

2010-02-22T13:04:00.005-06:00

1. I like Castle. He's a writer, and his interaction with Beckett, his mother and his daughter is so funny! Reminds me of Dad and I, a little bit....:D

2. Reading A Praying Life by Paul Miller. I think it is going to be one of my new favoritest favorite books. Can't wait to finish it. It's already making a difference in my life.

3. Need to work on The Great Elation, but Bumping Midnight is getting all appealing and fascinating again! Nebula and Lance, you'll just have to wait...Hurley and Marty need my writing attention right now. Oh, and so does Kylar from F.I.V.E.D.....

4. Wrote a paper on Severus Snape last night. :D

5. Editing paper on Knights today.

6. Castle comes on tonight. :)

7. Firefly is still excellent. Rewatched the episode Out of Gas the other night...now I want to rewatch Serenity.

8. Reading Les Miserables and *loving* it.

9. Will post reads and recommended books of month soon....hopefully. I need to catch up first.

10. Going to see Avatar this week...I hope. Among lots of other things. Wow. Busy already.

Writing stuff

2010-02-20T21:38:00.004-06:00

I tried to work on my book today, and it has thus far been profitless for more than one reason, I think.

1) I'm not sitting down and really concentrating on that and only that
2) I didn't have enough ideas and I wasn't prepared for this big important fun chapter that I've been excited about for awhile.
3) I did get a nice line out of it: Hurley said: "If I had a muse, I would spank it."
4) She got to feel my frustration. She too had a profitless writing session in chapter thirty-six.

Star Trek Quote

2010-02-15T19:29:00.005-06:00

Kirk: Spock, are you in the library?

Spock: Indeed not. We're in a wilderness of arctic characteristics.

McCoy: He means its cold!

Huh...

2010-02-10T18:57:00.002-06:00

Funny, suddenly I've redeveloped my taste for Burger King chicken nuggets, even though I can taste the unhealthiness of them. I don't eat their burgers; Thanks for telling me Abbs. :P

T-Shirt War = ROTFL!

2010-02-10T09:27:00.000-06:00

Books I am excited about reading soon:

2010-02-08T13:36:00.006-06:00

1. The Entire Circle Book Series by Ted Dekker
2. A Praying Life by Paul Miller
3. No Compromise by Melody Green
4. Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearas
5. Star Trek Academy by William Shatner
6. Star Trek 4 and 5 by James Blish
7. The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut
8. North, or Be Eaten! by Andrew Peterson
9. The Narrative Life of David Crocket by David Crocket

Just to name a few. All of these I would like to read this month. Will this happen? Probably not. But I would love for it to. This year I want to broaden my reportoire of biographies, theology, and some other kinds of non-fiction (Tea with Hezbollah). I'm excited about all of those. Oh, and today I'm going to start reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo! I'm sure I'll have lots of quotes and great things to say about him soon. Can't wait. Must go. School to do, then on to bigger and better things: reading ! ;)
Anna

Mmm

2010-02-04T22:06:00.002-06:00

Cereal is good. That's all I'm gonna say. It's good and the milk in it is even better and I just had a bowl and it was great. Forget the weight loss benefits - Special K tastes good, and that's why I eat it.

Psych Quote

2010-02-03T22:12:00.004-06:00

Gus: Have you ever read the Bible Shawn?
Shawn: *defensive expression* Genesis, Exorcist, Leviathan, Dooooo... the right thing.
Gus: Oh. My gosh.

Dad and I laughed very hard. Need I say anymore?

Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency.

2010-01-28T12:48:00.003-06:00

If all bedtime stories were read in a clever scottish accent like this, I think I would make it a point to listen to more of them. As they're not (and as all stories don't call mothers 'mummy' ) I don't s'pose I will...but then again, a good bedtime story is a good bedtime story, clever sco'ish accent or not. :)

Playlist for Bumping Midnight: Chapters 7 -12

2010-01-27T20:52:00.003-06:00

Chapter Seven: 1) Life is a Highway, Rascal Flatts
2) Sweet Thing, Keith Urban
3) Flying, James Newton Howard, Peter Pan Soundtrack
Chapter Eight: 1) I Cannot See His Color, James Newton Howard, Village Soundtrack
2) Jedi Funeral, John Williams, Star Wars Soundtrack
Chapter Nine: 1) Monster by Meg and Dia
2) Spaceman, The Killers
3) Starlight, Muse
4) E.T. Theme, John Williams, E.T. Soundtrack
5) Fairy Dance, James Newton Howard, Peter Pan Soundtrack
Chapter Ten: Goodnight, Travel Well, The Killers
Chapter Eleven: 1) Fireflies, Owl City
2) Remembering Childhood, John Williams, Hook Soundtrack
3) Dark Eyes, Iron and Wine
4) Send Me On My Way, Rusted Root
Chapter Twelve: 1) When Ginny Kissed Harry, Nicolas Hooper, Harry Potter 6 Soundtrack
2) Ghost in This House, Alison Krauss

Playlist for Bumping Midnight: Chapters 1 - 6.

2010-01-25T13:30:00.002-06:00

Chapter One: 1) Friends, Band of Skulls,
2) Shooting the Moon, OK Go
3) Imaginary, Evanescence
Chapter Two: Out of the Woods, Nickel Creek
Chapter Three: Latika's Theme, Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack
Chapter Four: 1) I Will Survive, Stephenie Bentley
2) Down in the Valley, Little Axe
3) Houses, Great Northern
Chapter Five: 1) Somewhere Only We Know, Keane
2) Those We Don't Speak Of, James Newton Howard (Village soundtrack)
Chapter Six: Real Gone by Sheryl Crow

?

2010-01-24T15:59:00.001-06:00

When I learn something new or realize I need to learn something new, I notice all sorts of things related to that, or I get a chance to apply it, or I find the new word in a book I'm reading, or whatever. Things like that. Is it just because I notice those things, or notice the thing I'm trying to learn about, now that it has my attention, or does God provide those opportunities? Maybe it's both.

I do. Not.

2010-01-20T21:08:00.001-06:00

I do. Not. Publish. Anonymous. Comments.

It's frustrating when I get two or three a day. They either don't make sense or are spam. Weird. And I never publish them.

Pure Imitiation, while it may be the sincerest form of flattery, is difficult

2010-01-11T21:03:00.002-06:00

Today I learned that Mark Twain is more difficult for me to imitate than Charles Dickens.

Although part of the problem may have been that I already had the perfect character, which I've vaguely known for a long time for the Dickens style, and no characters and no exceptional ideas for the Twain style.

Writing assignment stuff. Difficult or not, you gotta love it. I'm kinda proud of the Charles Dickens one....

Explanation:

Rewrite two Aesop's Fables in the style of two different authors. I had four authors to choose from and I chose Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. The Fables I chose were The Fox and the Grapes and The Hare and the Tortoise.

Dickens to the Fox and Twain to the Hare.

A Day in the Life of Ted Dekker

2010-01-11T09:45:00.002-06:00

A Day in the Life of Ted Dekker

If you have a facebook account, you MUST watch. It's pretty cool.

And huzzah, he writes 2000 words idea. Guess I've got the right idea.

Oh, and coolest of cool things, it plays a Muse song all through it. Ted Dekker is a big fan of Muse. Funny how the Circle Trilogy and Twilight have like *nothing* in common ...... except that both are great books.

People Who Have My Shoes #7

2010-01-07T22:56:00.002-06:00

Marty McFly

Movie/Book: Back to the Future 1-3

Shoes: Black Chuck Taylors

Again, I was watching a random scene late the other night and noticed my shoes while he was running around, trying to get back to the future.

Seriously, why do I never see girls wearing cool converse in movies? I see girls wearing them all the time in real life...check out lines, airports, random stores....I think I saw three people the other day in the airport wearing my chucks. All within like, ten minutes. It was funny.

People Who Have My Shoes #6

2010-01-07T22:52:00.002-06:00

The Kid/ Rusty Duritz

Movie/Book: Disney's The Kid

Shoes: Black Chuck Taylors

I was watching this late the other night and noticed it and I was like, "Whoa! How cool is that?"

Thoughts on Comments and Commentors

2010-01-07T22:43:00.003-06:00

What kind of comments don't get published?

For me, it's usually:

Spam comments
Most Anonymous comments
Mean comments....profanity, etc.
A comment from a blog that I don't want my blog to link to in any way, for whatever reason.

What kind of comments do you reject instead of publishing? How many of you moderate your comments first?

The Grand Total

2010-01-07T22:41:00.001-06:00

According to my Reading Notebook, I read sixty nine books this year.

Some of the books I didn't count for the reading contest I had with Andy, but here's what my notebook *says* (it is very possible that at some point, I messed up something, and since I go by what I wrote before, it could be messed up from that point) I read for the contest:

Sixty one books and 21, 681 pages. :)

2009 Books

2010-01-07T21:29:00.009-06:00

Okay, so I have this idea of listing all of the books I read this year, and summing them up in one word. Just one word. Which will be difficult, and you won't be able to get as much as you would from a regular paragraph or two review, but I'm terrible at summing up, and this is a great way to practice. Yes, I am allowed to use the same word twice. :) Here goes nothing...

January 2009

1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: Charming December 2008 Book o/ the Month
2. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien: Fascinating Book o/ the Month
3. Restless Pilgrim by Scott M. Marshall: Interesting
4. The Princess Bride by William Goldman: Funny
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling: Excellent (duh!*)
6. The Book of Names by D. Barkley Briggs: Naw'bad
7. Beowulf: Good
8. Calvin and Hobbes, 10th Anniversary Edition by Bill Watterson: Fun. :)

February 2009

1. Watership Down by Richard Adams: Fascinating Book o/ Month
2. Inside Prince Caspian by Devin Brown: Interesting
3. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis: Classic
4. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham: Amusing
5. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: Great!
6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling: Favorite...
7. Infidel by Ted Dekker: Favorite (in series, so far)
8. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien: Melancholy, Classic, Great (I'm sorry, I couldn't just put 'sad' - that just isn't fair to the great book that it is!)
9. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson: Good
10. Warriors: Firestar's Quest by Erin Hunter: Alright...:-/
11. Gingery Pye by Eleanor Estes: Awww!
12. Chronicles Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan: Fascinating March Book o/ Month

March 2009

1. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket: Bad (haha!)
2. Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery: Charming
3. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: Fun
4. Worlds of Wonder by David Gerrold (bits and pieces: as my notebook reads...) : Okay
5. Thr3e by Ted Dekker : Good
6. The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket: Reptilian :D

April 2009

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling: Magical
2. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie: Enchanting
3. Midnight by Erin Hunter: Alright
4. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien: Excellent
5. The Underneath by Kathy Appelt: Unique

May 2009

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling: Excellent
2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling: Fun
3. Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James: Charming
4. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke: Magical

June 2009

1. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke: Wonderful
2. Red Planet by Robert A. Heinlein: Adventurous Recommended Book o/ the Month (April?)
3. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield: Boring
4. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan: Alright
5. Rattlesnakes by J. Frank Dobie: Interesting
6. The Reason for God by Timothy Keller: Interesting Recommended Book o/ the Month (May?)
7. Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent: Interesting
8. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: Romantic
9. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis: Unique
10. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace: Epic
11. The Iliad by Homer: Classic
12. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander: Slow
13. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis: Brilliant
14. Holes by Louis Sachar: Fun

July 2009

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Charming **
2. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan: Alright
3. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: Interesting
4. Dinotopia by James Gurney: Disappointing
5. Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke: Good
6. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer: Edge-of-my-seat...
7. Renegade by Ted Dekker: Fun
8. Faerie Gold edited by Lindskoog and Hunsicker: Classic
9. Heaven by Randy Alcorn: Thought-provoking
10. I Am Spock by Leonard Nimoy: Fascinating :) (Trekkies will get it...)

August 2009

1. Phantastes by George MacDonald: Pretty Good
2. The Rolling Stones by Robert A. Heinlein: Fun
3. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones: Excellent
4. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol: Whimsical
5. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol: Whimsical

September 2009
1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak: Unique
2. The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson: Fun

October 2009:
1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer: Excellent
4. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer: (I can't think of a good word for this one. It was good, but it's not my favorite book in the series, and it's romantic, but it's sad part of the time, and then it's the end!)

November 2009

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: Romantic - again 2. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury: Fascinating 3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer: (In preparation for the movie...)

December 2009:

Unfortunately I didn't finish any books in December, but the books I started made for easy finishing and a jumpstart for January. So, maybe in a few days I'll be posting January reviews. :)

* Words like duh don't count, and neither do words in paranthesis or phrases that are hyphenated. I'm making the rules up as I go, heh heh....
**I either stopped doing Books of the Month at this point because I got too lazy to keep up with it or I just didn't see it when I glanced at my old posts, so I just bolded and italicized some of the books that would have been contenders for the coveted (not really) spot at the time.

The Grinch

2009-12-26T18:02:00.001-06:00

Colored Pencils/ pastels.

Artist's luck, if I believed in it.

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow....

2009-12-24T09:40:00.001-06:00

Oh, there's lovely white stuff outside! And to think that every single snowflake is completely different and unique. Beautiful. And there are *trillions* piled up outside, just in the yard! But the whole town is covered. What a wonderful Christmas present!

Fun quote from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:

'Next morning I awoke, looked out the window and nearly died of fright. My screams brought Atticus from his bathroom half-shaven. "The *world's* endin' Atticus! Please do something - !" I dragged him to the window and pointed. "No it's not," he said. "It's snowing."'

Merry Christmas Everyone. :)

Lovely randomness

2009-12-23T23:42:00.003-06:00

1. Listening to Thriving Ivory - and lovin' it!

2. Just watched the first forty or so minutes of A Christmas Story, which I've never seen before, but I made myself stop, because it's going to be on all day on Christmas and I think Dad would be belly laughing all through it, so I'm going to wait so that I can belly laugh too. I can't belly laugh by myself.

3. CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!

4. Gonna go to bed, read a lil' bit, get some good Z's.

5. Trying to avoid a scratchy/sore throat.

6. Made two pies today - and the crusts are atrocious. I mean, really atrocious. But, here's the thing: people are just going to eat it. It's all gonna end up in the same place - stomachs - no matter how it looks. Besides, the chocolate filling is still so pretty maybe nobody will notice the crusts, or will at least forgive how pathetic they look.

7. CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!

8. Watched the season five finale of Lost. Here's my take:

Can't wait for season six.

Don't like Sawyer and Juliet together.

Wish that Jacob hadn't died right after we met him.

Dislike Jacob's nemesis/John Locke twin.

Benjamin Linus is interesting.

Juliet changes her mind too much

Sorry that Dan died

Cried when Kate said goodbye to Aaron

I like Miles a lot more than I used to now. His flashback episode sort of brought his character home for me.

9. CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10. AND THEN CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Artsy Thins part three....

2009-12-23T18:59:00.004-06:00

I wasn't going to put this up, but I thought that Abby might like to see them. :)

Don't step on my blue suede shoes....

Planning to put my colored pencil/pastel of my Grinch up soon....couldn't get a proper pic of it without natural light. Artificial light makes the colors look wrong.

There's actually a full body of this, but my photo thing isn't cooperating and I'm not gonna wait for it to come up again. Maybe someday, if people beg me often enough, i'll put the whole picture on here.

Artsy Thins cont......

2009-12-23T18:49:00.003-06:00

This is Hatori Sohma from the Fruits Basket anime show.

He turns into a little sea horse - or a sea dragon, technically, but it looks like a sea horse. He's depressed. It's a Christmas present for Mikaela. I drew her another poster too...but I haven't colored it yet.

Artsy Thins. I actually meant to type things, but thought the misspell was so cute and redneck that I left it there

2009-12-23T18:45:00.003-06:00

This is an owl that I started in colored pencil class and just finished a few months ago. He's cute, isn't he? Reminds me of Pigwidgeon. :D

Amused, not ashamed

2009-12-21T16:20:00.002-06:00

Alright, so, I was just looking at this tremendous chapter that I've been working on in the second segment of my book - the book, book, not the nanowrimo book - and I realized that I wrote it wrong.

My book - Bumping Midnight, let's call it by its title - is different from my NaNoWriMo book. The Great Elation I wrote in 'omniscient prose' which all of you can recognize in the Harry Potter books. Unlike the Harry Potter books, I used this omniscient prose for more than one or two characters - I have a lot of characters. Maybe that's a bad thing. Maybe it'll overflow with characters and their quirks - or characters and their boringness for being shallow and undeveloped, but that's not the point. In my Bumping Midnight book, I write two characters in 1st person, and so far two characters in the omniscent prose thing. It really depends on the character, which one works best - and for the Great Elation, the omniscent prose works best for everyone. I tried to do 1st person for my 'me character' but she wasn't having it. She wanted omniscent prose, so I changed in the middle of her first chapter. But in my Bumping Midnight book, each character sort of has a preference.

Well, I was looking at Chapter Twelve, and I wrote North Kitt, which is usually a 1st person narrative, in omniscent prose narrative. I'm not sure why I did this. I had no idea that I was doing it wrong until just now, and it's turning into a long chapter, so I'm not going to go back and redo it. However, North seems to like being written in both, so that's okay, even though eventually I'll have to go back and completely redo the chapter. I guess that's alright. But it's funny that I've been working on and off that chapter for nearly a week and just now noticed. Does anyone else do stuff like that? Stuff like writing a book, and you're writing comfortably with this one character and one chapter and it's going great, and then you realized that even though the content of the chapter is great that you wrote the prose wrong?

I'm not ashamed, just amused.

Bad things don't make bad days.

2009-12-17T20:56:00.002-06:00

Okay, so, today I had a really great day. I got to hang out with my Dad, finish Christmas shopping, see a good movie, and now I'm home relaxing and having a jolly good ole' time.

Which just goes to show you that bad things don't make bad days - because earlier today I was literally nearly run over by a truck.

Ewok. :D

2009-12-15T10:15:00.002-06:00

HAR HAR.

Mikaela will like these. :)

2009-12-14T13:00:00.001-06:00

Twilight Spoof

New Moon Spoof

Rawrr. :) heh heh

:)

2009-12-14T12:53:00.000-06:00

Credit to: Combom