I'm thinking that maybe I'll actually just start constistently blogging about books on here...I mean, I really don't have a lot of other things that I feel it necessary to talk about on a regular basis, as most of the rants I would write on here always end up taking so long to write that by the time I'm halfway through writing them I'm no longer angry, and then I just really don't have any motivation to finish them. So. Books. Reviews. Maybe some movie-ish stuff? I don't know. Some random updates on life too I guess.
ANYWAY: Might as well start now!
Book #4 of the year: The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
Normally I don't like to talk too much about books we read in English because we discuss/write so much about them in class that it just feels like I'm doing more English homework when I have to talk about them outside of class, but this year I ended up with a teacher who isn't the best at getting good discussions going, so I need some sort of outlet to discuss.
The longer I spent thinking about this play, the more I liked it. At first, I absolutely hated the way everyone in the play was so wrapped in their own little worlds and disconnected from one another, but I have to say that as time went on, and after reading the final two acts, I warmed up to the play. I read somewhere that Chekhov considered this play to be a comedy, something which also made it more bearable. Thinking of this play as a serious tragedy makes it annoying and frustrating, while thinking of it as a comedy makes the melodramatics and ignorance of the characters funny and...well, it's a little bit like The Importance of Being Earnest in that I see a little bit of the ridiculousness in the characters there show up here. I do sympathize with these characters more, however - they're not supposed to be completely comical.
I thought it was fascinating to think about the way that Chekhov makes characters themselves into symbols of the different periods of Russia, but at the same time doesn't make it obvious, or even a focus within the play. Firs and Yasha are great examples of Russia pre-Industrial Revolution and post-, but this isn't really made super obvious. Instead of either of them being a main character, we see their differences subtly.
In other random media news:
1. I have entered into one of my "more music" phases, where I've just been downloading and buying music all over the place in order to just be more...not well-rounded, but something similar to that. So Shakira is the most recent addition to our iTunes, with Mika preceding her. I really enjoyed Mika, but Shakira I can't really get into - we'll see, but she may end up being like Jesse McCartney (don't judge), with a few songs I like amid the mass of songs I don't really care about.
2. Movies! We've recently acquired quite a few, so Sense & Sensibility is going to be watched soon, as will Little Women hopefully. And Brideshead Revisited, which I'm extremely excited to see for the first time.
3. Television: Everything's back on now, so that's nice. Merlin starts up on SyFy soon, White Collar's back on USA, and Glee and Fringe should be returning this/next week? Something like that. Going to continue with House of Anubis (...) and maybe I'll look at Tower Prep as well, though I'm a little iffy on that one. I don't understand why it is that networks like Nick and Cartoon Network make their website so screwed up in terms of schedules and shit, so that I can't figure out when anything is on, and consequently miss it, and then also can't watch them because they don't but them up online and wow this sentence is long. Whew.
(Also, when is the new Scooby Doo series coming back on? I kind of like it...)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The House of Anubis
I came down to our basement last night to find my sister watching this:
(except, you know, the actual show, not the trailer)
So I sat down to watch, because you never know, sometimes there are hot guys in Nick shows.
I'm not sure what it is about the show - probably the mystery element of it - but despite the horrible acting, cheesy music and camerawork, and a plot that is iffy, I still kind of wanted to keep watching it.
So I did, tonight, and...I still don't know how I feel. Nina and Patricia need some serious acting lessons; really, most of the girls do, though Mara isn't that bad, and I'm sure it's hard to do anything with the dumb blonde. Meanwhile, Jerome looks weird (anyone else reminded strongly of Bruce Jenner?), and Mick is just kind of blah. I find I really don't care about him at all - like he's a peripheral character, instead of a main one. Alfie is nonoffensive, and Fabian is actually not half bad.
Anyway, here were my thoughts on the second episode:
- The facial expressions of Nina are always off. Like, seriously - they are never appropriate for the situtation. In fact, most of her acting is like that.
- I don't understand why Nina always falls into the secret little room; you'd think after the second time she would've figured it out.
- Victor really likes fire doesn't he?
- Seriously, Patricia didn't think to hide the stupid folder somewhere? Why are people always such idiots?
- Also: why exactly do Fabian and Nina not wait until Victor is actually asleep in his own room? Wouldn't that make more sense? Of course, then there'd be no drama, but still. Also, I for sure would've followed to hide in one of the boys' rooms after that whole thing, not gone upstairs when I knew Victor was awake.
- Another issue: there's no way in hell they would be able to remove a floorboard with that little noise and that little effort unless it wasn't nailed down in the first place, and these were really, really new stairs.
- Not all my thoughts on the show are bad: I like how Fabian takes a photo of the heiroglyphs with his phone, since that's accurate to what a real teenager would do. And it's not in this episode, but in the last one they showed the science class the kids were in, and these kids are actually learning things suited for their age! Pascal's Law! That's actually something you learn in high school chemistry! Hooray!
All in all, The House of Anubis is a totally unbelievable show (and not in a good way), and yet I still kind of want to continue watching it.
(Another weird thing about the show is the scheduling; it's really odd, with a new episode every night for the week of January 10th, but none in between those episodes and the two-night premier.)
(except, you know, the actual show, not the trailer)
So I sat down to watch, because you never know, sometimes there are hot guys in Nick shows.
I'm not sure what it is about the show - probably the mystery element of it - but despite the horrible acting, cheesy music and camerawork, and a plot that is iffy, I still kind of wanted to keep watching it.
So I did, tonight, and...I still don't know how I feel. Nina and Patricia need some serious acting lessons; really, most of the girls do, though Mara isn't that bad, and I'm sure it's hard to do anything with the dumb blonde. Meanwhile, Jerome looks weird (anyone else reminded strongly of Bruce Jenner?), and Mick is just kind of blah. I find I really don't care about him at all - like he's a peripheral character, instead of a main one. Alfie is nonoffensive, and Fabian is actually not half bad.
Anyway, here were my thoughts on the second episode:
- The facial expressions of Nina are always off. Like, seriously - they are never appropriate for the situtation. In fact, most of her acting is like that.
- I don't understand why Nina always falls into the secret little room; you'd think after the second time she would've figured it out.
- Victor really likes fire doesn't he?
- Seriously, Patricia didn't think to hide the stupid folder somewhere? Why are people always such idiots?
- Also: why exactly do Fabian and Nina not wait until Victor is actually asleep in his own room? Wouldn't that make more sense? Of course, then there'd be no drama, but still. Also, I for sure would've followed to hide in one of the boys' rooms after that whole thing, not gone upstairs when I knew Victor was awake.
- Another issue: there's no way in hell they would be able to remove a floorboard with that little noise and that little effort unless it wasn't nailed down in the first place, and these were really, really new stairs.
- Not all my thoughts on the show are bad: I like how Fabian takes a photo of the heiroglyphs with his phone, since that's accurate to what a real teenager would do. And it's not in this episode, but in the last one they showed the science class the kids were in, and these kids are actually learning things suited for their age! Pascal's Law! That's actually something you learn in high school chemistry! Hooray!
All in all, The House of Anubis is a totally unbelievable show (and not in a good way), and yet I still kind of want to continue watching it.
(Another weird thing about the show is the scheduling; it's really odd, with a new episode every night for the week of January 10th, but none in between those episodes and the two-night premier.)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Booksbooksbooksbooks
I don't know if anyone's1 noticed, but I haven't mentioned books for awhile now (is that two words or one? Must remember to check later...). Part of that is because this isn't intended to be a bookcentric blog (I have a librarything account for that), and I know that reading about books you haven't actually read really isn't all that interesting. Also, I really just haven't felt a deep urge to talk about anything in the books I've been reading.
Well, I just finished the second book in the Avatars series by Tui T. Sutherland, and I feel compelled to talk about it, as well as the first one, because even though both of these books are rereads2, I was still caught off guard by some of the twists and turns in them.
For those who are unfamiliar with the series, they are centered around four main teenagers, Gus, Venus, Kali, and Tigre. These teenagers are all going about their daily business one day, when something happens, and suddenly, they're alone, deserted. It's the end of the world.
(Here's where things start to get mildly spoiler-y)
Each of the four is inexplicably told to go towards New York by voices in their heads, with the exception of Gus. The three have various issues and adventures as they try to make it to their destination, but by the end, they're all in New York. There they meet a fifth teenager, named Amon (you sensing a theme here yet?) They find out that they are each an avatar of a god from various pantheons and religions - Greco-Roman, Mesoamerican, etc. - who brought about the end of the world so that they could rebuild anew. The avatars must fight so that one religion emerges victorious. They will rule the renewed world.
That's the synopsis of the first book at least. The second one expands on it, of course.
Anyway though, my Important Thoughts that I needed to share:
1. I thought it was kind of cool how Sutherland drops in the whole "end of the world in 2012" thing. One of the gods is asked why they chose four days before Christmas to set their plan into motion3, he says December 21, 2012 was a date of special significance to the Mesoamericans, and nobody else cared.
2. Also cool how Sutherland drops hints that the 2012 the avatars were in was slightly different from ours - at one point cloning is brought up, and Kali mentions that there were a huge number of laws against it.
3. Africa going into darkness because the gods there took back control was kind of cool, but also sort of terrifying, and I'm really glad we get to explore it more with this third book.
4. Probably my favorite image in the second book: Thor trying to protect Miracle from the rain. Super cute.
That's about it...onto the third book now!
1 There I go again, pretending like people reading these...
2 Because the third book came out, you see, to complete the trilogy, and I always like to read the previous books when that happens, as a sort of refresher.
3 A little bit more info - when everything had disappeared for the teens, what really happened was they moved forward 75 years into the future.
Well, I just finished the second book in the Avatars series by Tui T. Sutherland, and I feel compelled to talk about it, as well as the first one, because even though both of these books are rereads2, I was still caught off guard by some of the twists and turns in them.
For those who are unfamiliar with the series, they are centered around four main teenagers, Gus, Venus, Kali, and Tigre. These teenagers are all going about their daily business one day, when something happens, and suddenly, they're alone, deserted. It's the end of the world.
(Here's where things start to get mildly spoiler-y)
Each of the four is inexplicably told to go towards New York by voices in their heads, with the exception of Gus. The three have various issues and adventures as they try to make it to their destination, but by the end, they're all in New York. There they meet a fifth teenager, named Amon (you sensing a theme here yet?) They find out that they are each an avatar of a god from various pantheons and religions - Greco-Roman, Mesoamerican, etc. - who brought about the end of the world so that they could rebuild anew. The avatars must fight so that one religion emerges victorious. They will rule the renewed world.
That's the synopsis of the first book at least. The second one expands on it, of course.
Anyway though, my Important Thoughts that I needed to share:
1. I thought it was kind of cool how Sutherland drops in the whole "end of the world in 2012" thing. One of the gods is asked why they chose four days before Christmas to set their plan into motion3, he says December 21, 2012 was a date of special significance to the Mesoamericans, and nobody else cared.
2. Also cool how Sutherland drops hints that the 2012 the avatars were in was slightly different from ours - at one point cloning is brought up, and Kali mentions that there were a huge number of laws against it.
3. Africa going into darkness because the gods there took back control was kind of cool, but also sort of terrifying, and I'm really glad we get to explore it more with this third book.
4. Probably my favorite image in the second book: Thor trying to protect Miracle from the rain. Super cute.
That's about it...onto the third book now!
1 There I go again, pretending like people reading these...
2 Because the third book came out, you see, to complete the trilogy, and I always like to read the previous books when that happens, as a sort of refresher.
3 A little bit more info - when everything had disappeared for the teens, what really happened was they moved forward 75 years into the future.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Firefly
Sooo, I started watching Firefly last night...and I kind of really like it. Like a lot.
I don't know, I really enjoy to characters - none of them take themselves too seriously (except maybe Inara, but...well, she's a different thing entirely).
Mal is fairly funny...when he's not being awkward and intense around Inara. Shepherd Book is perhaps a little too serious and righteous for my taste, but he's supposed to be that way. Wash is hilarious, Kaylee is super cute and bouncy and I want her to be my friend, and Simon is cuuuuute. Inara bothers me when she's being all calm and peacable and mysterious, but otherwise she's fine. I love Zoe's eye make-up, and River hasn't impressed me all that much - mainly because she hasn't done much that's been very interesting yet, despite the fact that she's crazy.
Small prediction: Jayne likes Kaylee. He luuuuuurves her. Maybe. Or maybe he's just crazy, who knows.
Also: I really like the music for this show. And the entire idea of a space western.
(SPOILER: I'm watching "Bushwhacked" right now and dear lord, I just screamed when the Reaver (Reever?) snuck up on Jayne)
I don't know, I really enjoy to characters - none of them take themselves too seriously (except maybe Inara, but...well, she's a different thing entirely).
Mal is fairly funny...when he's not being awkward and intense around Inara. Shepherd Book is perhaps a little too serious and righteous for my taste, but he's supposed to be that way. Wash is hilarious, Kaylee is super cute and bouncy and I want her to be my friend, and Simon is cuuuuute. Inara bothers me when she's being all calm and peacable and mysterious, but otherwise she's fine. I love Zoe's eye make-up, and River hasn't impressed me all that much - mainly because she hasn't done much that's been very interesting yet, despite the fact that she's crazy.
Small prediction: Jayne likes Kaylee. He luuuuuurves her. Maybe. Or maybe he's just crazy, who knows.
Also: I really like the music for this show. And the entire idea of a space western.
(SPOILER: I'm watching "Bushwhacked" right now and dear lord, I just screamed when the Reaver (Reever?) snuck up on Jayne)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Numbers
Remember how I talked about numbers & their personalities in that one blog post?
Well, I was in math the other day, having one of my weird conversations with one of my friends, and we were taking notes on derivatives for sine, cosine, etc. functions. And I mentioned that cosine would have a negative, because cosine is like sine, only more annoying (also, she's a girl). And we started talking about how we envision the trigonometric functions. And then we started talking about how we think about numbers - and I'm not alone! I am not the only one who has always had numbers with personalities!
(Meanwhile, the other two people at our table sort of looked at us funny when we'd look up eagerly at them to see if they agreed)
Well, I was in math the other day, having one of my weird conversations with one of my friends, and we were taking notes on derivatives for sine, cosine, etc. functions. And I mentioned that cosine would have a negative, because cosine is like sine, only more annoying (also, she's a girl). And we started talking about how we envision the trigonometric functions. And then we started talking about how we think about numbers - and I'm not alone! I am not the only one who has always had numbers with personalities!
(Meanwhile, the other two people at our table sort of looked at us funny when we'd look up eagerly at them to see if they agreed)
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Harry Potter VII
I saw it for the second time last night, and while some of my opinions were strengthened, I changed my mind on a couple of the others. (Obviously, there are spoilers in this)
Things I liked:
1. How fucking INTENSE everything was. Dear LORD, the scene with Bathilda and the snake was SO much creepier and terrifying, with the blood on the wall, and the flies...and all the torture scenes? Yeah, the idea that it's actually TORTURE going on there really sinks in. For example, the scene with Charity Burbage, the teacher of Muggle Studies - in the book, I don't remember feeling the same complete and utter horror that I did in the movie...
1.5 Because it sort of goes with the above: the writing of "Mudblood" on Hermione's arm. Was that in the book? Because that is some seriously messed up shit. But also kind of let's it sink in that these people are EVIL and, in the case of Bellatrix, mildly deranged.
2. The way in which the Three Brothers/Deathly Hallows story was told - I really liked the shadow puppet-esque style.
3. Luna and Neville are BEASTS. Luna is hilarious at the wedding, and though some people didn't like her contribution when Dobby died, I thought it was exactly what Luna would have done - she's sort of this weird character in my mind, because she's apart from the rest and has this special friendship with Harry, and so I feel like this would have been her way of showing that she cared, and none of that really made any sense.
4. Dialogue details: the little things that characters mumble about when the focus is on other things...for example, when Dolohov and that other Death Eater walk in and the focus is on them, you can hear Ron in the background saying to Hermione, "About the clothes, these are not my favorite jeans..." and it's absolutely wonderful, because that comment is pretty much in the book too.
5. The use of music to show Ron's growing paranoia and discontent was amazing - I especially loved how it even mimicked the radio noise.
(6. Also, Ron and his brothers bring the funny wherever they go. Just sayin'.)
Things I Disliked:
1. The way the locket Horcrux was done. Honestly, I always found that locket so creepy precisely because it was almost seemingly harmless - but also sinister. It was the fact that it seemed almost subdued, but that secretly it was trying to kill you - the subtlety. And let me tell you, a boiling mass if black goop screaming at you is not subtle in any way whatsoever. I mean, really, each Horcrux is supposed to be a mini-Voldemort, and monster thing is SO not Voldemort's style, gurl.
2. The whole "All evil people are Nazis" trope gets brought into this movie - notice how all the evil policemen types at the Ministry are wearing Nazi/soldier-esque uniforms? Which is silly, because these are WIZARDS who are trying to get rid of Muggles, etc. - shouldn't they be wearing robes?
3. The fact that in the movies, the character of Wormtail is played really wrong. He's groveling and submissive, yes, but he's doesn't have that same sense of weakness that he does in the book. I don't know how to describe it besides the fact that Movie!Wormtail is creepy in a pedophile sort of way, while Book!Wormtail is merely pathetic.
Anyway though, how that relates to this movie: because of the way he's been played, it's hard to have sympathy for Movie!Wormtail, so the whole thing with the silver hand strangling him is gone - which is sad, because I think it's a pretty important part within the part, in some ways showing the way not-so-evil people become one of the "bad guys" when really they're just weak and afraid. Instead, Movie!Wormtail is played for laughs.
4. Other random little details that are off - the fact that Kingsley's Patronus is a ball of light with screaming people running out of it, things like that.
Random Other Stuff I Noticed:
1. Harry and Hermione stop using Voldemort's name for no reason that is stated in this movie; in the book, it originally has to do with Ron being irritable, and then they find out about how it summons Death Eaters, but in the movie it's just sort of dropped.
2. The fact that Ron, Hermione, and Harry have new clothing pretty much every day on their adventuring - which in and of itself isn't super duper weird, because really they only show around fifteen different outfits probably - but the fact that they have different sweaters/other outerwear garments most times is a bit weird, as is the fact that none of these outerwear type garments are just normal sweatshirts layered over things. I think if I were trekking around day after day when it's cold out, I would probably not wear woolen sweaters, which are hard to clean, but instead a sweatshirt. (yeah yeah, it's picky, I know, but it's stuff I think about).
2.5 Related (sort of) to the above, but this is more for the book than the movie: Hermione isn't the brightest bulb in the world is she? I mean, I think the first thing I would have packed if I knew my two friends and I would be on the run is canned and boxed food...
3. Rufus Scrimgeour is Davy Jones! I KNEW I recognized those weird mouth movements!
Things I liked:
1. How fucking INTENSE everything was. Dear LORD, the scene with Bathilda and the snake was SO much creepier and terrifying, with the blood on the wall, and the flies...and all the torture scenes? Yeah, the idea that it's actually TORTURE going on there really sinks in. For example, the scene with Charity Burbage, the teacher of Muggle Studies - in the book, I don't remember feeling the same complete and utter horror that I did in the movie...
1.5 Because it sort of goes with the above: the writing of "Mudblood" on Hermione's arm. Was that in the book? Because that is some seriously messed up shit. But also kind of let's it sink in that these people are EVIL and, in the case of Bellatrix, mildly deranged.
2. The way in which the Three Brothers/Deathly Hallows story was told - I really liked the shadow puppet-esque style.
3. Luna and Neville are BEASTS. Luna is hilarious at the wedding, and though some people didn't like her contribution when Dobby died, I thought it was exactly what Luna would have done - she's sort of this weird character in my mind, because she's apart from the rest and has this special friendship with Harry, and so I feel like this would have been her way of showing that she cared, and none of that really made any sense.
4. Dialogue details: the little things that characters mumble about when the focus is on other things...for example, when Dolohov and that other Death Eater walk in and the focus is on them, you can hear Ron in the background saying to Hermione, "About the clothes, these are not my favorite jeans..." and it's absolutely wonderful, because that comment is pretty much in the book too.
5. The use of music to show Ron's growing paranoia and discontent was amazing - I especially loved how it even mimicked the radio noise.
(6. Also, Ron and his brothers bring the funny wherever they go. Just sayin'.)
Things I Disliked:
1. The way the locket Horcrux was done. Honestly, I always found that locket so creepy precisely because it was almost seemingly harmless - but also sinister. It was the fact that it seemed almost subdued, but that secretly it was trying to kill you - the subtlety. And let me tell you, a boiling mass if black goop screaming at you is not subtle in any way whatsoever. I mean, really, each Horcrux is supposed to be a mini-Voldemort, and monster thing is SO not Voldemort's style, gurl.
2. The whole "All evil people are Nazis" trope gets brought into this movie - notice how all the evil policemen types at the Ministry are wearing Nazi/soldier-esque uniforms? Which is silly, because these are WIZARDS who are trying to get rid of Muggles, etc. - shouldn't they be wearing robes?
3. The fact that in the movies, the character of Wormtail is played really wrong. He's groveling and submissive, yes, but he's doesn't have that same sense of weakness that he does in the book. I don't know how to describe it besides the fact that Movie!Wormtail is creepy in a pedophile sort of way, while Book!Wormtail is merely pathetic.
Anyway though, how that relates to this movie: because of the way he's been played, it's hard to have sympathy for Movie!Wormtail, so the whole thing with the silver hand strangling him is gone - which is sad, because I think it's a pretty important part within the part, in some ways showing the way not-so-evil people become one of the "bad guys" when really they're just weak and afraid. Instead, Movie!Wormtail is played for laughs.
4. Other random little details that are off - the fact that Kingsley's Patronus is a ball of light with screaming people running out of it, things like that.
Random Other Stuff I Noticed:
1. Harry and Hermione stop using Voldemort's name for no reason that is stated in this movie; in the book, it originally has to do with Ron being irritable, and then they find out about how it summons Death Eaters, but in the movie it's just sort of dropped.
2. The fact that Ron, Hermione, and Harry have new clothing pretty much every day on their adventuring - which in and of itself isn't super duper weird, because really they only show around fifteen different outfits probably - but the fact that they have different sweaters/other outerwear garments most times is a bit weird, as is the fact that none of these outerwear type garments are just normal sweatshirts layered over things. I think if I were trekking around day after day when it's cold out, I would probably not wear woolen sweaters, which are hard to clean, but instead a sweatshirt. (yeah yeah, it's picky, I know, but it's stuff I think about).
2.5 Related (sort of) to the above, but this is more for the book than the movie: Hermione isn't the brightest bulb in the world is she? I mean, I think the first thing I would have packed if I knew my two friends and I would be on the run is canned and boxed food...
3. Rufus Scrimgeour is Davy Jones! I KNEW I recognized those weird mouth movements!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thankfuls
I am thankful for books and movies and photographs.
I am thankful for holidays and snow and Christmas music.
I am thankful for my friends.
I am thankful for my mother and my father and my sister and my uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents.
I am thankful for our stupid, silly-looking dog.
I am thankful for pasta and bread and chocolate.
I am thankful for sweaters and socks.
I am thankful for trees and camp and summer.
I am thankful for rain and clouds and thunder.
I am thankful for the Internet. Which sounds super nerdy and kind of weird.
I am thankful for life.
I am thankful for holidays and snow and Christmas music.
I am thankful for my friends.
I am thankful for my mother and my father and my sister and my uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents.
I am thankful for our stupid, silly-looking dog.
I am thankful for pasta and bread and chocolate.
I am thankful for sweaters and socks.
I am thankful for trees and camp and summer.
I am thankful for rain and clouds and thunder.
I am thankful for the Internet. Which sounds super nerdy and kind of weird.
I am thankful for life.
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