I can't even..

Oh god, I can't even make a blog. My heart is filled with so many loving feelings. And yet, I feel like crying. I watched the entire of the 3 or 4 hours of the Harry Potter livestream on Youtube, and I am moved, happy and so many other things, that it's hard to talk about.

I'd love to chat, but I can't even.. Right now, it's too much.

DFTBA and love Harry Potter <3

Bad day

Rebecca, you are soo lucky! That camp sounds so awesome. I wish there was something like that here. Seriously, I envied you sooo much, when I read it the first time. Enjoy it!

Well, this is a bad day for me - because I've been dreading work all day; I got on the train, finally. The train stopped at every. single. stop. That meant I was a bit late, when I arrived, I went to the staffdoor, which was locked. So not only was I even more late, but people were staring at me, for trying to open a closed gate. Brilliant.

Then I had to walk the entire way back to the grand opening, which costed me a few minutes. then I couldn't find the effing stall! And I ran and ran around the entire place, until I remembered where it was, and went there. When I arrived, no adults were there (which would've been nice, instead of all the cocky teenagers with their I-am-in-charge-so-just-listen-cause-I'm-cooler-and-four-months-older-than-you attitudes) So I was late, and this really bitchy guy (not everyday you meet a such one) and he was all "we arrive here sharp and dressed. Now it's past the time you should have started and you are not dressed" I WAS LATE WITH ONE MINUTE.

There I was, in my - correctly observed - purple sweater, confused and now annoyed with bitchy-boy. Bitchy-boy was continuing being bitchy, and I got more and more upset, because I didn't think I wanted to keep the job anyway, and the stress and bitchy-boy just pushed me over the edge, so instead of going to my shift, I went up and quit. My boss seemed nice about it, so it made me feel better.

I've been thinking about, what kind of job I'd like instead. I'd love to be doing the lazy person's job. Like blogging or writing. But since that is obviously not going to happen (given this is a slow country and .. that would just never happen. And if it did, I'm not born in the lucky-stuff-just-happens-to-me batch)

So, I've figured. I like my small cousins. I could babysit. Or pick up kids from the local kindergarden/club. (I live 500 metres from the club and a kindergarden) - this could happen. I could get a supermarket job (even if it does seem a bit embarrasing)

I don't know why, but I think work is embarrasing. It sounds completely ridicolous, but I never told any of my local friends, because I was afraid they'd come and say hi. Which, in my eyes, is worse than failing to make a candyfloss three times in a row. Which, by the way, did happen. And that was bad.

So now I'm home early, and tomorrow (while I'm waiting for Portal 2 to arrive) I'll be writing applications for various jobs and offer to pick up/entertain kids.

Thursday Top 3 - music edition:

1. Hideous Creatures - Starship

2. Teenage Dream - Glee version (Darren Criss!)

3. Make Your Own Kind Of Music (simply because, it reminds me of Lost)

Oh, and by the way.. A hilarious song title I read was on one of the Lost soundtracks, that I can't get out of my head: "Your kharma hit my Dharma" HA!

DFTBA till next week!

Writing

I believe in a previous blog entry I mentioned that I would be spending two weeks of my summer at a writing camp.  And...uh...well, that's where I am right now.  Fun stuff.  The program is run by the Kenyon Review and is a residential camp that takes place at Kenyon College (which, incidentally, is John's alma mater).  I've only been here for about a day and a half, but I'm already having a lot of fun.

I've made a few friends, that I'll probably start to stick with for most of my time here.  My roommate is (thankfully) pretty nice, and awesome and all that.  I've also hit it off pretty well with a few people from my class group (we remain in one group with the same instructor for all of our classes).

So far I've met two or three nerdfighters (my roommate is one!), a buttload of Harry Potter fans, and two Doctor Who fans.  It's nice to be in a (physical) place where nerdiness is the norm, and eyebrows aren't quirked at "large" words.  It's also great to be in a place where I can talk about how frustrating it is to have insistent characters nagging in my mind while in the middle of another project, and not receive strange looks.

Today (actually, about a half hour ago from when I'm writing this), we got to hear P.F. Kluge talk about writing, and reading, and avoiding starvation while writing and reading.  I've so far only read one short essay by him, but I definitely intend to read a few of his novels.  From that little that I've read, I would definitely recommend him (and that'll just be my recommendation for the day).  He's also really funny.

I do hope that tomorrow there will be a bit more instruction than there was today.  Though I love prompts and free writing, I would love critique (I mean, I wouldn't love hearing it, but I'd love to have the benefit), and learning how to strengthen the areas of my writing that I feel I'm weak in (like dialogue).

I'm also really excited to possibly have the chance to do editorial work here.  An anthology of all the writers' work is going to be compiled, and it is going to be done by people within the camp (another opportunity to meet new people!).  editing is one of the things I'd love to do (along with Journalism and Library Sciences), and having real practical experience would be wonderful (and excellent resumé fodder!).

I have a secondary blog that I've been sitting on, and haven't posted on yet, but even just being here for one day, I've felt so inspired to write.  That blog is (going to be) dedicated to random thought, poetry and prose.  As well as random rants about politics and injustice I'd imagine.  When I actually start posting there I leave a link here.  I'm really hoping that I'll start updating that on a semi-regular basis.  the best way, I've found from being here so far, to be inspired to write and to keep up habitual writing is to just...write.  Constantly.  So that's what I'm vowing to spend this summer doing.  In addition to cleaning my room.

...Maybe.

It's still thursday, right?

I can't believe I forgot it! I actually knew, and it was in my calendar. I have no one to blame.. But Lost. I mean, me. No, Lost.

I'm watching Lost season 5 and it is sooo good. At the end of season four, I was like: wait, what? Nononono, that can't happen!

So I was naturally very eager in getting the next adventures, since everything was just.. chaos, and death, and bombs, and helicopters (not exactly what you expect from a "lost on a deserted island" show, I'm very aware, but it's still so amazing)

My heroes are - both fictional and real - and responsible for the fictional characters.

I wouldn't say any "real" people are my heroes, because sometimes, we are all let down by our families and friends, so I'd rather say, that fictional people are my favorites, and those I look up to. Simply because, I can choose along the road, which people I like and dislike.

JKR is an obvious one. I love her and I love her world, I love how she was able to make other people love her fantasy world as well. It's amazing to accomplish what she has done, and I hope that in my lifetime, I will be able to experience another great, and as big phenomenon. But Harry will always have a special place in my heart.

I love Jane Austen as well; even if I have to argue why every single time I am asked. It's simply because she was brave. Brave and witty, and cultured and precise. The best thing about old books and stories, are the culture. And how different everything is today, from back then.

She dared writing witty and smart stories about the upper society, and how silly she found it. And yet, the irony of, how easy it was for her, a simple woman, to imagine how that kind of life was. Her characters are wellknown, and loved all over the world, 200 years later, which isn't something many people can say. Everyone, everywhere is looking for their own mr. Darcy. Maybe without even knowing; but that man is more a gentleman than any other fictional character ever written.

I love John Green as well, simply because he makes stories that are both witty, hardhitting and he likes weird stuff, entertwines it with his stories and makes it work. Even if it is, as he says, Swedish hiphop, which I can only imagine, is not great. (Since Sweden is the neighbor country, and I think their language is weird and almost Danish, it must sound.. Bad. Since Danish hiphop is bad. Scandinavian logic.) I love his stories and I love that his books are new, and a story we haven't heard before.

I love the Doctor. He's everywhere and anywhere, he has never any time, he has to run, and yet he is the last of the Time Lords, and saves everyone, someway or another. I think he's a great character, with both the young and so, so old nature - from funny to serious in a matter of seconds, and ready to save the day, and bear the responsibility, if something goes wrong. So young and so old, which is making the perfect amount of funny.

I love Harry Potter, because I grew up with him. His worries, angst, friends, experiences, and eventually love. It's still a bit weird to understand, that it ends soon, but I've loved every second of the ride, and considered myself a person, who have stuck with Harry until the very end, from the very beginning. Not his, when the book came out, but from mine. Right from when I could read.

I love Hermione Granger. Because I grew up with her as well, but mostly because I've always considered myself as her. I've seen so much of her in me. She's brave - which I may not be, she's clever and loyal (two things I do consider myself) and she's the kind of girl I'd like to grow up to be.

Very superficially, my newest hero is Daniel Faraday from Lost. He's just so... Cool. And sweet. He was introduced a couple of episodes ago, but he's my new favorite (what with Jack and Locke being totally crazy and power-loving) but Faraday is cool. He reminds me a bit of the Doctor, because of the timetravelling and the ability to understand and explain it. Even if it becomes a bit wibbly-wobbly at times. I love how sweet and forward he is, and I really hope, that there's a good explanation for, why he left his exgirlfriend so suddenly after her incident, because I can't imagine him being evil.

I have a lot of heroes, most superficial, but I could continue all day. So I'll just mention some names of those, who comes to mind: Charlie Pace (Lost), Remus Lupin, Benjamin Linus (Lost) etc.

And one more I'd like to add, which I figured would be too long to add, is Albus Dumbledore. He's just so cool and understanding. And has the best quotes. Oh, man I nearly forgot David Tennant! I hope he'll forgive me.

I actually forgot my graduation from 10th grade yesterday as well. But it's okay, 'cause I didn't really care. Even my mum forgot it, and told me an hour ago. Instead I had a lovely day with Lost on my tv.

That was one VERY long blogpost. Makes up for the short one last thursday. And lack for yesterday. Righ

Heroes

I obviously have a terrible memory.  I meant to update yesterday, I swear!

Anyway: let's talk about Heroes. Or just people that I look up to, whatever.

1) J.K. Rowling: I have to say, aside from my family, Harry Potter has been one of the most consistent parts of my growing up (actually, it might be more consistent than my family).  The presence and dependability of it always being a story I'll enjoy, with characters that I love has been a comfort at times.  Rowling's series has touched me so much, that it really cemented my dream of one becoming an author.  Of course, I might have wanted that before reading the series, and I was definitely an avid reader before I began them, but the level to which Rowling's writing and the world she created was able to draw me in was a real inspiration to my third grader self, and continues to be to my senior-in-high school self today.  Plus, JKR is pretty cool in general.

2)  Sherrod Brown: Brown is an Ohio Senator, and in my opinion is rather awesome.  I've had the opportunity to meet him before, though I was a little kid, but he was very nice.  In fact, I think that might be the thing that sets him apart from a lot of other politicians: he's nice, and he seems to be genuinely honest.  That's refreshing in a politician, especially what seems to be his genuine appreciation and caring of his constituents.  Brown is a person who almost makes me want to be a government official.  But honestly, I don't think I'd fit in.

These are the two that immediately come to mind that I can actually find a fair amount of words to talk about.  Other authors come to mind, particularly Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, and, of course, John Green.  Nellie Bly, the investigative journalist is rather badass, and I suggested reading about her, because she was really cool.  And also Rachel Maddow, who I deeply admire and would totally love to work for/intern for someday, if at all possible.  There's also the feminists Gloria Steinem, Jessica Valenti and Lucy Stone (though Stone would probably count more as a "suffragette").  Steinem started Ms. Magazine, another place I think it would be cool to work/intern at.  There's also my seventh- and eight-grade English teacher who set me on the path of being interested in journalism, and aspiration that the above mentioned Rachel Maddow has only perpetuated.

I think it's important to stop and think of the people who have influenced us, or that we look up to.  Even if it's an incredibly cheesy thing to say/do.

My recommendation is the film The Hours, it's also a book, about Virginia Woolf and her novel Mrs. Dalloway. But as I've never actually read either book (though I do intend to), the movie is what I am suggesting.

Zoos and animal rights

I don't consider myself an animal rights activist either, but I believe that all animals should be treated with respect. It is the owner who chooses to get an animal, the animal does not choose you.

I enjoy going to the Zoo, given that I like animals, as long as they're not forced to do anything or are sad.

I was in Berlin Zoo about 10 months ago, and I saw Knut, and he was very cute. But there was one of the polar bears who didn't look happy, but kept walking back and forth, which worried my family and I. We weren't sure if it was Knut, but I felt really sorry for the poor polarbear anyway.

My dad later on told me it was because it was bored and didn't know what to do, but I'm not entirely sure. I still don't know.

That is the only negative experience I've ever had in a Zoo, but the rest of the day in Berlin Zoo was actually good - they had this fence, and inside it was open for goats, geese and ducks to walk around as they pleased, and horses and donkeys were in cages, but it was all good, because they had loads of fans and attention (majority of those were 7 year old girls and me)

But it was a good Zoo, and we even saw animals I didn't know and a hippopotamus baby.

I'm not a vegetarian yet, but as soon as I'm a legally adult, I will pursue vegetarianism. I think it's important to stand up against animal cruelty, which is also why I am against real leather and fur.

I don't mind fake fur, leather, feathers etc, but killing animals should not be a fashion choice.

Thursday top 3:

1. Tickets to Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2

2. Weekend at my Grandma's

3. Tea.

Zoos! (Fake Enthusiasm)

You know what I'll never understand?  Why people love the zoo so much.  I suppose I might have liked it as a kid, but as far as I can remember, the most fun I've had at a zoo was at the petting zoo and in a butterfly house.  I like animals out where I can touch them, or be close to them, and while I don't think I'd necessarily want to be within touching distance of, say, a lion, it also doesn't seem particularly entertaining to just stand there and watch them lie around looking sad.

Maybe this is the 'animal rights' 'activist' coming out in me, though I don't normally consider myself an animal rights activist.  (Though I am a vegetarian, but that's a blog entry for another day, I think.)  It just seems unbearably mean to take an animal from their natural habitat and place them in a cage, or a glass box.  Of course, many animals in zoos were actually rescued animals, so i hardly want to accuse zoos of mass cruelty.  It just seems like an incredibly boring life, and an incredibly boring way to spend the day.

I bet the people who work at the zoos (presuming they like animals of curse) do actually have a lot of fun though.  I think it must be incredible to work with animals all day.  And while this is not something I plan to do, or even want to do with my life, I do feel a bit jealous of people who get to work with animals for a living.

And in keeping with my theme, I'm going to recommend the book The Nature of Jade.  The book features a main character who loves watching the elephants in the nearby zoo, and (possible spoiler?) eventually begins working with them.  That isn't what the book is about, but regardless, it is a beautifully written story and I really enjoyed reading it.

P.S.  Who else loved the Doctor Who mid-season finale?

Insert clever title

I refuse to not make a blog. So it'll be a mostly empty blog.

Rebecca, I totally agree with you on the topic of sex scandals. If you must be unfaithful, do it properly. No, that wasn't your conclusion, I just thought that, if you must, you need to be the best.

I don't know. It's quite low moral, but why not be good, instead of fail?

Now I think of that guy, Strauss-Kahn for being discovered as well. That wasn't very smart. I'm not sure what happened, so I'll just stop now. I know nothing of that stuff.

Tomorrow, after my exam, I'll catch a train (literally; I'm that awesome) with two of my superstrong friends, and we'll ride on its back all the way to Copenhagen where we'll hang out, have fun, maybe even visit Copenhagen's infamous dragon Zoo and we'll probably go shopping and use waaay too much money. I don't know what we'll do yet, but it will involve laughing, funny/sweet movies and fun times.

Oh, I have nothing this week. Sorry you guys.

I'll see you next week! Oh, and wish me luck on my exam tomorrow! :)

*Comes Out of the Woodwork*

So...uh... I don't remember if I had a decent excuse for missing last Monday, but yesterday I was busy studying for finals.  Better late than never?

What to talk about? Sex scandals? That just popped into my head, because recently the (unfortunately named) Senator Anthony Wiener has confessed that he has shared explicit photographs and conversations with multiple women over the past few years who are all decidedly not his wife.  It's really rather aggravating how long the list of Congressmen/politicians who have had either illicit, inappropriate or illegal relations has grown to.  Without even getting into the politics of it, doesn't this just fail at a moral level?

Sure, our elected officials are supposed to reflect their constituents opinions, but shouldn't they also be able to set an example by keeping it in their pants?  Or actually following the law (there are one or two that were engaged in prostitution, another harassing underage women, another coercing an employee into an affair, another covering up his love child using campaign money - WTF)?  Maybe that's just too much to ask for.

Anyway, venturing into politics now, if they can't manage to keep it in their pants, and (as most of them are married) keep from engaging in an affair, how exactly is homosexuality threatening the "sanctity of marriage"?  It's completely and disgustingly hypocritical, especially as one of the strongest anti-gay marriage (male) senators was caught with a rentboy. To be fair, not all of the offenders on that very long list of people engaged in sex-related scandal are homophobic or speak out against gay marriage, but many of them still purported to believe in 'family values'.  It's all very screwy (Pun intended? Maybe.)

Anyway, rant over.  I recommend watch the TV show Merlin.  It's a fairly good show, and almost always amusing.  Plus, it's British.

.... *looks around*

... Hello? Hellooooo? So, are anyone here, or am I ruling this by myself? *smiles*

Anyway, even if I did have the blog for myself, I wouldn't know what to write.

So, exams are getting closer. And I dont actually know what day I'm going. Sooo, I have to call my school one of the days. My country is a bit patriotic (I can't seem to understand why), but it's made like, that I can't use any material that's been translated from English, which sucks, given my topic was "evil in older novels". I wanted to use either Hamlet or Snow White. But my teacher wouldn't let me do that. So I'm stuck with H. C. Andersen's The Snow Queen. I didn't know that fairytale before I had to read it for exam (btw, that is a bad idea).. I hate that fairytale. No offence, to you, if you like it, but Gerda spends the ENTIRE SUMMER listening to the flowers' fairytales, then it gets autumn and she's like: golly! I forgot! I have to find Kay!

And then, of course she finds him. Although, I still don't see The Snow Queen as evil. I mean, yes, it would suck to get an evil mirror in the eye, and heart, but isn't that just pessimism?

I could go on with that for a while. But one more thing. The part where I'm not allowed to use English stuff. What is up with my teacher saying it's okay to use the Bible? (I'm an atheist. And I'm sorry, if I've crossed you - really)

.. But The Bible shouldn't be an exception. I think it's either no translated stuff at all, or all kinds of translated material. It must be one way or another.

Anyone else just got that song stuck in your heads?

.... Onwards.

My baby cousin (girl) and my smaller baby cousin (boy) is coming over this weekend, for me (and my mum to babysit them) - It's a bit funny how English hasn't got any gender-cousin stuff. I can't wait! They're both so cute, and it'll be a blast!

I've never been the sort of person who'd go: oh-my-god-this-band-is-making-a-new-album-and-I-gotta-have-it, but now I can't wait for Chameleon Circuit's Still Got Legs and Lauren Fairweather's The Prince's Tale.

I think that's it for me.

My thursday top 3:

1. A Good Man Goes to War is only in a couple of days!

2. The birthday I have to go to, tomorrow. This means friends, good times and a reason to dress up.

3. Tea. Just because. And the packages I'm waiting for to arrive. And Starkid soundtracks. At the same time.

.. I hope I'll see ya'll next week, kay? It's a big blog to keep for one.

I am also extremely excited for summer. I have 5 more school days left (technically 8, but I'll be gone for 3 of them) and then I'm done with high school. Woo!

I don't really have any major plans for the summer. My main plan is to relax as much as possible and spend a ton of time with my friends before we all leave for college. There will be many graduation parties in the next few weeks and many going away parties in August and many days for just sitting around in the sunshine together.

I'm also trying to find a job for this summer. Not sure where I'm going to work because I'm still working on getting hired. I've been applying to a lot of places recently, so hopefully someone will hire me soon.

I guess there will also be quite a bit of packing and getting ready to move out and go to college. And the college I'm going to has a pre-orientation backpacking trip in Yosemite National Park, which I might go on and would be really amazing and exciting. I'm not so sure about how I feel about the whole living in the wilderness thing, but spending a week in Yosemite does sound pretty incredible.

Anyway, I think those are my main plans for this summer. My recommendation for this week is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I'm only part of the way through it, but it's really good so far.

Summer plans!

First: happy late birthday, Emily!

Today my study-preparation holiday-ish thing started, and I have two exams next months, "graduation" and then summer. I'm going to work in a theme park all summer in an icecream/candy/sweets store/booth.

Which is going to be hard, but I'll get experience, which is the main reason to do it. Other than that, I hope I'll get a tan (I always manage to get a tan in my face, while the rest of my body remains winter-pale) and read loads of books (and I'll love some good recommendations!)

I don't have other plans, actually. We're not travelling this year, so I'll get plenty of time to prepare myself for the new school, which is going to be hard. But I am actually excited, which I think is vital for you to enjoy it.

I hope I'll get to watch Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 on opening night in Denmark (it's 13th of july here) - not sure if it's possible, since it'll be midnight, Copenhagen is .. fairly big and I have no place to go to afterwards. And no one to go with.

I think that's all from me!

Oh, and did anyone see Teefury's Stare Contest Doctor Who t-shirt last week? I bought it. Like a boss.

DFTBA (:

SUMMER! yay!

Don't you guys love those days where you walk outside and it's surprisingly warm and sunny? I LIVE for those days in the spring. And now it's summer! YAY! I feel like a little kid, saying "yay, it's summer" all the time.

By the way, happy early birthday Emily!

I hate to rub it in, but I'm done with school! My last final was on Friday, which was why I didn't post last week. I was studying so much. Ugh, it was awful.

This summer, I am nannying. I'm going to be sharing this job with my sister, and we'll switch off days or something like that. (I don't know if I told you guys, but I have a twin named Allie.) It's a family of three boys (jeez) and it's going to be about 20 hours per week, I think. I don't even like babysitting in general, so I'm not sure how this will work out. I'm just hoping to make some money.

My family takes a few trips every summer, and this year we are going to Yellowstone and Montana with my cousins. We're renting a house and staying in Big Sky. It's going to be gorgeous and I'm looking forward to shopping and hiking and other fun stuff. I'm really excited for this trip.

I'm also going to spend a week with my grandparents in Minnesota. They live on a lake, so we can go kayaking, swimming, and sailing. It's really nice.

I'm really looking forward to Deathly Hollows Part 2, as well! I'm going to go to the midnight premiere, since I couldn't go to the first one. Unfortunately for many of my friends that went to the Part 1 midnight premiere, a lot of the scenes broke and they didn't get to see it. They were so mad, but the theater gave them tons of free passes, so that calmed them down. I was kind of glad that I didn't try to go to the midnight showing. I would have been so disappointed (and tired) if I had.

My Recommendation: the show Parks and Recreation. I love this show. It's hilarious and it's my new obsession.

DFTBA :)

Summer

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY :) (Just pretend it's Wednesday) (Also, I hope you're feeling better)

Summer is almost here, which is pretty awesome. I have two weeks left of school, which is also kind of strange, because this year has gone by so slowly (and it still feels like it's going slowly with 8 or 9 days left). I think this is the summer I'm looking forward to the most out of summers past, for many a reason.

1) In general, I'm looking for summer purely for what I'm planning on doing during the summer, instead of just relief to be out of school (okay, not purely)

2) I might be able to go down to Florida in June to visit Universal (by which I mean the Harry Potter theme park), because my mom has a plane ticket voucher she might not be able to use, and a cousin (or relative of some sort) who happens to live in Florida (which I didn't actually know until I jokingly suggested going to Florida - I never expect she'd take me even kinda seriously).

3) As mentioned previously (I think, somewhere) I'm going to be at Kenyon for a two week writing program, hopefully developing/fine-tuning my fictional writing technique. I'm excited to be going away from home (by which I mean the place, and also the people), and to meet new people who have at least one major thing in common with me. (It would also be pretty cool if I found a nerdfighter there)

4) I'm spending most of July (I think) in California with my dad, who I haven't seen in months. I'm excited to see my dad again, but also to see the rest of his side of the family (most of it anyway). Also, California is pretty and cool, and my dad is currently in the San Francisco Bay area. Also, Deathly Hallows Part 2 comes out in July. I'm looking forward to this (in a bittersweet kind of way, because it means the end of Harry Potter stuff release -- at least for the near future)

5) Band Camp for Marching Band is in August, and as a senior, I get to help run the show. Marching Band is tiring and time consuming, but it is also fun and full of (for the most part) awesome people. I'm hoping that, even with the additional stress of running things, the ability to have more creative control and the knowledge that it's my last hurrah, will make Marching Band in the year to come extremely fun.

Recommendation: for (relatively- to majorly-obsessed) Harry Potter fans, the website virtual-hogwarts.org, which is a very thorough RPing site that takes place in the Wizarding World. (I am not a representative of the site. Anyone who wants to join should read all of the Rules and Guideline first :)

Au Revoir!

Musings of an Almost-Adult

Sorry that I wasn't able to post on Friday. I've been sick and have spent the past two days on the couch watching about 2397532 episodes of 30 Rock because that was all I was physically and mentally capable of doing.

Anyway, my 18th birthday is this Wednesday. It's pretty exciting, but also pretty mind blowing. I mean, I'm going to be an adult.

How did this happen?

All my life, adults have seemed like these super mature, sophisticated, wise people who know what they're doing, but now I'm going to be one and I am none of those things. I feel like I'm supposed to be able to become a functioning member of society at this point and learn about jobs and taxes and voting and such, yet I really just want to curl up in a blanket and watch Disney movies.

But most people probably feel the same way. Maybe not exactly the same, but I can't be the only almost-18-year-old who doesn't feel like an adult. I guess that's just how it goes. We'll all get thrust into the real world whether we're ready or not, and we'll do whatever we can to make it. The adults I know seem to have turned out all right through all of that, so I guess I've got a chance.

So my recommendation is the show 30 Rock. It may seem a bit odd at first, but it's pretty fantastic and hilarious. And I watched an entire season of it in a day. I don't even know how many episodes I watched this weekend, but they were all incredible.

Eurovision

I think I should explain Eurovision, 'cause one of my American friends, didn't know what it was. All European countries makes a contest in each of their own country a few months before the big finale. During the "audition", the viewers votes for those they want to represent their country at the finale.

The finale is a two months later, or so. It's a HUGE thing in Europe, loads of people fly to the place it's held (the previous year's winner's country gets to host Eurovision) and then all the countries perform, then voting, entertainment, reveal of the votings and then the winner is found, where they go to stage and perform their song again. Then end credits.

I normally stay away from Eurovision Song Contest, but I thought it was funny to look at my Twitter Feed at the same time (which is why I ended up watching the entire thing)

And that made me think about how Europe comes united that one night. People cheer and have oads of fun with their family and friends, singing along, cheering for the good ones, and laugh at the bad ones, and make fun at the really bad ones. It's a lovely 3 hours, and loads of fun. If you don't believe me, you should all watch Moldova's entry this year. Oh, and while you're there, you should check out the Danish one this year. It's actually good. And by actually, I mean, sometimes it's really rubbish.

We've sent a drag once, with the song "I'm your dramaqueen tonight"... I think it speaks for itself. I'm not opposed to drags at all, but I can't believe Denmark were watching ESC a couple of years ago and thought "hmm, this song is the best out of ten... Or, at least, we'll have a ball, and Europe will find it amusing" (It worked, we reached semifinal)

This year, Azerbaijan won. It is a small country in the Eastern Europe. And because so few knows where that is, it sounds a bit like, that we don't care.

The songs are easily forgotten, admitted. But when we unite as a continent, we must remember, that making "too much fun" where it just ends up being hated. Of course, it can be done classy, as long as it's nice. But why unite, if we unite as in "you and me, vs. them"

It would be lovely, if Europe, over the next years of Eurovision would come together and just have fun, as we're supposed to. And make better songs.

Rebecca, I hope your prom was as much fun as it sounded like, and good luck on Tech Week, which I still haven't got a clue, what is about.

My recommendation this week is Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. It was witty, weird (good weird) and I personally like stories, where the main character changes.

DFTBA till next week

Tech, Prom, and Joss Whedon

Hell Week is here! Well, Tech Week, actually, but that's just a technicality (pun somewhat intended). Anyway, my school's Drama Club is putting on a production of Twelve Angry Men (although, really it's Twelve Angry People, because of the female performers, but that's another technicality) at the end of the week, and I am running lights for it (which I'm pretty exited about, I get to wear a headset!). But since this is the week of the play and all, everything is going to be hectic, and I'm going to be getting home at ridiculous hours (I left at 7:45, which is actually an extremely reasonable time for Tech Week [of course, I didn't have to stay to change and hear notes, so I don't know when everyone else left]). Tech Week is always very tiring and full of tension and stress, but it is also wonderful in some ways. It's really a great opportunity to spend time with people I might not otherwise associate with on a regular basis. And while the cast generally has months to get used to one another, typically the crew is only there for one or two week. But even in that short time the people who contribute to each production (in whatever way) start to become a (really effed up) family. I also think helping with Tech form plays and performances is really fun. All of the stress and hard work ultimately pays off during the show (although this is often even more tense and stress filled than the rest of the week, albeit tempered with excitement and happiness and pride and such).

This weekend was also Prom for me, which was pretty fun. I actually only ended up deciding to go to Prom early on in the week preceding it, so I ended up going in an old Homecoming dress. It was an enjoyable time, and I really appreciated the extra time to spend with my senior friends who will, sadly, be leaving soon. I even got to dance with my crush (though only with the prodding of their sister...)! And I went to IHOP afterwards with a bunch of friends and got to wolf down chocolate-chip pancakes while talking about feminism (and Firefly a bit) (this definitely says something about my friends and I; apparently it is perfectly normal for us to have an intense discussion about feminism at 1 in the morning after Prom over pancakes). We (well, the driver) managed to get lost on the way to IHOP, which was fun (if slightly concerning at one point).

Also, I started and finished Firefly (and Serenity as well) this week, which was pretty ruttin' good. I really like Joss Whedon's writing (though, unfortunately, I have been instructed not to watch Buffy, a verdict which I am planning on challenging soon), and am immensely sad that the show was canceled, because it had potential. Though I really wish there were subtitles for the Mandarin. (Oh, for people who don't know, Firefly is a Sci-Fi western about a bunch of [nine] space-traveling outlaws on board a spaceship called Serenity [which is a Firefly model]) I have also started watching Dollhouse, which is ridiculously creepy, but (so far) is also pretty good. And while it's been a while since I've watched it, I should mention Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog which is brilliantly hilarious (and sort of sad, because Whedon likes the Anyone Can Die trope a bit too much). Anyway, I should conclude this messy paragraph by recommending everything mentioned in it (yes, this includes Buffy, even though I have only seen one episode. Enjoy it for me.)

P.S. Sorry for the rambly, spastic nature that I am sensing this post has turned into (or, indeed, started off as). I am trying to keep it short this week, in hopes of getting decent sleep, but I apparently can't do short (without a bunch of parenthetical asides) and poor transitions. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I will now stop thinking aloud (or through text, whatever. Technicality).

VWORP VWORP VWORP

I'm really happy about how this season of Doctor Who is turning out. I don't even know how to express how awesome it is. It's magnificent and I hope it stays that way.

I find it hard to theorize about the show because anything I come up with is probably too simple for Moffat. When it comes to River, I have no idea what she could be. I feel like Moffat is hiding something big, and we'll never know what it is until he tells us. I think this is why I'm really unsure of how I feel about how the relationship between the Doctor and River is shaping up. I love how we're finally getting to know River more as a person and I love how they interact now, but at the same time I feel like this relationship is too simple. So far it's just a sad timey-wimey romance story, and it would be boring for them to just continue in this direction because we know exactly where it leads. Predictable stories are boring.

I guess we still have to find out about who she kills. I feel like it might have been future River in the astronaut suit killing the Doctor, but maybe not. My other idea is that she kills Rory, but I really don't want that happen. The poor guy has already died enough times. He deserves a break.

Amy's sort-of-pregnancy is blowing my mind even more. My best guess is that the Silence did something strange to her while they kept her captive and impregnated her, and because the Silence are so strange, the pregnancy scanner can't figure out what the heck is going on. Or perhaps they put some Doctor DNA into her womb and are trying to grow a partially time lord pilot for their pseudo-TARDIS, and the little time-head girl is the result of that. Somehow.

And then there's eye-patch lady. I don't even know what to think of her. Sorry if this is seeming a bit rambley and scattered. There is just so much confusion in this season and I love it. My mind tends to just shout jibberish whenever I try to wrap my head around things. Everything is insane and mind-blowing and exciting. I can't wait to find out what's really going on. And I can't wait for tomorrow's episode written by Neil Gaiman.

Speaking of Neil Gaiman, my recommendation for this week is Stardust, which is written by him. I feel like I may have suggested this before, but whatever. It's still an adorable book. I finally finished it tonight and it's so cute. There's also a movie based of it, and it's one of the few that's pretty much as good as the book.

Also, I recently introduced my dad to Doctor Who, and I just caught him walking around saying, "Are you my mummy?" Makes me proud. :)

Yay, Doctor Who!

Not that long time ago, I rambled about Harry Potter, and this time I get to talk about Doctor Who, my second huge fandom.

I love the Doctor Who fanbase. The fans are all loving the show, pointing out questions, making up theories, trying to tie knots together. It's so nice and I love being a part of it all.

I make theories as well, and this will be the spoiler part.

1. I think that the girl who regenerated in the street at the end of Day Of The Moon (which by the way, was an amazing episode) is a regenerated Jenny. The William Hartnell to Matt Smith (agewise) would be able to work (Derek Jacobi/John Simm, anyone?)Georgia Moffett, the actress who originally portrayed Jenny was pregnant at the time, so they needed a new incarnation of her anyway.*
2. That was my original thought. Then I saw a blogpost somewhere, with them looking on IMDB, and (I'm not making it up; this is the info I saw) that Lucy Saxon will return - as the little girl. I think Steven Moffat's incredible imagination would be able to make it all fit together, so I won't rule that out either.
3. The Eye-Patch Lady is from the future. In Day of the Moon, she says "I think she's dreaming" or something. In E3, where Amy sees her again, she was sleeping. I think the next time we'll see her, will be when Amy's panicking or something.
4. I have no idea who River is. I keep hoping (until opposite prove) that they're not married. It's too boring. But of course, River really loves this man. Hopefully, we get to see soon, when the Doctor knows her fully, and understands who she is.
5. I have no idea, who really was in the spacesuit when The Doctor got killed in the first episode. If it really was Lucy, then I would have no clue whatsoever. Nor River. That would make no sense. Although, it would fit. It could be for his own safety. I just hope, there'll be a way to make the Doctor live.

And those were my thoughts. Loads of them.

My recommendation AVPM. You have seen them, AND FINALLY SO HAVE I. Can't believe I've missed out on so much fun!

DFTBA till next week :D

Doctor Who!

Yes! We are talking about Doctor Who. I have been waiting for this day to come. But, I haven't been watching Doctor Who for very long, so I must apologize for my limited knowledge. Plus, I missed last week's episode!

Anyway, this season seems to be getting more confusing every episode. The Silence is really creepy too.

Theories: This if probably very far-fetched, but I think that maybe the child is Rory and Amy's child. Amy and the Doctor were talking about how, if Amy was pregnant, the child might be affected by the time travel in some way. It's also possible that River is Amy's baby.

I was really freaked out by the River/Doctor kiss too! It just kind of came out of nowhere! I knew that they were a couple, but I was not expecting it. This hope is kind of diminished now, since Rory and Amy are together, but last season, I was really hoping Amy and the Doctor would get together. That's never going to happen though.

My favorite quote from the Doctor: "I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's no one standing around looking impressed! What is the point in having you all?" :)

Recommendation: sparkling blood orange soda. It's really good.

I'm sorry this is so short. DFTBA :)

Doctor Who [Spoilers]

I can't think of anything to talk about, so I'm going to talk about Doctor Who. So, apologies to any non-Who fans. And to any Who fans who  haven't seen the past three episodes, because there will be *SPOILERS* (and, yes, I totally imagined River saying that in that she sing-songy voice she does as soon as I typed it).

So, I have to say that "The Impossible Astronaut"/"Day of the Moon" is my favorite two-parter from the Moffat era, and two of my favorite episodes in the Moffat era in general (though all of my favorite Moffat episodes are from the RTD era, funny that). I feel like before I jump in with speculation, questions and surprise, I should a mini-review of the first few episodes.

"The Impossible Astronaut" was really engaging for me, and I quite enjoyed the pacing, though the story-setup took a bit too long, perhaps, and didn't leave time for much enjoyment of the Alien of the Week, or just the Danger of the Week in general.  That said, I really liked how characterization was handled in this episode, with Amy, Rory and River having to keep such a huge secret from the Doctor. I can't imagine that would be easy, and I thought the emotions and responses from each of the characters were great, and well acted. Especially the entire scene in the diner; Karen Gillan's delivery of Amy's reaction to Rory and River worrying about the envelopes when she still thought the Doctor was gone for good was brilliant. And I have to admit that I had an internal *squee* when River slapped the Doctor, because I was honestly thinking that someone needed to do that right before it happened. I think that won River points in my book, and I'm not particularly a River fan.

"Day of the Moon" was a great conclusion to "The Impossible Astronaut", and I also enjoyed quite a bit more. I liked the visuals of the characters covered in the tally marks, which always seemed very eerie (the visuals specifically, not necessarily the significance). I find the Silence sort of creepy, only in that they have the ability to control people's actions, without people remembering. All the same, they never seemed to be that scary within the episodes, except for the Silence that killed Joy, aside from their ability to erase themselves from people's memory. I thought the hand recording things were also very cool. Which reminds me of characterization which was even better in this episode, what with Rory overhearing Amy talk about the person she really loves. The lines were written brilliantly vaguely, and Arthur Darvill's acting of Rory's distress in response to the idea that Amy might really love the Doctor was superb. I was ridiculously happy when Amy called Rory "stupid face".

Onto speculation and confusion surrounding the episodes! First off: who the heck is the child, and why is she regenerating? I came up with this weird theory that the child is some sort of weird combination of two children time-traveling between River and Amy. Meaning that the fathers would be the Doctor and Rory. Honestly, though, I'm terrible at theories and would actually much rather be completely and ridiculously surprised at whatever the truth is. But Amy's positive-negative pregnancy and the picture of her with the child are deeply fascinating. Also, is it actually the child that kills the Doctor? I'm not entirely sure whether or not to be convinced by that at this point.

The Doctor and River kissed! Um, really that was kind of just a OMG WTF moment for me, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the increasing blatant-ness of their having a romantic relationship, because I really don't like the idea of River being the Doctor's wife. It would be too mundane. Even still, I couldn't begin to come up with who River might "really" be.

These episodes left so many questions, and left me really excited for the rest of the season. Onto "The Curse of the Black Spot"!

In comparison to the first two episodes, this one felt a bit weak. I liked the play on the siren myth, but the episode in general seemed to lack something that the first two had. Characterization might be one, because while there were a lot of good Rory-Amy moments, I don't think most of them went anywhere. The exception would be at the end of the episode when Amy manages to save Rory and their exchanges during the last few minutes of the episode. I also liked the Doctor calling Amy "Amelia", and both of them being concerned for the other over secrets their keeping from the other. Plot-wise, the story didn't do much for me, though I certainly enjoyed it (especially the banter between the Captain and the Doctor, and Eleven's bemoaning of his lack of hat). I think that the really significant moment in the episode was the shot of the woman from "Day of the Moon" in the wall of the boat. She reminded me of the woman that visits Wilf in "The End of Time", though I'm rather certain this character will serve a  different purpose. The episode was enjoyable, but it didn't seem to move the Doctor's character on any further, and only Amy and Rory's minimally, and I think in a show that has a different supporting cast each week, the effect of the story on the main/recurring characters should be more apparent.

So those are my thoughts, I'm still looking forward to the rest of the season and I hope that it regains the speed it started off with. My recommendation will be Spiced Chai Tea (I particularly like the Ruby Red Rooibos Chai that I get from Trader Joe's, but I don't know how readily available that is elsewhere). Because it is delicious.

I see that we're talking about Osama this week. I found out monday morning, and I felt a bit weird. Twitter was going crazy, having jokes and celebrations.

But, I did not. I thought it was wrong, to celebrate the loss of a human being.

I know he wasn't a nice person. I know what he did at 9/11 - the entire world does.

But even so, it felt wrong to celebrate. I read lots of things, that I thought was right, and agreed to, and here are some of those (not exact, and I can't remember where from anymore either)

• It's wrong to celebrate death - anyone's death. Instead, if you must celebrate - then celebrate the thought that he's no longer able to hurt anymore.

• Celebrating his death isn't the way to peace; it's collecting wood for the fire.

Those were my thoughts, monday morning. I also thought, that there was a reason to why both Hitler and Osama were non-good people. How did they turn into these murdering and hating humans?

There must be an explanation to it.

Think of it; instead of killing him, we could maybe have known why. ... Although, I don't think that would happen.

Now, to happier things.

I've just finished my last exam today. Or my written exam for this school year. Loads of them to come, unfortunately.

Anyway, they all went well. Except my maths one, I can already hear me fail it.

Other than exams, I've just read the classic Catcher In The Rye. Have any of you read it? If so, thoughts?

Personally I thought Holden VERY annoying. In the danish version (wasn't able to get the english) - and I borrowed the one with the old manner of talking with You, etc.

Anyway, he was reassauring the reader about his personal opinions. All. The. Time. I mean, if Holden's favorite color was yellow, he doesn't have to tell me it was twice.

I got it the first time. Maybe it's a sign on insecurity. I also found his lack oh happiness (or short joy) very annoying. He was never happy. Not once. He didn't like the people, the places, nothing. It was so annyoing. And, dear mr. J. D. Salinger, what does actually happen to the ducks in the Central Park pond?

Yesterday, I read till chapter 16, and I watched the first part of John Green's video about Catcher In The Rye, and even though I was already annoyed with Holden, he made me want to finish the book. I see now, the story, but I still dislike Holden. I wish, he'd done more for his own happiness.

My recommendation this week is John Green's Paper Towns. You may have read it - if you haven't you're really missing out!

DFTBA (and happy Hanko De Mayo)

Good News?

I learned the news about Osama bin Laden when my mother popped her head into my room and said, "Go watch the news, Osama bin Laden has been killed." I guess I was originally happy to hear it, but I have to agree with Rebecca. Celebrating about the death of someone is really wrong.

I understand that the people cheering in front of the White House and other places were probably caught up in the moment and just relieved, but I don't think they should be celebrating. Yes, we should announce that we've taken a big step in the war against terror, but a death is not something to be happy about.

When President Obama made his address, I don't think that he was saying the death brought the justice. I think Obama meant that the justice came from stopping bin Laden from committing anymore crimes. I'm not a supporter of war, but I think that Obama and the government handled the situation well.

I glad that many family members of 9/11 victims can have closure and relief, but I would definitely not encourage celebration.

My Recommendation: it's May! Go outside and sit in the sun! I apologize if it's still really cold where you live, but I'm really loving the weather right now!

DFTBA :B

Peace, Love and Violence

How should you respond to the death of a tyrant?  Well, I'm not sure how you *should* respond to it, but I'm going to posit that one way you *shouldn't* is through celebration.

Yet, I don't think a lot of people seem to grasp this.

Osama bin Laden was found and killed yesterday (EDIT: he was actually found before Sunday, but a plan to capture/kill him was created to be carried out on Sunday) which, as my mom pointed out, seems rather anticlimactic.  A decade after the horror of 9/11 and with bin Laden on the run, as well as the "War on Terror", this one person, who seems to have had little organizational purpose by his end, seems insignificant.  Not insignificant in the sense that the crimes he committed were small or un-horrendous, but rather that he seems to have had little significance in terms of power and control in the recent past.

I consider myself, for the most part, a pacifist.  Now, this doesn't mean I wouldn't fight in my own defense (or have the occasional wrestling match with my siblings), but I don't  believe that anyone "deserves" to be killed.  Period.  So the idea that people in America are celebrating the death of bin Laden are celebrating, or happy that he's died (rather than happy that he won't be any more atrocities), is somewhat disturbing to me.

Of course, I understand that people who lost loved one in 9/11 might feel happy that bin Laden was gone, in a vengeful way, but since when was vengeance a good thing?  Or a thing to be celebrated?

I watched Obama's address yesterday, about bin Laden's death, and what struck me the most was that bin Laden's death was considered "justice".  My definition of justice does not include killing, and I felt uncomfortable with the idea that violence was an acceptable form of justice.

Perhaps I view this from a wider angle than simply "Osama bin laden is dead".  I think that violence breeds violence, and hate breeds hate.  The celebration or willful perpetuation of either of these things will never bring peace (or even relative peace, since I don't believe true piece is actually capable of being attained).  To quote Gabrielle (or paraphrase, since I'm terrible at quoting from memory) from Xena  "The only way to end the cycle of hate isProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

hrough love."  Sounds cheesy, but I think it's also right.

I put the response to bin Laden's death in a larger worldview, because of it's possibly larger implications.  There are plenty of (deranged) people who believe any number of people are tyrants. And while bin Laden is recognized as a tyrant by the majority of the world, what's to stop someone else from thinking killing the person *they* believe is a tyrant is acceptable.  Maybe that's a stretch, but it's unsettling to me nonetheless.

My recommendation is to go through all of these recommendations and compile them into a list, so that you might actually remember to follow through on them.

I shall part from these words I found on facebook from MLK: "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Random Ramblings

Rebecca, I can't say I've ever been in a similar situation, but it sure doesn't sound fun. Try to remember that things will get better over time. =)

Susie, I definitely agree with your views on feminism and facebook, especially about women getting education. It's getting a lot better, at least in the US. The college I'm going to next year, which has a heavy focus on science, math, and engineering, had a VERY heavy male majority. However, this year there are more females admitted than males. It makes me happy to see that women are making so much progress. I just hope it keeps going in this direction until there's equality.

Jonathan, I really love that Morgan Freeman video you posted. Also, Portal 2 is epic. I still have yet to finish it because I'm a terribly slow video game player, but I feel like I'm getting pretty close. Sometimes I've felt like the puzzles were a bit too simple, but most of the time there's enough complex puzzles, interesting dialogue, and tidbits of storyline and action to make me absolutely love this game. If I weren't writing this blog post right now, I'd probably be playing Portal.

Simone, the faces of the Silence definitely creep me out too. Their power creeps me out too because everyone is up against something they will never really know about. And now whenever I walk into a room and forget what I was going to do and walk back out, I'm like, "OH GOD, I MUST BE RUNNING FROM THE SILENCE." And then I remember they're fictional and I'm okay. As for River, I have no idea. I think anything we come up with will most likely be wrong. I think she's the astronaut at the beginning, though, but that's because I made a random bet with my dad about it. He thinks it's the Doctor, which is a bit too timey-wimey for me.
And Portal is sort of a tough game to explain. You're in this strange science lab that has a bunch of test chambers that are like puzzle mazes for people, and you have to get through each room by using your portal gun, which can shoot a blue hole and an orange hole in the walls, and when you go through one hole you come out the other, no matter where it is in the room. And the computer running the whole thing is crazy, evil, and hilarious. That was probably the worst description ever, but I swear it's a fun game! You might want to check here for a better explanation.

Well, I don't think I really have any new topics to bring up. Prom is coming up and that's all I can think of and you guys probably wouldn't want to hear about my struggles and it would make this post way too long. Anyway, my recommendation for this week is Reefer Madness: the Movie Musical. If you're up for a hilarious, ridiculous satire based on an anti-marijuana propaganda film from the 1930s, this is the movie for you. And it's a musical, which just makes it even better.

Growing up with Harry Potter

Hey guys! It's so good to see you all posting again! (:

As you can tell from the title, I can't manage to talk about anything else (and sorry, non-Harry Potter fans in advance!) - 'cause I've just seen the trailer.

And I CRIED. I tried not to, because I made fun of my mum for crying at the end of the trailer to Mao's Last Dancer - so that she wouldn't make fun of me. But I failed miserably. I love Harry Potter, and I remember watching the movie for the first time; where in the scene with the giant chessboard, running to the kitchen and peek through the door and secretly watch what happened. I scribbled "Simone, 7" in my second book, and I remember getting the sixth book for either my eleventh or twelth birthday. I literally grew up with HP and I have trouble imagining myself be able to love another series as much as HP. I wouldn't say it changed my life, I'd rather say it helped me become how I am now. Maybe, if I hadn't had something nice and fiction to enter, I'd be insane, because I had a hard time growing up. I didn't like being a child, and I started reading YA books when I was 9 or 10, to feel more grown-up.

I actually imagined I'd be writing something about Doctor Who for this week, because of the series opener last saturday, so I'll just squeeze in something. Emily, I really liked your Silence gif. But I am a bit scared of the Silence. Not really because - and this is unusual - because of their powers (I mean, not very scary that you forget about it), but their appearance. (Oh, and sorry non-Doctor Who fans as well) - oh the fandoms! - anyway, I was so scared when it attacked that poor, random woman!

I can't wait for the next episode - and this series in its entire.

And I have one message: Steven Moffat, if you even consider putting Rory in more danger than usual, I will hunt you down and make you rewrite the script, and make him hero of the day (I mean, the Doctor is always the dashing hero, but I'm sure he can live with Rory saving the day once in a while) - Oh, and any good theories on who River Song is?

I see this is getting kind of short.. And sentimental.

Rebecca, I liked how your recommendation crossed with my thoughts. I added that exact book last week to my Amazon wishlist, and I've been thinking about getting it a lot since then. Oh, and anyone care to explain Portal? I know it's a videogame, and there's recently been released number 2. But ehm, being a noob videogame-wise I have no idea what Portal is or .. anything, really.

DFTBA till next week :D

Hello Everybody!

Sorry for my leave of absence. A combination of sparse access to the internets and the fact tht I have ap exams to study for sucked up what time I had to post stuff. I will make sure to post from now on though, so sorry bout that.

I dont have anything interesting to bring up, so I'll just add to the other two topics that are floating around.

first, Feminism. I feel that Feminists, like racial activists, feel that we live in a world made to dominate and oppress them. This is pretty true, and I dont like it when people just dismiss their causes as trivial or crazy, but at the same time I agree with what Susie said in that they can get carried away.

Ultimately, I think that the big catch 22 with problems like these is that by solving the problem, we inadvertanly make it worse. By having affirmative action towards gender or race, we in fact serve to distance each other even more. It seems that the only thing to really do is just drop it entirely.

I think Morgan Freeman says it best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeixtYS-P3s

Also, Rebecca I totally can relate to caring about what people who youve been close to think about you. I went out with this girl once and even though it ended on what I think were pretty good terms, I still wonder every once in a while whether she thinks badly about me. and then I realize I shouldn't care.

Time heals all wounds I guess....

my reccomendation is also portal 2. THE MOOOOOOOOON

Feminism and Everything Else

Sorry I missed last week! I completely spaced, so I guess I can cover everything this week.

I agree that feminism shouldn't undermine men, but that women need to stand up and win their rights. Women's rights have improved a lot in the last century, but there is a lot of things that could be done to improve it. Another part of it is education. The world would be so much better if all women were educated. Have you seen the Girls, Inc. videos? I think it's totally true that empowering women would have a huge, positive effect on the world. But, if feminism is taken to extreme heights, we would just have a lot of crazies running around.

I also think that Facebook can be a great way to have fun, spread ideas, and voice your opinions, but people will say things that they wouldn't say face to face. Arguments can get can get out of hand and be misunderstood online. For example, a band that recently broke up, You Me and Everyone We Know, is currently having a huge argument online, with everyone else to see. It's getting really crazy and I don't know who to believe. It's really sad to see a band that I love break-up and then there is all this drama going on, as well. I don't think that the band members have talked personally, either, they are just reading posts on a website to see what the other side is saying.

My recommendation is the band, You Me and Everyone We Know. Hopefully you won't pay attention to the argument going on.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Easter (or if you don't celebrate it, a good Sunday).

Emily, that picture was hilarious! I loved the new Doctor Who! The creepy alien is freaking me out, though. :)

DFTBA

When Self Esteem Fails

Do any of you guys have one person whose opinion you care about the most?  I've spent a lot of the past few years learning how to ignore what other people thought about me, and it's worked mostly.  Of course, it's not foolproof.  If you poke at the same sore spots repeatedly, it hurts, but ultimately I care very little about what most people think about me.  And then there's my ex-boyfriend.

I suppose he can be considered my ex-ex-ex-boyfriend since I dated him twice (that makes sense, honest).  I suppose it's not really a surprise that the first (and only, as it happens) person I dated (and loved) would be the person whose opinion affected me the most, but it's still bloody annoying.  The first time we broke up I was heart-broken, and went through a really horrid period of time where I was constantly trying to convince myself that I was over him, which only ever worked for brief periods of time.  Eventually I got to the point where I could be friends with him, and that friendship obviously grew into a second relationship.

But in between that first break up and our second attempt at a relationship we had both grown in different ways.  I had become more independent in those two years, and less naïve, but that didn't mix so well with his hopeless romantic side.  We broke up again after two months.  At the end of our second relationship I was pretty sad at first, but the end of our relationship had been filled with arguments and fights and with a lot of unhappiness on both sides, and I've largely come to accept that.  I don't think we're good together, but I also don't think I'm ever going to really get over him.

This was definitely proved by the fact that he very recently started dating someone again.  Partly, this news was very weird, because the person he's dating happens to be a friend, but also because I didn't expect to feel anything resembling jealousy when he started dating someone (mind, it's not raging jealousy, but it's still there). Then, his facebook status today proclaimed that his current girlfriend is one of the top three people he knows, which somehow made me feel really sad, probably because both times we were dating he never said anything close to the same about me.  And then I felt silly for feeling bad about that.

It's really aggravating, knowing that someone isn't good for you, but not being able to let go of them, and having their opinion of you constantly matter.  But so far I've been handling this break-up loads better than how I handled the first one, these past few days have just proved that it's going to be harder than it originally seemed.

So I'm not completely down for the count, but sometimes the little things have the most insidious ways at getting under your skin.

Anyway, I feel slightly embarrassed from having shared all that, so I'm going to end here with a recommendation to read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.

Feminism, Activism, and Other -Isms (except that's a lie; I only have 2 -isms)

I'm so sorry I missed last week! I left for Science Olympiad in the middle of the school day, and by the time I remembered that I needed to blog, I was already in a hotel across the state from my house. XP

I have a brief comment on the make-up topic. I definitely agree that make-up should be used in moderation. One thing that happened at my school recently is that a friend of mine started an event on Facebook for "No Make-Up Friday". The idea behind it was that although make-up can be fun, girls should be able to feel good about themselves just the way they are and not feel the need to hide behind make-up. I'm not sure how much it really helped any of the girls or whether other people actually participated, but I still really like the idea of it.

Rebecca, that sounds like quite the Facebook conversation! I would also like to commend you on being very eloquent and rational about your opinions. I agree that the image is not too agressive, but perhaps that's just because I'm female too. I feel like although a lot of progress has been made in women's rights, there's still quite a bit of inequality between the genders in our society today. And nothing is going to change if people are going to be passive and not do anything about the problem. I think that all of the things listed in the picture are very real issues, and the only way anything is going to happen about them is if women stand up and fight for what is right, not in a violent way, but in a supporting equality way. It's more like it's saying that even though society tends to put women through more crap just for being women, we're going to be tough, stay strong, and push through.

It seems that some feminists do take it a bit too far; they seem to be trying to make men feel as inferior as possible. I don't think that's what feminism should be about. It should be about striving for equality. We are all human beings, so we should all be treated the same way.

As far as Facebook activism, I agree with what Simone said. In a perfect world, people would be able to discuss politics rationally, even when they have a computer screen between each other. People are very opinionated and very stubborn. Discussions turn into arguments and the arguments never go anywhere because few people are willing to listen to the other side. Another problem with political discussions/arguments is that it always seems to me that nobody actually knows what they're talking about, so the opinions they're so passionate about are often based on misinformation, which doesn't help anyone. I think a lot of those problems with political discussions happen with other touchy subjects, like evolution or feminism or abortion.

So Facebook and other social media sites tend to be pretty bad for discussing social activism. On the other hand, I think it can be very good at spreading the word of problems going on in the world. There are many issues I probably would have never known much about had it not been for activism on social media. Facebook may not be the best place to discuss issues, but it can definitely be beneficial for letting people know about problems in the world and what they can do about them.

My recommendation for this week is Portal and Portal 2. They're both amazing video games. Probably my favorite video games ever. Portal 2 came out on Tuesday and I've been playing it quite a lot. If you haven't played it, I highly suggest you play it ASAP.

Also, for all the Whovians here, I'm pretty pumped for tomorrow. :)

It's already been a week?

[Insert cheesy way to express astonishment]

It's already thursday again?? These weeks seems to become shorter. Or maybe, I've been actually busy. Hopefully the last - that makes me sound sophisticated.

So, Rebecca - that was one Facebook conversation!

Now, I'm all up for equality, but not feminism in particular. I mean, sure women should be appreciated and they should be acknowledged, and it's so good to see female bosses, etc.

But, we must remember that without men, we wouldn't be able to create life. Human life, at least. In decades, maybe lifetimes, scientists may have found a way to produce life without the male genes, and so the women will rule the world? And would that be a good thing? I don't hope so personally. Both genders were made for a reason, and the "balance" in nature would just go wild if anything was changed. (btw, nothing is scientifically proven, and whatever I say may not happen - I'm guessing)

Enough about equality and my opinion on that; now about making activism on Facebook. It's a good place, if you want to be heard. I see the point in standing up to your own gender, but I don't think that politics really belong to social medias. Don't get me wrong, all I'm saying is, that it wouldn't be nice to be looking at political parties discuss online, right?

it's kinda the same when you let the public talk about politics as well. We're all just so different, and what one may think is right, is dead wrong to another.

I thought the picture aggresive, sure, but for men. Men doesn't feel the need to show who's in power with signs and posters, they just feel confident enough to just say "I feel superior to your gender" which is 1. wrong, and 2. making the female gender inferior.

I think it's wrong to prejudice, a subject I'm sensitive about. In all sorts of ways - hating people before even caring to know them is wrong. Judging by looks and never wanting to see anything but hate - the things one might hate about a person - is so wrong.

I'll finish off in a lighter note; I hope you have a good easter (mine is great) and I hope you enjoy the holidays! (At least, Denmark has easter break now)

Uh! My recommendation this week will be this: put on light clothes, get out in the sun and read and listen to your iPods. The weather is so splendid!

DFTBA (:

Facebook Activism?

So, on Thursday one of my (feminist) friends posted this picture on facebook:

She tagged the people she thought would appreciate the picture, and those people were duly appreciative. But between the combative tone of the picture, and one of the comments my friend made to someone else (my friend to a male feminist/supporter that he could "attack" from the inside), things went awry.  Essentially, one of my friends (let's refer to him as 'N'), posted a comment on the picture which essentially said "ooh, let's play girls against boys".  For some reason no one really recognized this as sarcasm, and the misunderstanding devolved into an argument, which probably could have been avoided with a simple apology, or explanation.  In the end 'N' got blocked from the conversation as the person who posted the picture (let's call her 'K') didn't want to continue with an argument that would only frustrate her.

Of course, after 'N' got banned, he posted a status saying "Blocked by [K]. Achievement? I think so. For having a legitimate argument? I think so." (For the record, 'K' is "infamous" in my school for being a "feminazi" who calls bullsh*t when she sees it [the latter is most definitely true, the former, not at all]).  Now, 'N's comment frankly seemed a bit petulant to me, but I wanted to focus on his "legitimate argument", and I did in fact address this on the comments.  The 'argument' he had first carried out on the picture didn't seem well formulated or coherent, but essentially boiled down to him believeing the picture was "inappropriately aggressive". When 'K's sister 'S' asked why he thought the picture was too aggressive, 'N' responded by saying:

[S], I say the picture is inappropriately aggressive because of the choice of words and the initial comments below the picture. I can't view the picture anymore, but I remember it using the word "fight" or something to that effect, which... may convey violent action. That, coupled with the comments below, such as your own -- "You can destroy them from the inside" (or whatever) were the cause of my disapproval, and as a result I sarcastically made my first comment. Which may have been distasteful, and/or taken seriously by others.

Another commenter 'M' added that "i completely agree with [N]. "you should be very, very afraid of me"... seriously? that's a threat that completely demeans the entire concept to be no better than what the cause is against." I posted a response in response to both of these posts, as well as my personal interpretation of the picture and the inciting incidence:

1) The top of the picture said "I fight back." and then listed things that the woman in the picture fight back against, some of which included violence, or a system that blames the victim, others which were simply gender biases. Between the two, I personally got the impression that The word "fight" was not necessarily meant in the violent sense, but rather in the protest sense of the word.  [This point was mainly a clarification for 'N', who could no longer view the picture/comments].

2) [K] said "attack" (just to correct your quotation), but I believe (hope) that she also meant this in a non-violent way, and what the substance of her comment was that [the male feminist commenter on the picture] (as a guy) can refute a misogynistic mindset.

3) The caption under the picture can seem over the top, but I took more of a "don't mess with me, because I can defend myself" rather than a threat to "attack" unprovoked. The unfortunate truth is that American society has some sort of perverse glee in victim-blaming and slut-shaming, which makes it a very dangerous world for women, because sometimes the victims are blamed to the extent that the perpetrator is not rebuked.

I think a lot of how both sides of this "argument" view the picture has a lot to do with the respective party's genders. Whereas you [N] and [M] viewed it as threatening or combative, I viewed as defensive. Why shouldn't men be afraid of me, when I'm supposed to be afraid of them? Of course the picture is abrasive, and it also seems to be divisive (as displayed in the comments here and the picture), which may be counter-productive. But it opened up a conversation, which, while full of misunderstandings, took place between people that *usually* respect one another. Anyway, that's my perspective. I commend whoever read through the whole thing. (Here's a cookie, and a smile :) [You can have a cookie as well, but I'm afraid I only have imaginary ones :/, the smile is real though :)]

The conversation continued beyond this, but I'm not going to regale you with the whole thing (at the moment its about 50 comments long...).  Though I believe I've always been a feminist, lately I've been doing a lot more reading, and talking to my friend 'S' a lot.  I think I'm still forming some of my opinions, but I appreciated this conversation, as mentioned above, because unlike most facebook conversations about sexism I've encountered, people were being civil and intelligent, something I strive to accomplish whenever I am engaged in a debate or argument, even if I feel passionately about the subject (maybe even especially).

So is this facebook activism?  I don't know, but I certainly hope that what I was saying made sense to the people on the opposite side of the argument, and that they accepted it.  The people engaged in the conversation weren't close-minded for the most part, and so I hope that my perspective may have helped to have them view the picture in a different way.  Their perspective certainly forced me to analyze how I felt about the picture, and how I responded to it, but everyone interprets things differently.

So, what issues (if any) are you passionate about?  What did you think of the picture?  Did you find you find it too aggressive (if so, why?) Or did it seem like a good message (again, if so, why?)? To the people following the blog please feel free to respond in the comments, but I ask that everyone remain civil and respectful of one another.

Recommendation: In keeping with the theme of this post, I recommend the blog Feministe, it's normally sharp, intelligent and sarcastic and is frequently witty and funny (in my opinion, I suppose)

P.S.  Hopefully the use of initials wasn't too confusing in the post, although, knowing me, I probably slipped up once and revealed someone's name. I was also wondering what people thought of the idea of me addressing the rest of the conversation next week (the "theme" could certainly be different from everyone else, though I would love to hear what you all think of the picture)?

Make-up Part 3

I have to agree with the two others aspect on make-up, but with slight changes along the way.

Well, sometimes I wear a bit of black mascara in the every day, and when I go to parties, I wear most on my eyes - especially smokey eyes, which is a look I support, if you know how to do it properly. Not looking like a panda is the goal, and a lot of people don't really get that.

The school I'm at, wears loads of make-up, and you can tell. You can especially tell if they don't. They look all pale and human.

Most of the girls wear black mascara - and loads of it. Concealer/foundation/blush (whatever it is, obviously I'm not a fan/user) - I mean, sure, it's fine wearing some to cover scars, moles, pimples, etc. But if you don't need it, what's the point? That's just waste of money.

And I think this is universally acknowledged as well: girls who uses foundation or build-your-own-tan, or what it's called (not a fan of that either) and forgets their necks. I had a friend who forgot to do that, and she got a bit upset when I told her. But she did remember to use it on her neck and forehead as well. Unfortunately, that made her look even worse; being very pale and then forget her arms. She didn't like short sleeves, but she liked to pull up her sleeves half up her arms, so they'd show anyways. But you know, she kept on doing that, but she wasn't very popular, so no one really noticed. Or care to tell that they noticed. In the end I don't think I did, either.

I think eyeshadow is too much for daytime. It makes the eyes mysterious, like covering them up. And it doesn't match to the daylight colours, unless it's very subtle.

I know girls who wears eyeshadow in the daytime, and it doesn't exactly make me cringe, but I do shrug, and wonder if they aren't aware how they look. But, they much definitely does. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother with the make-up in the first place.

I think, just to walk a bit away from the make-up, I'll talk about hair a little bit. I'm part danish and part korean, so my hair is both scandinavian thick, and korean .. glossy.

Since it's very dark, with both my parents having dark hair, it's been a mess to dye. It's dyed red, and it's been a while since. So it's a bit faded. People says it looks nice, and I tend to agree. I really like it, and I've been a redhead for a little under a year now, and I do think I'll keep it that way. It's also quite long, and six months ago, I decided I wanted bangs. Now, I've forgotten to cut them, and now the hair has grown way over my eyes. And yes, I think about cutting it everyday, I've just gotten around to it (and besides, last time I did that, it wasn't equally long).

And, now I've run out of aspects of my hair, so I'll end here.

Anyone excited for the new series of Doctor Who? I can't wait, which is totally ironic, since Denmark never gets Doctor Who ):

And for a recommendation, I'll say Ministry Of Magic. Awesome wrock (wizard rock), and if you don't know them - they make music about Harry Potter, and even if you do know them, listen to Old Enough To Die. And I May Lose Everything. But beware, they contain awesome!

Oh, this bit contains stupid self-advertisement (and sorry about that!) - I'm part of a newly started collab vlog on Youtube, and we're called TheQuirkTastics, and you're all very welcome to check us out. If you don't want to, that's fine. And once again sorry for the shameless promotion. :3

Make-up

This might be a little short. I'm really tired. Sorry! :)

Make-up, I think, is fun and can be really useful for accentuating your good features and trying to keep attention away from features you don't exactly want to flaunt. I really don't wear make-up too often, though. I had a habit of wearing a little foundation a few months ago because I was kind of self-conscious of my skin. Recently, I've only been wearing make-up for special occasions or going out.

I go to an all-girls high school, so not many people wear make-up everyday. Most of the girls in my class are too tired or don't care enough to try. Some girls do wear make-up everyday, and it kind of stuns me when I see them without it.

As for my own make-up (when I do wear it), I like to wear some brown eyeliner and foundation. I avoid wearing mascara and black eyeliner because I always seem to get mascara on my eyelids and the black eyeliner does not come off entirely, giving me a sickly look. I occasionally wear lip gloss, but I keep a tube of Chapstick with me at all times.

To me, too much make-up is the really thick, dark raccoon eyes that some girls sport. I think that it makes their eyes look tiny, and the eyes are the best feature, in my opinion. Also, layers and layers of foundation makes me cringe.

I agree with Rebecca when she says that make-up shouldn't make you feel prettier. It should be fun and something that you want to do, not just have to do in order to be beautiful.

Recommendation: BLTs. If you don't know what they are (I'm sure most of you do), it's a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with or without mayo. I had one for dinner and it was delicious. :)

Umm...Oops?

So, after getting home two hours after school gets out, accidentally conking out and taking a ridiculously long nap, doing physics homework, eating, doing the dishes and reading two chapters of Beloved for English, i completely forgot to write a blog post. Though, in hindsight, if I had remembered, I probably would have just gone to sleep anyway, as by the time i did get to sleep last night it was past 2 am. Which is why I'm posting an entry today rather than yesterday.

Anyway, so Jonathan proposed the topic of make-up in his post last week, and so that's what I'm gonna talk about

I personally don't wear makeup, because it takes too long (even if it's only ten minutes -- in the morning every extra minute of sleep is a plus) and I don't find it necessary. I do own makeup, from years when I used to wear mascara to school, and also because I wear makeup to dances most of the time. On the rare chance that I do wear makeup it's usually eyeshadow, mascara, and eyeliner, possible foundation and concealer. The only thing I ever put on my lips is chapstick (or any other product whose sole function is to un-chap your lips). I generally use more eye makeup than anything else, because I like my eyes, and like drawing attention to them, but I tend to keep the makeup less dramatic.

In terms of what I find, aesthetically to be too much? When people are wearing makeup and I can't tell, it normally is helping in subtler way than fanciful makeup, such as brightening the skin, covering pimples, of lightening bags under the eyes. There's one girl in my grade who wears her makeup for essentially this purpose, so when she doesn't wear makeup it is really noticeable and she looks tired and sometimes sickly (though, this is also probably why she didn't putting it on to begin with). So I think that's a potential problem of wearing makeup consistently. When someone's makeup is dramatic to the point that it looks costume-y (like looking at someone wearing stage makeup up close) or like they're a different person, I generally find it unattractive. I also think that "too much" makeup can often look haphazard or cheap sometimes. But, ultimately, it's not my face and I don't really care.

Really, what I hate is the idea that people feel as though makeup is going to make them "prettier", or that people feel like they need to feel prettier period.  Even though makeup can often look really cool and artistic, and can often highlight nice facial features, I think most people look just as pretty, if not prettier without makeup than with makeup.

Recommendation: the 2010 film production of Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company. David Tennant and Patrick Stewart are amazing in it (I can't think of a time when I've been unimpressed by David Tennant, though). I would also suggest watching it with subtitles, because sometimes it's hard to catch exactly what's being said.

Where my stitches at?

So I had an absolutely brilliant topic to write about this week, but then I forgot it. Instead, I shall tell you about my knitting because I've been doing it a lot through my spring break and I'm really excited about it, and hopefully it turns out as good as whatever my other brilliant idea was.

I started knitting after I got my acceptance letter from my top choice college. I thought it would be a good way to relax after all the stress of the previous 3.5 years of high school and months of college applications, while still allowing me to be productive. My mom had done a bit of knitting in the past, so she taught me the basic knit stitch. Then I, like every other beginning knitter, made a scarf. It started out small, and I made a lot of mistakes. There were many times in the beginning when I would accidentally add stitches onto my work, and my scarf kept getting wider and wider.

After restarting a couple times, I finally got the hang of it. And then I was knitting all the time. I had several movie parties with friends over the break, and I knitted through all of them. After countless movies, Glee episodes, and Doctor Who episodes, I had a scarf that was probably about six feet long and thick enough to be a blanket. It's pretty much the coziest thing I own, and I am ridiculously proud of it.

Then I started working on a hat for my mom. However, the pattern I had required me to learn some new stitches and my mom was out of town, so I had to learn from the internet. If it weren't for knittinghelp.com, I probably never would have finished it. I also found knitting forums full of helpful people who were able to give me advice when I had no idea of what I was doing. Even with all of the amazing resources out there, I still struggled like a newb. About half of the stitches I made were wrong and it became a confusing labyrinth of yarn. Eventually I got the hang of it, but at that point I realized that some parts were such messes that they were just going to be random holes and knots and I would just have to deal. Eventually I finished that hat and it looked quite nice, as long as you ignore the mysteries at the bottom.

And then I went on to knit a pair of mittens. By that point, I'd gotten good enough that the only problem was that they were quite a bit too big for my little sister's tiny hands. SUCCESS! And now I'm working on fingerless gloves for a friend with a really neat spiraling pattern. I really like these gloves because even though they're a more complicated pattern, I don't have to knit fingers, which is quite nice. And now I'm so happy because I actually know what I'm doing and I think it shows. So I guess this all goes to show that practice really does make perfect. Also, the internet is an extremely helpful resource.

Anyway, my recomendation for this week is Flight of the Conchords. The show is hilarious and fantastic. It's two New Zealanders who are in a band that writes comedy songs, and they've moved to NYC to try and become popular. However, their agent is terrible and they only have one crazy fan. My summary probably sounds terrible, but it really is hilarious. If you can't watch the show, I suggest you at least listen to the songs. I've been listening to them all week, and they are pretty much all amazing.