I'm going to start this off with saying that I love ALL CAPS. They're among, if not the top of, my favorite bands. Their lyrics are (with the exception of a few lines) great, I don't mind the auto-tune unlike some people, I love the subject matter...
Their latest album, Lowercase (named for the fact that the music is acoustic, unlike their previous electronic albums), came out last Tuesday, and I just bought it.
Track 1: "Trainers In Love"
This is a song about Pokemon, which I never watched/played, so I can't say much about the lyrics/portrayal of the relationship between Ash and Misty. However, I don't watch The Office, but I still like "You Kissed Me At The Dundies" from Bmin/E . This is one of the tracks that isn't an acoustic re-vamp of a previous song. One thing I like about acoustic music is that it feels more sensitive, vulnerable, and from-the-heart than electronic dance music with passionate lyrics and singing when combined with appropriate lyrics. I think this would make a fantastic electronic song (the chorus falls more in line with the "passionate lyrics and singing," reminding me of the original version of "World of Warcraft Ruined My Life," and "Delete You."
Track 2: "Saved (Acoustic)"
I put the "Acoustic" there because, while this is an acoustic album, there is an electronic version on Songs In the Key of Email. I definitely like that version better than this one. The song's about video games, and doing digital things like saving backups. Kristina's singing is more quiet and sweet than the intense love I think is required to sing seriously about TMNT, Heroes, Lost, and the concept of video games. Plus, the original is great to dance to.
Track 3: "Don't Unplug Me (Acoustic)"
While it's a song about robots, I think the electronic-ness isn't as needed as with "Saved." The acoustic factor accents the fact that while the characters are robots, they're still people with feelings. Just because they're made out of metal doesn't mean they can't love.
Track 4: "Dashing Knight"
While the lyrics are cheesy, this is definitely my favorite track of the album. The "quiet and sweet" style of singing is perfect. I've always been something of a sucker for a good love story (comes from my dad), so naturally I love love love this song. When I was planning out what to write for this review, I was going to say that I didn't like how some of Kristina's vocals were layered over each other so it sounded like a choir of Kristinas were singing, but then I realized that the same was done with Luke's, and I think that does a good job of displaying how this general story isn't that of two people. There are a lot of young couples who have been separated by war. The male and female parts are for all of those men and women- not just these two characters. It's slowed down a little from the YouTube version, and that works well.
Track 5: "World of Warcraft Ruined My Life (Acoustic)"
A good song in and of itself, and well-made, but when compared to the electronic one...not so much. I want more anger from Kristina and more "I LOVE WoW!!" from Luke. This character has gone past the "Hey, honey, you should play this less." She's at the "I HATE THAT STUPID GAME!" stage, and if it did enough to ruin her life, Luke's character must be pretty into it. This isn't the story of a young couple divided by WoW. This is the story of my parents, when my dad was playing it. The "Hey, I don't want to fight so I'm going to be gentle about it, but..." isn't what I want from this song. I want passion. Plus, like "Saved," the electronic version is way more dance-able.
Track 6: "Real Or Not Real?"
If you don't like this song (or at least appreciate it for what it is), there is either something wrong with you, or you read the wrong version of The Hunger Games trilogy. The acoustic quality works for this. Also, go watch the music video at http://www.youtube.com/italktosnakes. It's amazing.
Unrelated thought: I think of things to blog about, and then I think of ways to point it out through fiction, but then I don't want to take the trouble of weaving it into a story. I just want to SAY it on here. Telling is a no-no in stories, so I turn to this blog, and then I'm annoyed because the power of the potential story has been lessened for those of you who read me. It's rather annoying.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Ishaera Wordle
Here we are, my friends.
Alexandra Sokoloff recommends that writers make a list of the "themes" of both themselves and their novels. I took mine, wrote a bit more into the Wordle window, and hit "Create." This is what it gabe me, and it'll hopefully give you a better idea of where I'm headed this November. (Yes, I know, I'm procrastinating from my outline. Just because it's fun doesn't mean it's not funner to play with all of the digital toys at my disposal.) If this appeals to you, and if you're doing NaNoWriMo, and if you have some sort of idea as to where you're headed, send me the link to yours!
Sorry- the embed code wasn't working.
Outlining
I'm trying out a new form of posting (emailing stuff to the blog), so hopefully that'll work. Also: Emily (Harper), have you received this? I have it set so that it emails all new posts to you as I post them.
Last October, when I was outlining The Clockwork Experiment, my outline grew to be 23 pages long, the details of which were mostly edited out. It was all layers of bullets using Microsoft Word's Outline mode.
This year, I intended to go in with nothing but the submission packet (query, premise sentence, and synopsis) that I wrote up for it for my Creative Writing exam last spring.
Then I found this, and I've been using that outlining spreadsheet. Each of the different steps comes with its own sheet within the book (term for the overall spreadsheet), as well as its own deadline! I'm on step three now, which is basic character names, motivations, goals, and obstacles, which isn't due until the 14th. (Side note: That "premise sentence" turned out to be the length of a paragraph. I'm good at informative dependent clauses, which maybe isn't the greatest talent in clear and coherent writing).
The thing is, since this is a re-write of something I did in 6th grade, I already have half a cast of characters ready-made. Since I have to change most of their names for various reasons (such as copying off of other books I've read), and that I had already done some name changing in 6th and 7th grade, some characters have gone through 3 or 4 names since their creation, which leaves me hopelessly confused (as well as grateful for the character page in the outline book).
I've had to pull out the folder with the original pages in it just to find the names (and existence) of certain people.
I feel like a scholar going through ancient documents or something, and trying to write a book about her findings. Except I wrote the "ancient documents."
Something I've learned about my 6th grade self: I sucked at originality. Practically everything was a poorly-concealed rip-off of a book or movie I loved at the time (most of which I still love). Maybe now I've just consumed enough media that my rip-offs blend together enough that they seem original.
I really wasn't going to outline, but it's turning out to be incredibly helpful.
Besides, I'm having fun! :D
Views on "The Quad N: New Beginnings" = 7. One of which I know is Audrey's. Who else saw it, and what did you think?
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Quad N: New Beginnings
So I'm waiting for the first real episode of the Quad N to upload and am looking at blogger stats and I see that some of today's views came from Google searches, which is fairly normal. Then it occurred to me to Google "Elf Army Writes" and see what came up. (Yes, I Googled myself.)
It turns out I've been re-blogged on a Gay Marriage/Rights news site. That's kind of cool. I wonder how they found the post.
And on that Googling note, it turns out (because I just tried it out of curiosity) that when my name is Googled, links to me actually appear. I exist more than I did in middle school, apparently. So that's kind of cool as well. (It also makes my brain shout: HA, WORLD! I EXIST PRIOR TO BEING 18! OH NO, THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!)
End of the self-obsessed rambling that you don't care about.
Emily's coming over Sunday, and we're going to (hopefully) finish filming the second secret part relating to the Quad N, as well as maybe play disc golf and definitely have cake and hang out and stuff. So that should be fun, and also productive. The thing with "fun" productivity is that the fun factor is usually downsized by quite a bit. Note: I said "usually."
My first staff meeting for Ellipsis (my school's literary magazine) was yesterday, and it turned out that it wasn't the trial meeting I was invited to last year. The rest of the staff said yes just based on my application and attached stories (chapter 1 of The Clockwork Experiment, "Trading the World Away," and "Saving, Slaying, Sewing," for those who care/know what those are), so I'm definitely in. The trial meeting for the "maybes" is next week, and I'm expected to go and make judgements as to WHO(M?) IS WORTHY. Which I feel sort of awkward about, considering I'm completely new.
And now the uploading is finished! Please note: This is most definitely the least good of the Quad N videos. The quality (video, audio, editing, and content) goes nowhere but up from here on out. Note 2: YES, IT IS CHEESY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3_VA3rGl0Y
It turns out I've been re-blogged on a Gay Marriage/Rights news site. That's kind of cool. I wonder how they found the post.
And on that Googling note, it turns out (because I just tried it out of curiosity) that when my name is Googled, links to me actually appear. I exist more than I did in middle school, apparently. So that's kind of cool as well. (It also makes my brain shout: HA, WORLD! I EXIST PRIOR TO BEING 18! OH NO, THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!)
End of the self-obsessed rambling that you don't care about.
Emily's coming over Sunday, and we're going to (hopefully) finish filming the second secret part relating to the Quad N, as well as maybe play disc golf and definitely have cake and hang out and stuff. So that should be fun, and also productive. The thing with "fun" productivity is that the fun factor is usually downsized by quite a bit. Note: I said "usually."
My first staff meeting for Ellipsis (my school's literary magazine) was yesterday, and it turned out that it wasn't the trial meeting I was invited to last year. The rest of the staff said yes just based on my application and attached stories (chapter 1 of The Clockwork Experiment, "Trading the World Away," and "Saving, Slaying, Sewing," for those who care/know what those are), so I'm definitely in. The trial meeting for the "maybes" is next week, and I'm expected to go and make judgements as to WHO(M?) IS WORTHY. Which I feel sort of awkward about, considering I'm completely new.
And now the uploading is finished! Please note: This is most definitely the least good of the Quad N videos. The quality (video, audio, editing, and content) goes nowhere but up from here on out. Note 2: YES, IT IS CHEESY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3_VA3rGl0Y
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Plot Chickens
This week's the Book Fair at the elementary school. It's also Spirit Week. Today was pajama day, in order to coincide with PJs and Cookies Bedtime Story Night. I'm here in my pajamas, reading Strega Nona and sneaking Girl Scout cookies.
Along with Strega Nona, my mom also saved out another (future) library book for me to take a look at. It's called Plot Chickens, and is utterly hilarious. It's about a young chicken named Henrietta learning to write (and includes the comments from her not-so-talented relatives). She sends off a query letter, and many months later, receives a reply: "Dear Ms. Henrietta: We do not publish books written by chickens. Even if we did, we wouldn't want this one. We didn't like it. Don't quit your day job. Have a nice life. Hunter Fox, Editor."
"The aunts were devastated, but Henrietta vowed not to brood over her rejection."
Forget bringing a story of my own to writing club next time. I'm reading Plot Chickens. This book is amazing.
I can hear the Samoas calling...(Oh, wait, they're called Carmel Delights...oops.)
I might also read it to the writing club here once it starts...
Along with Strega Nona, my mom also saved out another (future) library book for me to take a look at. It's called Plot Chickens, and is utterly hilarious. It's about a young chicken named Henrietta learning to write (and includes the comments from her not-so-talented relatives). She sends off a query letter, and many months later, receives a reply: "Dear Ms. Henrietta: We do not publish books written by chickens. Even if we did, we wouldn't want this one. We didn't like it. Don't quit your day job. Have a nice life. Hunter Fox, Editor."
"The aunts were devastated, but Henrietta vowed not to brood over her rejection."
Forget bringing a story of my own to writing club next time. I'm reading Plot Chickens. This book is amazing.
I can hear the Samoas calling...(Oh, wait, they're called Carmel Delights...oops.)
I might also read it to the writing club here once it starts...
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
In Which I Talk About Me And Am Rather Boring
Time for some self-indulgence. And also an announcement.
The English journal posts, both the prompts and my responses, are not what I'd hoped them to be. Therefore, I can no longer promise one every other day. (But you're probably okay with that.) That is the announcement.
Now for the self-indulgence (or is it narcissism? Or is it just self-absorption? or maybe...):
I turned 15 today (yaaay). It actually doesn't feel much different, but I assume that's because I've been considering myself 15 for awhile. I often have to backspace and correct myself. Now those days are over. (btw: THANK YOU FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES! You know who you are. And if you're not one of them, it's okay. I'm not offended. Really.)
I can get my permit now (although I'm planning on putting it off until December, because of, you know, NaNoWriMo). That's simultaneously exciting and terrifying.
Today was actually the best birthday I've had in a good while. In 6th grade, for instance, I threw up within the first half hour of school due to being accidentally poisoned. Keyword: accidentally. Long story. 7th grade was mostly terrible all around. In 8th grade, the party was fun, but I don't remember the birthday itself terribly well, so let's go with average. I assume I had a good day in 9th grade simply because I loved most of first semester.
But this year...
It started out with some hilarious things happening that either few people outside my family would get, or just aren't funny unless you were there, so I won't go into detail.
In English, we had an assembly (*sad face*) instead of class, but it was about college, which is at least relevant and important, so that was okay. And I got to sit with my friends.
In computer programming, I got a bagel. It occurs to me I could have gotten a free bagel had I mentioned it was my birthday, but oh well. It's better off this way, anyways.
I got to play with toxic chemicals in Chemistry earlier this week, which was fun, and today I finished my test early so I got to read loads of Ranger's Apprentice 9: Halt's Peril, which was freaking fantastic. All of my vocab sentences for the past two days are regarding that book. That's the great thing about the series- it doesn't get worse as it progresses, as most series do. Read them.
And...I baked brownies and took them to writing club. I got to hear great stories, had exactly the reception I'd hoped for on my own, and generally had a good time of it.
I've also racked up a total of $50 of birthday money so far, which means my iTunes library will be growing very soon.
Good stuff. And a song about the Fermi Paradox by Hank Green that isn't uploaded yet but I saw on Twitter that it will be.
Actually...this entire week has gone smashingly. (I never use that word. Why did I use that word?)
Interview update: The interview will be occurring sometime closer to November 1st. Not sure exactly when. It will be by email, and I assure you that you will know just as soon as it's posted. But first there's some more work on the first part of that secret project to be done...
Also, elementary school writing club is due to start on October 20th! I'm quite excited, although I'm also nervous.
And I'm reading Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola aloud to an undefined number of elementary schoolers and their parents tomorrow night. Let it suffice for me to say that the number is larger than I expected when I signed up to do it.
The English journal posts, both the prompts and my responses, are not what I'd hoped them to be. Therefore, I can no longer promise one every other day. (But you're probably okay with that.) That is the announcement.
Now for the self-indulgence (or is it narcissism? Or is it just self-absorption? or maybe...):
I turned 15 today (yaaay). It actually doesn't feel much different, but I assume that's because I've been considering myself 15 for awhile. I often have to backspace and correct myself. Now those days are over. (btw: THANK YOU FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES! You know who you are. And if you're not one of them, it's okay. I'm not offended. Really.)
I can get my permit now (although I'm planning on putting it off until December, because of, you know, NaNoWriMo). That's simultaneously exciting and terrifying.
Today was actually the best birthday I've had in a good while. In 6th grade, for instance, I threw up within the first half hour of school due to being accidentally poisoned. Keyword: accidentally. Long story. 7th grade was mostly terrible all around. In 8th grade, the party was fun, but I don't remember the birthday itself terribly well, so let's go with average. I assume I had a good day in 9th grade simply because I loved most of first semester.
But this year...
It started out with some hilarious things happening that either few people outside my family would get, or just aren't funny unless you were there, so I won't go into detail.
In English, we had an assembly (*sad face*) instead of class, but it was about college, which is at least relevant and important, so that was okay. And I got to sit with my friends.
In computer programming, I got a bagel. It occurs to me I could have gotten a free bagel had I mentioned it was my birthday, but oh well. It's better off this way, anyways.
I got to play with toxic chemicals in Chemistry earlier this week, which was fun, and today I finished my test early so I got to read loads of Ranger's Apprentice 9: Halt's Peril, which was freaking fantastic. All of my vocab sentences for the past two days are regarding that book. That's the great thing about the series- it doesn't get worse as it progresses, as most series do. Read them.
And...I baked brownies and took them to writing club. I got to hear great stories, had exactly the reception I'd hoped for on my own, and generally had a good time of it.
I've also racked up a total of $50 of birthday money so far, which means my iTunes library will be growing very soon.
Good stuff. And a song about the Fermi Paradox by Hank Green that isn't uploaded yet but I saw on Twitter that it will be.
Actually...this entire week has gone smashingly. (I never use that word. Why did I use that word?)
Interview update: The interview will be occurring sometime closer to November 1st. Not sure exactly when. It will be by email, and I assure you that you will know just as soon as it's posted. But first there's some more work on the first part of that secret project to be done...
Also, elementary school writing club is due to start on October 20th! I'm quite excited, although I'm also nervous.
And I'm reading Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola aloud to an undefined number of elementary schoolers and their parents tomorrow night. Let it suffice for me to say that the number is larger than I expected when I signed up to do it.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Suite Scarlett Roundtable
http://readergirlz.blogspot.com/2010/10/roundtable-suite-scarlett-and-scarlett.html
I recently participated in a roundtable discussion on the Readergirlz website regarding Maureen Johnson's books Suite Scarlett and Scarlett Fever. The link's right there, if you want to read it.
My English homework tonight is to write a paragraph for each of 10 symbols of my choice in Lord of the Flies. I'll probably post some of that eventually.
I recently participated in a roundtable discussion on the Readergirlz website regarding Maureen Johnson's books Suite Scarlett and Scarlett Fever. The link's right there, if you want to read it.
My English homework tonight is to write a paragraph for each of 10 symbols of my choice in Lord of the Flies. I'll probably post some of that eventually.
The Mists of Avalon: The Duties of Marriage
"How responsible is Arthur for allowing the spread of Christianity and the ultimate disappearance of Avalon? Was he simply being an honorable husband to Gwenhwyfar? Did you find the Arthur/Lancelet/Gwenhwyfar tryst disturbing? Although Arthur was an indisputably potent leader, can he, in the end, be deemed an effective one?"
Arthur is completely responsible for the ultimate disappearance of Avalon. He made an oath to protect it, and he broke it. He had the power, and he didn't use it.
He had the ability, as well as the obligation, to protect the children of Avalon, but he abandoned them in favor of the cross. For all Arthur's talk about how symbols are only needed by and valuable to commoners, Gwenhwyfar was obsessed with removing the dragon banner from use.
The breaking of his oath can't be justified by his duty to be an honorable husband. Being married isn't about doing whatever your spouse wants you to do. It's about coming to mutual agreements. Arthur's duty to the country is to do what's best for it- even at his own expense. There's a reason for the archetype of the Sacrificial King.
I didn't find the tryst disturbing. I found it shocking and hilarious. I don't know why I thought it was funny, but I did.
Arthur protected the kingdom from the Saxons, but he didn't actually do anything. He was reacting to the threat- there wasn't any action involved. It's not that he encouraged the assimilation of the Goddess into Christianity. It's just that he didn't do anything to stop it. He didn't do much of anything at all.
The kingdom found peace under his reign, and everyone loved him, but he didn't do much, so no, he isn't an effective leader.
Arthur is completely responsible for the ultimate disappearance of Avalon. He made an oath to protect it, and he broke it. He had the power, and he didn't use it.
He had the ability, as well as the obligation, to protect the children of Avalon, but he abandoned them in favor of the cross. For all Arthur's talk about how symbols are only needed by and valuable to commoners, Gwenhwyfar was obsessed with removing the dragon banner from use.
The breaking of his oath can't be justified by his duty to be an honorable husband. Being married isn't about doing whatever your spouse wants you to do. It's about coming to mutual agreements. Arthur's duty to the country is to do what's best for it- even at his own expense. There's a reason for the archetype of the Sacrificial King.
I didn't find the tryst disturbing. I found it shocking and hilarious. I don't know why I thought it was funny, but I did.
Arthur protected the kingdom from the Saxons, but he didn't actually do anything. He was reacting to the threat- there wasn't any action involved. It's not that he encouraged the assimilation of the Goddess into Christianity. It's just that he didn't do anything to stop it. He didn't do much of anything at all.
The kingdom found peace under his reign, and everyone loved him, but he didn't do much, so no, he isn't an effective leader.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
**Weeps for humanity**
So I was on the NaNoWriMo forums today, reading a topic designated for atheists/agnostics/pagans (not that these are all similar- that's just what the title was), and I found a link to a site dedicated to collecting the crazy things said online by "fundies." The forumers read it for fun. Here is an example:
"Climate Change is a religion and it's holy sacrament is Abortion. "
And that's not by any means the worst of it. Check the Top 100 for more, if you really want to: http://fstdt.net/Default.aspx
However, I would recommend that you don't because the entire site is painful to read. I thought a lot of the stories of people saying stuff like this was stereotyping, but...it's not. This is stuff real people have said.
One person said something like "Here's proof of God's existence: rainbows. Nobody knows what causes them. They're untouchable."
My brain hurts.
"Climate Change is a religion and it's holy sacrament is Abortion. "
And that's not by any means the worst of it. Check the Top 100 for more, if you really want to: http://fstdt.net/Default.aspx
However, I would recommend that you don't because the entire site is painful to read. I thought a lot of the stories of people saying stuff like this was stereotyping, but...it's not. This is stuff real people have said.
One person said something like "Here's proof of God's existence: rainbows. Nobody knows what causes them. They're untouchable."
My brain hurts.
Quote
"…Both you and I live in worlds that tell us there are only two important things: One is the acquisition of goods, and the other is either the acquisition or the avoidance of sex…
The question of who’s a virgin and who’s a virgout is not the most interesting question, and the romantic relationships in your life are not the only important relationships." - John Green
"Foolish writers and readers are created for each other." - Horace Walpole
"To live a good life as a good person, it doesn't matter how you got there. It just matters that you do." - Hank Green
My neighbors had their annual pumpkin carving contest last night. I didn't enter, but I was over there for most of the time.
The one that won in the kids' category was a supposedly free-hand rendition of a werewolf. It was amazing.
My dad did Pacman with the four ghosts, and pinned colored paper to the inside of the ghosts.
However, the highlight of the evening was a drawing my 6 year-old neighbor had done on a different neighbor's driveway of a, shall we say, anatomically detailed man. We assume he did it in total innocence, but it was hilarious. The owners of the house assumed it was a prank by a friend. Not so much.
The question of who’s a virgin and who’s a virgout is not the most interesting question, and the romantic relationships in your life are not the only important relationships." - John Green
"Foolish writers and readers are created for each other." - Horace Walpole
"To live a good life as a good person, it doesn't matter how you got there. It just matters that you do." - Hank Green
My neighbors had their annual pumpkin carving contest last night. I didn't enter, but I was over there for most of the time.
The one that won in the kids' category was a supposedly free-hand rendition of a werewolf. It was amazing.
My dad did Pacman with the four ghosts, and pinned colored paper to the inside of the ghosts.
However, the highlight of the evening was a drawing my 6 year-old neighbor had done on a different neighbor's driveway of a, shall we say, anatomically detailed man. We assume he did it in total innocence, but it was hilarious. The owners of the house assumed it was a prank by a friend. Not so much.
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