2011, All I Want is Good Clean Fun...

Continuing the one-post-a-month tradition, here is a random array of thoughts about the upcoming year...

1. please be nice to me. All I want, besides acceptance into an awesome college, is good, ole-fashioned fun.

2. let this be the year of adventure. I hear Europe beckoning. Second semester senioritis is already calling my name.

3. NEW MUSIC RELEASES.

4. I WILL FINALLY GO TO A REAL CONCERT.

5. I am SO PSYCHED for On the Road. SO EXCITED. SO MANY OF MY FAVORITE ACTORS/ACTRESSES.

6. Oscar watch anyone? This year I can watch and chat about the dresses with Vy at the same time without feeling guilty. Noms haven't even come out yet. Don't forget about The Kids are Alright! That came out in the spring, a long time ago in cinematic time.

7. Three Musketeers. Orlando Bloom. Logan Lerman (just remember, before he was famous I claimed him and everyone laughed. She who laughs last laughs best)

8. Avengers please?

9. I'm kind of feeling nostalgic already. High school was all too slow when I was experiencing it, but listening to Wham!'s Heartbeat right now (iTunes shuffle is psychic sometimes) I'm feeling like it went too fast...

10. That said, I need to do some things on Abed's quintessential college experience lists, only for high school,

11. Wow. The nostalgia is serious.

12. I just watched the Virgin Suicides. I plan on a movie fest to complete Sofia Coppola's films as well as the more adult-like John Hughes ones.

13. Seriously, John Hughes is amazing. I've been obsessed with his stuff on-and-off for about three years now. He never ceases to amaze me.

14. And by watching his more adult stuff I won't feel like I'm leaving a chapter of my life behind.

15. I will finish my 5th grade novels. I think that was the unanimous choice of grade-to-become-literary-child-geniuses. So many people wrote epics in 5th grade.

16. My musical twin and I will make some awesome covers (Peace of Mind, a soothing version of Carry On my Wayward Son, and I'm thinking a more lyrical Don't Cry. That song is so beautiful, but it takes a few listens to hear it)

17. Oh yeah, and I'll also sleep more and grow taller and exercise. Get plenty of sunshine. All that good stuff.

18. THIS JUST OCCURRED TO ME. I will go to NYC and watch a live taping of SNL. Yes.

19. Running out of ideas...oh I should drive. Heh. Go on joyrides and blast my playlist of driving music.

20. Wow, iTunes shuffle just went to Don't You Forget About Me. I guess that's my cue.

I'll play myself out.

Will you recognize me, call my name or walk on by

Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling down, down, down...

Don't you forget about me...

As you walk on by, will you call my name?

Come on, call my name...will you call my name?

Update

I just realized that I've posted at least once a month ever since I got this blogspot, so I just had to say something today despite how insanely busy I am!

December is drawing closer, and once December finishes...so does the stressful college application process! I fully intend to break free after January 1st, and complete some crazy or simply fun things suitable for a senior year bucket list, as well as my general goals, which so far includes:
-take the train to Harry Potter world with friends!

-bike to school

-have a LotR 3-films-in-a-row viewing

-have a long I Love Lucy marathon with friends

-start working out

-make more Youtube/music videos

-record some covers with my music buddies

-perhaps perform at JDay or the like!

-go to the midnight screenings of Three Musketeers and HP 2

Also, because I feel it is necessary to note here, I have found a fictional role model or inspirational character in Peyton Sawyer from One Tree Hill. I shan't begin to talk about all the reasons why I love her, but let it suffice to say that she has become one of the most influential fictional characters ever - that if I need to name a baby girl, I will name her after Peyton.

period piece: the 80s

I have promised for about 8 months now to do a piece on the 80s. Here goes.

the style

i love their graphic, strong but not overdone makeup.

Don't even get me started on 80s movies. I ADORE John Hughes, love the Brat Pack, and those non-Brat Packer teens who only I seem to know from the 80s - James Spader is so talented, I'm appalled John Cusack hasn't once hosted SNL, Alan Ruck is hilarious, Eric Stoltz is gorgeous and Robert Downey Junior was really something back then. I'm pretty sure no one shares my appreciation for Kevin Bacon.

the breakfast club - best teen movie EVER

Ferris Bueller - the coolest teen ever

cheesiest, most 80s movie ever

the movie that changed my life

music

80s music - how do I even begin to describe it. The 80s was the last time we heard true metal, saw the demise of great rock. Bon Jovi. Guns N Roses. Def Leppard. Van Halen. The Police. Metallica. AC/DC. The Clash. Journey. Iron Maiden. And it was the beginning of indie/alternative music. Great British artists dominated. The Cure, which has been around since the 60s, released some of their best work. More of a landmark - THE SMITHS BEGAN.

I ADORE The Queen Is Dead

Johnny Marr has such talent. His harmonies are spooky and heavenly and raucous all at the same time. I felt so proud to learn that he played some of the music in Inception.

80s pop just radiates this cheesiness, this feeling of "everything will be alright" - Wham! and their success being the classic example. The whole attitude of the decade, really, is what I love. The 80s have this reputation for tackiness and flashiness, and even though I long to live in the elegant and clean-lined 50s I love the 80s just as much in a different way.

DISINTEGRATION

The Cure. I used to recoil from the Gothic image Robert Smith projected. But their music is SO alternative, a mix of pop and rock and strings and brass...I, the girl who will sing to anything, anywhere and has a knack for getting songs stuck in other people's heads, CANNOT sing to The Cure. Their music is contemplative. Shallow. Happy. Weepy but not depressing - more restorative. It's music for being alone - music not for a party or car ride but for just YOU.

Jolly ol' Reagan was president,

we were afraid of the Soviets - see any parallels to the 50s, mm?

How many times I wished I went to Bayside

and dated Zack Morris...I don't even know

Ah, the last of the old times. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and virtual eradication of communism, the world grew ever more centralized with many thanks to technology. The 80s were the last of the good old days before we all got caught in the Web.

I am thine only

Thou knowest me, thou looks away

Thou gives me not the time of day

there and back again.

2/6/10, 2:31 PM: watching Return of the King makes me feel like I was born again.
Middle-Earth exemplifies everything. All I feel, all I've ever felt - it has been felt by them before.
My wish is to live a life of glory, of purpose. These days it seems like nothing matters but money, looks, progress - faded definitions of success that we still accept. What would it be like, I wonder, to truly feel danger? To have things that I hold dear at risk. What would it mean to fight for what I believe in? I have never been truly tested - my struggles are all with little things, not with "matters of consequence." Lord of the Rings shows indeed what it means "to struggle against great odds, to meet enemies undaunted." Lord of the Rings explores true friendship and love - not romance.

[EDIT] I never finished this post, but the 22nd of September was Frodo and Bilbo's birthdays. I read some Silmarillion, was drawn in Middle-Earth and Arda once more and perused various sections of the LotR books. I think everyone of my generation will feel like they've lost some part of themselves when the Harry Potter franchise comes to a close, but I've already felt that way, a long long time ago when LotR was over (and more recently, with the last live performance of the soundtrack at WolfTrap). I can tell you, my friends, you never really lose a hold of something like that. I think, with LotR, I understand what it means to never really lose something you love.

STARQUEST - PROLOGUE, original

[copied from an aged notebook from 5th grade, with the words "Arwen - I'm special", "Private" and "Stories" scrawled upon the cover]

2nd page:

Starquest [picture of planet's moon, i think Iopa or Triton or some other moon of Saturn or Jupiter]

Prologue

Tharban, the Great Lord, had never been as outraged as this. Both Rigelmen and Dârkor Alvermind had failed him, allowing Aquilia to send the child to Ėithilarn. Lucky for them, Rigelmen and Darkor would not be punished, only sent on another task.

Tharban unsheathed his dagger and balanced it on his finger. If the Alvermind and Rigelmen, the Wizard, were to get bait for Aquilia, she might get caught. Yet what use was she now? It was the child that mattered. Tharban's eyes glowed a dull red as he glared at the Phial. Ten thousand years ago, his father, Argalorn, had captured it and the Treasure, yet died in the Battle of the Great Shadow, leaving it to Tharban himself. Thinking of these memories gave Tharban;s stomach an unpleasant twist.

The Great Lord bolted upright. Had the Alvermind not said that the child would be a danger to him only when the stars fell? That would mean there was time, an extremely rare and essential element. Time, used for a plan.

The Treasure was no more than a small gem, sparkling and deep in color. If you put it in anything, it would give that special abilities. If put in a key, the key could open anything, even spells or mysteries. In a sword, the Treasure would make it unbeatable. It only worked in gold or silver. But something Tharban often wondered was: How would the Treasure help in random situations, such as his?

The Phial, however, was different. It held a number of things - wishes, dreams, even soulds. One could not tell if it was empty or full to the brim, unless they were experienced in scrying, like The Wizard Cepheus, or Tharban himself.

Tharban's thoughts were interrupted by a thud on the heavy iron door.

"Rigelmen?" asked Tharban, in a cold, commanding tone.

"Yes, Lord," replied the Wizard, opening the door. Rigelmen was lean and tall, handsome and elegant, yet dark and solemn, He was not the kind that would like failing his master. He was elder and vain, but he did have sense.

The Great Lord looked at him, scrutinizing him. He spoke slowly. "Am I right in saying that you and the Alvermind let Aquilia send the child?"

Rigelmen nodded. "Yes, Lord," he answered, bracing himself for the severe punishment.

Tharban smiled. "Well, you are lucky, Rigelmen. You are doing a special task."

Rigelmen's eyebrows raised in surprise. Which was a mistake, of course. Quickly he said, "Yes? What is it?"

"You are to capture the Queen Cassiopeia and her daughter, Andromeda. Not immediately. We have -" Tharban calculated, "- about 51 years. Oh, and send, for Dârkor. Tell him to prepare to make a magical golden brooch, with room for the Treasure. It must be real, and fit any size, and hollow."

Rigelmen nodded obediantly, not daring to ask about these strange inquiries. He left the chamber but before he closed the door, Tharban said, "And remember, my traitors are punished."

Rigelmen left. Tharban smiled, but not from happiness. He had a plan. A clever, evil plan.

the end.

the end of junior year

the end is drawing near.

From 7 yesterday to 7 this morning I was at Junior Campout. I'm still not sure if I had fun. There were some people I just wasn't in the mood to see, especially with the cognitive ability of my brain at 4 am in the morning after 21 hours without sleep. There were some people I wanted to see that I didn't get to, or couldn't talk to, because of the dumb idea of turning out the lights. As my friend noted acutely (dang she's sensible at 5 in the morning), it was all going pretty well, though not excitingly, until the lights went out. Then it was just a massive chill sesh. Literally. It got pretty dang cold and the ground got all wet.

Bad news was, some usually wonderful and kindhearted guys broke my new, massive 9-person tent that all the juniors camping on the field and the chaperons envied. We all know those people who are really very intelligent but have no common sense? Well bad things can happen when multiple people of that sort are let loose for 12 hours on a baseball field. Hopefully it can be permanently fixed soon.

Really, probably the most exciting event of the camp out was when I began to learn ukulele. Noticing little raised-up lines on the fingerboard, I asked what they were, to be met with stares of disbelief, and a dubious "You mean the frets...?" I thought, Oh wow, that's really helpful, and makes playing in tune much easier. AND THEN, I learned that guitar had it too! As they began to laugh at me, I indignantly replied that I had never touched a non-classical string instrument. Then it was THEIR turn to say, "WHAT? Violins don't have frets?" I responded in the negative, and they continued, "And the cello?" I now laughed myself; cello, with frets? Come on. So my friends now realize how much harder it is to play a classical string instrument [OH YEAH]. I'm not belittling the ability of guitar players, but I had always wondered how constantly out-of-tune violin players could transition so smoothly and with good intonation to the guitar. Definitely the most shocking and scandalous incident of the night.

The highlight of my entire 24 hours without sleep was definitely bowling. I actually consider myself a pretty good bowler; I can usually knock on average 8 pins each turn. I must really be losing my touch, though, because I ended up with a 75 yesterday, which is really quite hilarious, considering that I've always scored above 95. I had a blast riding in the back of a hot vintage El Camino [HYDE'S CAR FROM THAT 70s SHOW!] singing my heart out and having classmates stare in jealousy [or maybe confusion] as we drove by. I also ran out one car during a red light just to get an iPod from a friend in the other car, all while the girls in the backseat were screaming. I had my first Five Guys; the guys decided that they had a responsibility to educate one with such little culinary experience and took me there. The fries were very good, but they were really hot and burned my tongue.

I guess, now that I've written all this, campout wasn't to be missed. I learned a good couple of things, actually a lot, about human nature and different social environments. I hated to be so profound and speak on such heavy matters at what was supposed to be a fun event, but in the words of this hilarious ad, "Eet does notta rhyma, but eet ees the truth."

fabulous poem

Good-by

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good-by, proud world, I'm going home,
Thou'rt not my friend, and I'm not thine;
Long through thy weary crowds I roam;
A river-ark on the ocean brine,
Long I've been tossed like the driven foam,
But now, proud world, I'm going home.

Good-by to Flattery's fawning face,
To Grandeur, with his wise grimace,
To upstart Wealth's averted eye,
To supple Office low and high,
To crowded halls, to court, and street,
To frozen hearts, and hasting feet,
To those who go, and those who come,
Good-by, proud world, I'm going home.

I'm going to my own hearth-stone
Bosomed in yon green hills, alone,
A secret nook in a pleasant land,
Whose groves the frolic fairies planned;
Where arches green the livelong day
Echo the blackbird's roundelay,
And vulgar feet have never trod
A spot that is sacred to thought and God.

Oh, when I am safe in my sylvan home,
I tread on the pride of Greece and Rome;
And when I am stretched beneath the pines
Where the evening star so holy shines,
I laugh at the lore and the pride of man,
At the sophist schools, and the learned clan;
For what are they all in their high conceit,
When man in the bush with God may meet.

update

memorial day, tjstar, jday.

projects, tests, free haircuts, gastronomical chemist and his food, slytherin t-shirts, senior pictures, food, and games. and food.

due to the sheer size to which my obsessions have grown, they need to be documented here.

news, in order of occurence:

1. Guillermo del Toro NO DIRECT HOBBIT! I NO CAN BREATHE!

Really, GdT? You were the one constant thing during the convoluted mess that MGM has created for the Hobbit community, the one good thing. Since late 2007 we've been waiting, hoping, sinking our teeth into whatever rumors we hear [david tennant as bilbo? YES! tobey maguire? don't even think about it!] You've run out of patience sooner than us! NOW, you decide you can't wait any longer for this film franchise, THE most successful fantasy film franchise EVER?

Am I expecting GdT to hold off all other projects to make room for the Hobbit? YES, and he should be grateful, by george. The Hobbit will be huge, and to direct such a project would be the highlight of his career!

When Peter Jackson, who used to look like this,

is about 10x hotter than you, well,

that's just saying something.

2. Gary Sinise visits D.C.

No, he's not evil, I promise.

Every year since 2006, this amazing man has attended the National Memorial Day Concert, and many of those years he has co-hosted. When I saw him on the local news, I flipped out! To think, Lt. Dan/Detective Mac Taylor/George Milton was right there in my backyard! He's such a great guy, playing concerts for the troops overseas and helping Iraqi children get vital supplies. Yes, I know he's incredibly old mature, but you knew that about me already. And we can forget that in light of...

3. LOGAN LERMAN LOVE

I fell in love with this kid a couple of months ago, but he's charmed me again. He's funny, chill and a tremendous actor. I had no idea he had the experience that he's had: he's acted IN MAJOR ROLES alongside Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Renee Zellweger, Ashton Kutcher, Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, and twice with Mel Gibson and Luke Wilson, not to mention with my fave SNL couple Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis. Add that to all the adult actors from Percy Jackson, and you've got one accomplished 18-year-old.

Yes I said 18. FINALLY I've found someone actually my age to crush on. He's also read Catcher in the Rye multiple times and comes from a family of doctors. There's something about Logan that is so attractive, and I think that it's because like me, he's full of polar opposites. He's both darkly mysterious and light-hearted looking, like he could prank you one moment and then write a dissertation on the history of diagnosis the next. He's really serious, too, but absolutely hilarious. He's got the dark hair and shadowed eyes, but an absolutely luminous smile and the brightest eyes ever. [ew that is probably the most disgusting thing I've ever written. love is a dangerous thing, friends] Bright and dark eyes? Oxymoron? See for yourself.

The fact that he practically only wears dress shirts

and awesome jackets doesn't hurt, either

The only thing about him is that he's rather short.

But he's still taller than I am, so we can work something out.

He's about to star in the 3D version of Three Musketeers, as the main character d'Artagnan [yeah, I was shocked when I realized the musketeers weren't actually the main characters of the book], as well as alongside Emma Watson in the Perks of Being a Wallflower. Get ready for major Logan Lerman hype [remember, he was MINE FIRST!]

4. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley replaces Megan Fox, congratulated by VS

When the news first broke that Megan quit/was fired from Transformers 3 and the list of potential replacements came out, I immediately predicted the Brit with the huge lips would get the role. Firstly, Michael Bay had just directed a commercial for Victoria's Secret, so I could basically pick between Miranda Kerr and Rosie as the next female star. Both are dating British actors [Orlando Bloom and Jason Statham, respectively]. I knew, though, that Rosie was the better thespian. I called it, people!

Gee, am I missing a picture?

Replace it in your mind with

a generic bombshell model;

apply lip plumper nine times.

6. Jason Bateman in Hancock

He was the only thing about Hancock that was epic. I love Charlize Theron, believe me, but this hot guy stole the show. I cheered out loud [col?] when he pounded the bad guy with that axe-thingy. Oops did I spoil it? Sorry. Oh, who am I kidding, no one's going to watch that movie in the future ever again.

Awwww

7. Hilarious MTV promos

MTV Movie awards this Sunday!

Vote for Logan Lerman as breakout star and him vs. Jake Abel for best fight! Luke [Jake Abel] is super good-looking too. Or maybe that's just cause he's the villain.

MTV has been releasing promos for a while now, but only ones introducing Aziz. Now they're starting with the hilarious mixing of celebs and movies. My favorite to date:

Jeremy Renner is SO BADASS.

Hope he is indeed in Avengers!

Now I kind of want to talk about Avengers and all my favorite actors in that, but this is already way too long. I'll save that for later.

Now on to the homework!

Mad Men

Now that Legend of the Seeker is officially over, I have latched onto a new current TV show: Mad Men. And I love it! It's all very 60s, right between the classy and the mod.

Betty Draper is the exact image of Grace Kelly, but with all the character [from what I gleaned from two episodes] of Marilyn Monroe. Which reminds me. I want to re-watch Some Like It Hot.

January Jones as Betty Draper

Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway

And then we have Don Draper [Jon Hamm]. Oh, Don Draper, how do I even begin to describe Don Draper? He's perfect, but also bad, but likeable in his badness. He's smart, witty, charming. He's a gentleman who can, as his boss Roger Sterling said, easily run for President.

Speaking of Roger: Is this man minus about 40 years incredibly handsome or what?

John Slattery as Roger Sterling

I mean, what is it about the 50s and early 60s that make everything so...suave? I can totally see how smoking was cool. The vintage cigarette holders on the show alone are to die for.

Alas, the end of the 60s got too trashy for me. It's back in time I go. Which reminds me: I need to do a period piece post on the 80s!

P.S. Some Like It Hot. Funniest movie ever.

"?" by Robert William Service

"If you had the choice of two women to wed,
(Though of course the idea is quite absurd)
And the first from her heels to her dainty head
Was charming in every sense of the word:
And yet in the past (I grieve to state),
She never had been exactly "straight".

And the second -- she was beyond all cavil,
A model of virtue, I must confess;
And yet, alas! she was dull as the devil,
And rather a dowd in the way of dress;
Though what she was lacking in wit and beauty,
She more than made up for in "sense of duty".

Now, suppose you must wed, and make no blunder,
And either would love you, and let you win her --
Which of the two would you choose, I wonder,
The stolid saint or the sparkling sinner?"

Which would you choose?

post-AP post

i am done. APs are finished with. YAY.

i can't believe this is the last AP that's going to really be worth working hard for! Come this time, senior year, I'll be in college! (hopefully)

So I've gotten caught up on my Legend of the Seeker. But more importantly, I've discovered my future husband.

Well maybe not. Alex Day does live on the other side of the Atlantic. But he did date a girl from Seattle! And they made that work! So judging by the relative distances of our locations, Alex and I ought to work out twice as well as Alex and Kristina.

But I digress. Who is Alex Day? An incredibly handsome, very British and, most importantly, super cynical less-famous friend of Charlie McDonnell (charlieissocoollike). Both are very wonderful people who do crazy spontaneous things in keeping with the title of my blog [in keeping...as if they follow the guidelines of MY blog].

Everyone kept telling me to watch Charlieissocoollike on youtube. I finally agreed, [peer pressure, tis a powerful force!] and though I found him very cute and entertaining, I didn't bother checking out all his videos or subscribe.

Contrast that with the first time I laid eyes on Alex Day. The video was of quite a different subject matter; he was explaining the British elections and the concept of a hung parliament to the masses on youtube through the use of well-drawn Post-it note illustrations. For some reason, I was hooked. Most people say Charlie is the more handsome of the two [and that's probably why he is the #1 subscribed youtuber in the UK whereas Alex is #2] but Alex is just SO SARCASTIC, opinionated and has a take on everything!

Alex is the man for me. But the two are best friends and incredibly cute together.

Charlie and Alex [I love it when he laughs]

check him out at http://www.youtube.com/user/nerimon

Weekend Update

Long time no post. Having just finished a round of finals, auditions, and SAT IIs, I thought a blog post would be something to freshen up with.

I was at Costco today, and they had both Point Break and St. Elmo's Fire. FOR $5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, my parents wouldn't let me buy them. When and where else am I going to find these more-than-20-year-old films on DVD??? Not to mention my favorites, and such a bargain!

I also have resolved to exercise more. I hate coming down with a weak illness of ambiguous type, not strong enough to require a visit to the doctor but enough to annoy me throughout the day.

I'm so proud of myself; since Legend of the Seeker is getting cancelled [NOOOOOOO!] and APs are coming up, I decided to hold off watching until after the testing. Then I'll be able to celebrate afterward the hotness of both Craigs, the outfits of everyone and the gorge New Zealand landscape with all my concentration.

a collage of colleges.

just got back from visits to a few colleges up north. i went thinking that all the hype and my expectations would be shattered by the starkness of reality, but really, college lived up to all my dreams. Reconnecting with old friends and courting the possibility of a beautiful, almost scarily exciting new world of independence has made these last two days some of the best of my life.

An Education

An Education is what everyone needs. Seriously, go watch this movie. I had my doubts, this being a movie centered on romance (not my usual cinematic fare) - but it was wonderful and oh-so-utterly ME.

please please please let me get what i want

Sometimes I wonder...am I the only one who feels this way?

am I the only one who goes through life

doggedly trying to fix my mistakes?

Every action becomes an attempt

to leave a footprint on this earth

but others, others who pretend to follow in my footsteps,

they instead wipe the surface clean

erasing all traces of me, of my existence.

Do not complain to me of your petty misfortunes

the others, perhaps, may lend an ear.

But I cannot sympathize.

They who have borne the world on their shoulders

think little of those who cannot even lift a stone.

It is best, therefore, to suffer in silence.

The sounds of weeping are already enough to echo in the cavern of my heart,

and anguish need not be voiced so that it rings in the halls of the world as well.

"Darkling I listen; and, for many a time

I have been half in love with easeful death,

Called him soft names in many a mused rhyme,

To take into the air my quiet breath;

Now more than ever seems it rich to die,

To cease upon the midnight with no pain..."

---John Keat's Ode to a Nightingale

going on

found this amidst 8th grade homework assignments.

takes me back.

She goes on

Away.

By the lightless road of despair

She did pass us

Face heavy with worries

And misery.

For she has struggled to get by so much

She went on

Swimming through entire seas

With gloomy waters

And vicious currents threatening

To pull her under.

Yet she goes on.

She has conquered holocausts

Where fire seemed to burn from hell itself

And there existed no water

To extinguish the flames.

She goes on.

Hope remains her guiding light

Through forests of darkness

In her sole presence.

She winds through mazes of lonely caves

Where the only sound heard

Is the echoing of her footsteps.

Dark indeed were the tunnels she traveled

Slippery were the walls she clung to

In pursuit of the lightened cavern of joy.

And those hopes and dreams are timeless,

More so seems the path one must take

The strife one must endure

To reach the light.

And still,

She goes on.

quotable quotes: alfred lord tennyson

I love Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Rhyming? Rhythm? Beautiful language, numerous aphorisms? I say, to hell with Whitman and his American "poetry". British form for the win.

Break, break, break,

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

But the tender grace of a day that is dead

Will never come back to me.

---Break break break

The world was never made;

It will change, but it will not fade.

So let the wind range;

For even and morn

Ever will be

Thro’ eternity.

Nothing was born;

Nothing will die;

All things will change.

---Nothing Will Die

O well for him whose will is strong!

He suffers, but he will not suffer long;

He suffers, but he cannot suffer wrong...

---Will

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are---

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

---Ulysses

happy 200th: a guide to Chopin

Oh Frederic Chopin, how I adore thee, despite the fact that you are now officially 200. I don't care what you said about your birthday being March 1st, the church records say February 22nd. Humorous and observant, romantic to the core, full of strange habits - his pieces, some of the most descriptive and lyrical ever written, were never given titles but were always identified by genre and number. His sickly, tuberculosis-threatened exterior could not hide the exuberance and passion that lay within his soul. No other man in history, it could be argued, has devoted himself so fully to anything as Chopin devoted himself to the piano. He brought revolutionary ideas into his pieces, rubato, dissonance, chromatics...yet at the same time they were timeless classics that refined technique and musical character. His innovation led to some of his contemporary's most renowned works, such as Liszt's Transcendental Etudes. He was altogether French and yet wholly Polish. He had a turbulent relationship with George Sand [whom I, though I know little of her, detest] that lasted until the end of his tragically short life.
A Guide to Chopin's Music
Begin with the classics; everyone knows them. Fantasie Impromptu. Revolutionary Etude [Op. 10 no. 12]. The posthumous nocturne in C-sharp minor. The minute waltz. Pieces that have earned themselves names that Chopin did not give.
Move on to more sophisticated fare. Chopin's etudes stand as a landmark in musical history today. He was the first to really make the etude a piece fit to be performed, not merely for technical purposes. He seemed to have an etude to cover everything: black keys, thirds, sixths, octaves, arpeggios...check out the Winter Wind Etude [Op. 25 no. 11] Butterfly Etude [Op. 25 no. 9] Etude Op. 10 no. 4...but by far my favorite is Op. 10 no. 9. It's not difficult, it's not long...in fact it is considered the easiest etude...but its melody is so beautiful. The piece is written in a variant of f-harmonic minor. Absolutely haunting.
Check out Chopin's concertos. He can write as well for the orchestra as he could for the piano. Both are beautiful, but listen to the first movement of his first concerto and second movement of the second concerto.
The word scherzo means "joke". Scherzos before Chopin's time were usually short, flippant children's pieces. Chopin took the traditional scherzo, as he did with everything else, and made it his own. All four scherzi are pretty well known...listen to the middle section of the second one and the first one is essential to your Chopin knowledge.
There's the "Chopin scherzo", then there's the "Chopin ballade." I've played the three hardest of the four, and all are gorgeous pieces. Listen to the first for the rubato and the way he repeats a theme over and over. The second, though well known, is really not necessary; it's a piece for light listening. My ABSOLUTE favorite is the fourth. It's extremely difficult, but I determined, when music major I invited to give me a lesson on a different piece played it, that I would learn it and master it someday. The very opening theme captivated me. I have this theory that Liszt is twice guilty of plagiarizing Chopin's work. Don't get me wrong, I adore the Hungarian almost as much the Frenchman, but compare the main theme of the fourth ballade to the main theme of Liszt's La Leggierezza, Second Concert Etude...I played the two in short succession, and couldn't help noticing the similarities. The other instance is with Liszt's 10th transcendental etude, Allegro Agitato Molto, and Chopin's Op 10 no 9 etude [how dare you Franz, how dare you.]
Try to get in a few of the "Chopin nocturnes" in as well. Op. 27 no. 2 is short and sweet and well known. Squeeze in the first Impromptu if possible, as well as the Barcarolle in F sharp major, and finish it off with the grand first movement of Chopin's 3rd sonata.
One cannot do justice to the great Chopin without really playing his music, experiencing his genius firsthand, but that is the grandeur of music, and all other art; those who cannot make it can nevertheless enjoy it just as thoroughly.

bon anniversaire.

SAT (or OWL?) words

in honor of my dear friends who (falsely) proclaim that Harry Potter is better than Lord of the Rings, I've decided to write a completely fictional short story involving everyone's favorite characters from the former series. Interspersed throughout are good ol' SAT vocabulary words. No copyright infringement intended, my dear JK. This is for purely educational purposes only.

From The Half-Blood Prince: Harry has just overhead a conversation between Snape and Malfoy, where Snape is trying to figure out what his student is up to. Our beloved title character is musing it over at the Burrow during the Christmas holidays.

It had been several days since Harry had snuck away from Slughorn's party; enjoying being away from school, he'd had plenty of time for cogitation. He wasn't ready to tell anyone yet; he was sure Lupin and Mr. Weasley would consider this evidence diaphanous, whereas Harry himself thought the event a presage of worse to come. After all, since when had Malfoy been recalcitrant towards his favorite teacher Snape? He could hear them now, a snarling adolescent voice, another smooth and silky one...
Harry was back under his invisibility cloak, surreptitiously following the two Slytherins as they left Slughorn's Christmas party.
"That was a fatuous act, Draco," drawled Snape. The sound came from the end of the corridor. Harry crept to the last classroom and pressed his ear against the door in time to hear Malfoy ask angrily, "What are you talking about?"
"You know very well what I am talking about," was the harsh reply. "I would've expected you to be more solicitous."
"What? Are you putting the onus on me for what happened to Katie Bell? I had nothing to do with it; she must have some personal enemy or something, all right? I always thought she was a nebbish, anyway...no one would have any problem getting her to do what they want, even carry a poisoned necklace..."
Snape paused before speaking again. "You don't look very well, Draco. I haven't seen you at meals, and I have heard your absence being remarked upon in the common room. Has something happened at home? You look, if I may say it, rather dolorous."
"Thank you," said Malfoy, voice dripping sarcasm. "No, everything at home is just splendid - my father has always dreamed of living in Azkaban."
"I promised your mother I'd look after you. I - "
"So what are you going to do? Enjoin me from ever leaving the common room or classrooms? Walk me to every lesson?" Malfoy uttered a harsh laugh.
"Well, Draco, I think that would be a very apposite measure to take, do you not?"
"Are you kidding me? That'd be an utterly draconian punishment!" screamed Draco.
Harry winced and backed away from the door. He heard footsteps approaching and quickly dashed back down the corridor towards Slughorn's party, hearing a door slam as he made his escape. He quickened his pace; he dared not look back for fear that he would find himself gazing into the cold, black eyes of Severus Snape...but then he felt a hand at his shoulder and he started...
"Harry! Get out of your torpor." It was Ron, shaking him awake.
"Eh?...wuzzgoinon..." Harry blinked as the cheery faces of Lupin and Mr. Weasley came into view, each of them with a hand that grasped a large bottle of butterbeer.
"Well that certainly was a frangible nap you took!" laughed Mr. Weasley. He offered him a swig of butterbeer. "It's a roborant drink; you'll be back to us in no time!" He laughed again.
"Listen, Mr. Weasley, Lupin," began Harry, a note of urgency in his voice now that he was fully awake, "I heard a conversation between Snape and Malfoy right before the holidays..." He explained what he had heard and concluded, "They were definitely colluding! To do what, I don't know, but I'm sure not something good!"
The adults, however, were a lot less excited by the news than Harry had been.
"Harry," said Mr. Weasley gently, "don't you think Snape was just trying to, you know, find out what, if anything, Malfoy was up to?"
Harry felt his frustration rise.
"No, he was definitely up to something! He even said he was responsible for Malfoy and his actions!" Why did Mr. Weasley have to palliate everything that came up about Snape? He turned to Lupin, sure that he would find support there, but to his great surprise he saw Lupin nodding agreement.
"Harry, don't you think you could be prevaricating a bit? I mean, it's completely understandable, given your history with Snape, but if Dumbledore trusts Snape you should as well, don't you agree?"
Harry could not believe it. Had no one heard what he had heard between Snape and Malfoy? Was there anyone left in the Wizarding world with some sense? There had to be someone who would believe him...but who? Perhaps...perhaps Harry could share the experience, not mentioning Snape and Malfoy specifically, and see who would come to his side? Perhaps if he were to expatiate on the matter, get out all his thoughts...even if he didn't find anyone who agreed, he would at least have let out all his emotions so he could sit back and try to see more clearly...that was it. Harry jumped to his feet, upsetting Crookshanks who fell to the floor with an indignant meow. Harry ignored him; instead he raced upstairs, headed toward the attic where all sorts of magical items were stored. He was going to write a blog, and post it on the Wizarding Wide Web, for everyone to see.

Well, could you tell what the words meant from the context? No? Ahhh well luckily we have
words
cogitate - think deeply, ponder, meditate
diaphanous - transparent as to allow light to pass through/vague, unsubstantial
presage - an omen, warning/to warn
recalcitrant - Stubbornly resistant to and defiant of authority or restraint.
surreptitious - done in stealth
fatuous - foolish and unintelligent/illusory and delusive
solicitous - careful, meticulous
onus - burden, responsibility
nebbish - A weak-willed, timid, or ineffectual person.
dolorous - causing or marked by grief or sorrow
enjoin - to prohibit
apposite - very applicable and relevant
draconian - excessively harsh and severe
torpor - a state of lethargy, apathy
frangible - easily broken
roborant - Strengthening; restoring vigor.
collude - to act together, to conspire, to plot
palliate - to make less severe, less serious
prevaricate - to depart from or evade the truth
expatiate - to write/speak about in considerable detail/to wander freely [in expression]

dynamic duos

in honor of valentine's day, a couple of couples for you.

Lucy and Ricky Ricardo

I love Lucy. She is everything I wish I was but am not: spontaneous, wild, charming, whiny, ridiculous...

Andy Clark and Allison Reynolds

Every teen should be able to identify the movie with this scene in an instant. Sure, Bender and Claire get all the attention, but Molly Ringwald couldn't stand Judd Nelson...I find Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez a much sweeter coupling.

Arwen Undomiel and Aragorn Elessar

Hailed by Forbes as the the highest-earning on-screen couple. Doesn't take a lot to see why.

Eowyn of Rohan and Faramir of Ithilien

My favorite duo from Lord of the Rings. Everyone forgets about Faramir, and I just don't get why. His story is the most gripping of all.

Josh and Cher Horowitz

The socially responsible hippie and ditzy rich girl? Sounds like some overworked cliché, but Paul Rudd and Alicia Silverstone make it work.

Blane McDonough and Andie Walsh

Sure, sure, we're all supposed to pick Duckie to be with Molly Ringwald...but who can resist the gorgeousness that is Andrew McCarthy? Pretty in Pink isn't a favorite of mine, but he sure is.

Kevin Dolenz and Leslie Hunter

What do you get when you take the halves of two of my favorite pairings and put them together? Andrew McCarthy and Ally Sheedy, of course! Even though St. Elmo's Fire is supposed to be a terrible movie...it's so 80s I can't help but love it. ABC is making a TV series version, with the original director and TOPHER GRACE producing, so I suggest you all get well acquainted with this film.

Journalist Joe Bradley and Princess Ann

Gregory Peck, recognizing the immense talent Audrey Hepburn had, asked to have her name just as big as his, correctly predicting Audrey would win an Oscar for this role. Such a sad, but perfect, ending to this movie.

Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom

The most beautiful couple out there. Or maybe they lose to...

James Franco and Agyness Deyn

Relatively new, they win the award for coolest duo.

seize enjoy the day...i'll go back to fantasizing over William Holden.

in desolation

I lay here, still sobbing.
you stand behind me, as if nothing is wrong. you continue talking
about the weather, and what to cook
for breakfast.
the tears fall fast from my eyes.
You leave me, you spare me no thought,
and head upstairs, where you get far enough away
so that the sound of my grief can no longer be heard.
You do not understand it. You do not comprehend what you have done.
You have the audacity to make yourself seem the victim.
Throwing aside all duty to me, all responsibility
you let me mourn alone. And never have I felt so alone.
I have been disowned. I am not important enough - not worth even a second
of your precious time. Time you spend sleeping
or sitting, like the sack of rottenness you are, before the television.
You were not willing to make an effort then, to get the remote
to cover yourself in a blanket
to turn on or off the lights.
You are not willing now.
Things must be done on your terms. For not only are you the maker of my misery
you are a tyrant as well. I can do nothing but suffer under your rule.
That is the law, and the law must be upheld.
It is not a difficult existence for you.
Who has heard of a single man being able to throw off the chains of oppression?
One cannot successfully rebel against power, great and many
but power over one yields as much satisfaction as that over a kingdom.
It takes the anguish of only one to guarantee the delight of many of your kind.
That is why others can continue on. Why no one else sympathizes with my cause
and instead they brand me as unstable or insane
for wanting to think differently. It makes it easy for you, does it not?
It establishes a sense of righteousness in your acts
and even more ground for you to continue.
But there is nothing darker
than a false moral pretext.
One day it will get the better of you
and I hope I'm here to see it
when that day finally comes.

period piece: the 50's

as you all probably know, i have a love for all things in the 50's, a time unparalled by any other except the 80s [an era which i will write about later]. my most recent obsession has been the TV show I Love Lucy, a hilarious, witty, brilliant and beautiful series embodying the decade. Hallmark had an I Love Lucy marathon last weekend, and after one episode I was hooked.
From what's apparently the best episode [which I have not yet seen, to my immense frustration] Lucy puts on a disguise when meeting a famous actor, William Holden [more on him below], for fear of being recognized as the woman who got pie all over his face. When Holden lights a cigarette for her, her long, fake, putty nose catches on fire. Hilarity ensues.
Feeling nostalgic, I soon re-visited some of my favorite moments [read: movies] from the time, and was inexorably brought to the gorgeous and talented [not to mention my favorite] actress Audrey Hepburn.
From Funny Face, the only musical I've partially enjoyed [besides Sound of Music, but that's a given]. Isn't she, and Paris, gorgeous?

I dream of this sort of getup...large hat, wayfarer glasses, huge diamond earrings given to me by a mobster...
gorgeous. and another beauty, quite on the opposite end of the spectrum from sweet, innocent Audrey...
Ava Gardner. Fabulous.

The beautiful Grace Kelly.

Now I had always thought Marilyn Monroe overrated...until I actually saw her in a movie, The Misfits. She is absolutely stunning.
Just because she's that stunning I decided on a [gasp] color photo.
Doesn't she look nice?

Now on to the guys.

JAMES DEAN [in a Steinbeck movie, too!] I find James Franco's resemblance to this man most uncanny...


Marlon Brando...the epitome of coolness.


William Holden. Poor Lucy Ricardo, to make a fool of herself in front of this man...


Oh, Gregory Peck [To Kill A Mockingbird]...a personal favorite of mine. He and Holden, incidentally, both starred in films alongside Audrey Hepburn...

Ahhh Rome...

The 50's were also a landmark time in literature. My favorite books were written in this time period...



and let's not forget the brilliant movies set in this decade...[dead poets, anyone?]

mmmm. what I would give to live in this fabulous era...