Book Eater

Solving the Mystery Genre: Independent Study Update

2012-01-27T11:14:00.002-05:00

This semester I designed my own course for independent study. Basically I draft up the curriculum, choose course texts and an advisor to look out for me and the college approves it (or not). My study of the mystery genre was heartily approved. So now I'm deep into the earliest offerings of the genre from Poe and moving on into Doyle.
There are so many amazing and important writers and even lesser know writers I wish I could have included, but it's already a pretty heavy course load because in tandem to my readings I'll be working on my writing as well and must surrender a mystery manuscript at the end of the semester.
It's going well though, my professor is supportive and a big fan of mysteries herself we have good advisor meetings. Best of all, I've had a real break though on my characters I believe. I've always wanted to write several books with this cast and now I can more clearly see how that would work, how the characters will evolve and when we get to meet certain other characters.
Right now I can see four or five books with the core main characters. It's very exciting to be able to plan ahead. Of course, there are certain things to come in future books that I'd like to jump ahead to and start writing now, but I have to keep moving forward and begin at the beginning to get where I'd like to be eventually. I have a notebook full of scenes and outlines for the future, however.
It's my goal, or my pipe-dream perhaps, to have a literary agent by the time I graduate next May. I don't want to wait to start my career as a writer until I finish grad school-- in fact I'm not sure I want to go straight to grad school. And I'm afraid that if I let myself just slip into job that has nothing to do with writing but takes up a lot of my time, that I won't move forward and keep pursuing my writing. I probably will have a full time job besides my writing, but I would like to be something that uses my writing (such as journalism).
Like I said, it's just a goal, but I really want it. I want to be a writer, that's what I'm spending my college career training for, and that's the only thing I really want to do. The only thing I feel like I have to do as a career.

Review: The Reichenbach Fall, Sherlock series 2

2012-01-18T14:57:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, The Reichenbach Fall, the series 2 finale of Sherlock aired. Based off Doyle's story "The Final Problem" (a title which is referenced several times in the episode), the episode opens with John back at the therapist's office. He tells his therapist he's come back after all this time because his best friend, Sherlock, is dead.
From there we get the story filled out. Sherlock steadily gains more and more media exposure through John's blog and the solving of several high profile cases. John warns him that this might be dangerous. Meanwhile, Moriarty is back with the ultimate plot. He has a computer code that can open any security system. He simultaneously breaks through the security of The Tower of London, The Bank of England, and Pentoville. It's going to be the trial of the century and Sherlock will be the main witness for the prosecution.

The episode was a fantastic cap for the season. It was great to have more screen time for Andrew Scott as Moriarty. This version of Moriarty is certainly unique, but he's always exciting to watch. His Moriarty is brilliant, unpredictable, and relishes the game so much. He's delicious to watch, and he scenes between Sherlock and Moriarty are extremely powerful. Their verbal chess match towards he end of the episode contains several surprising twists. Scott's versatility comes through and there's a scene about an hour into the episode where he might make you momentarily question your sanity.
This episode lets us see Sherlock at his most desperate. This whole season has been about uncovering his vulnerabilities, finding what's really important to Sherlock and this episode takes that even farther. By the end of the episode you may have to disagree with Sherlock's earlier assessment that "Heroes don't exist, and if they did I wouldn't be one of them."
It was Martin Freeman's performance, however, that really made the episode. Give that man another BAFTA. His ability to emote, but emote in a controlled way that would be appropriate for John Watson, the soldier and doctor, is so subtle and deft. It's heartbreaking to see him in pain, more heartbreaking when he tries to be strong about it.

The series as a whole definitely lived up to expectations. The success of the first season gave the writers more license to push boundaries and experiment, some experiments were more successful than others, but they were always entertaining.
The direction and overall cinematography put this leagues above any other show on television. The transitions between scenes are always visually interesting and cleverly done. The creation of atmosphere, whether in on the moors, or in the middle of London, grab hold of the viewer. They found even more interesting ways to visualize Sherlock's thought process this season as well-- the "Mind Palace" sequence from Hound was definitely a highlight, and possibly a new dance move.
The end doesn't leave on as painful a cliff hanger as the first season, but will leave fans eager for more, and indeed, a third season has been commissioned. Unfortunately it won't arrive until 2013 due to the filming of The Hobbit which Martin Freeman stars in with Benedict Cumberbatch supporting as Smaug.

A Moveable Feast

2012-01-14T12:47:00.004-05:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get around to writing about this piece. I checked it out of the local library last month and read a few chapters each week in the Laundromat.
A Moveable Feast is Ernest Hemingway's chronicle of his life as a young writer in Paris. He meandered between cafes and friends' homes, staying in bare bones accommodations with his wife Hadley. Many other writers of the time figure into his account, Gertrude Stein, Ford Maddox Ford, Ezra Pound, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others. Each person sketched in detail sometimes brutal detail. Fitzgerald especially comes off as a bit of a naive fool, best illustrated in this infamous passage.
I love many of Hemingway's short stories, but his novels tend to be a little hard for me to connect to and read all the way through. However, I loved this memoir. Its stark prose was littered with surprising moments of poetry. This is one of my favorite passages from early in the book:

"All of the sadness of the city came suddenly with the first cold rains of winter, and there were no more tops to the high white houses as you walked but only the wet blackness of the street and the closed doors of the small shops, the herb sellers, the stationary and newspaper shops, the midwife— second class—and the hotel where Verlaine had died where I had a room on the top floor where I worked.”

Of course, reading about Hemingway's struggles as a young writer is reassuring to this young writer. All his desire to write "one true sentence," to publish, to be a good writer are something I can connect to in my own journey. Even when set backs (like losing a suitcase full of stories there were no other copies of) didn't deter him from his quest. It makes me want to go back to my "Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway" and reread all of his early works that are alluded to in the memoir.
So definitely give this one a read, even if you don't always enjoy Hemingway, this is not to be missed

Review: Sherlock "The Hounds of Baskerville"

2012-01-13T15:28:00.002-05:00

In a nod to a lesser known, lesser adapted Holmes story "Black Peter," the episode opens with Sherlock arriving back at the flat covered in blood and carrying a harpoon he used to spear a pig that morning. He had to take the tube home "None of the cabs would have me." With that slightly gorey start, writer Mark Gatiss takes us on a horrific adventure into Dartmoor on the tail of a giant hound. Henry Knight arrives on the morning train asking for Sherlock and John to help him. Twenty years before, his father was ripped apart in front of him by what seemed to be demon hound- possibly an escaped genetic experiment from Baskerville, a government testing facility nearby.
The episode did a great job of inverting some of the expectations that Holmes fans would have for an adaptation of Hound of the Baskervilles. No longer set in a creepy country home haunted by a curse, it takes the story to that modern haunted house, a laboratory where anything could lurk. Many moments of pure psychological terror were in store for all of the characters, even Sherlock our cool logictician. How can Holmes deal with fear and doubt, the inability to trust his own senses? How can Watson deal with such a Holmes?
Our two leads had an opportunity to explore a new aspect of their relationship. One where Sherlock tests certain limits. More importantly, we see John hurt by Sherlock when he insists in one taut scene, "I don't have friends!" By the end though, Sherlock has to relent that he doesn't have friends, just one friend.
Though the episode pays homage to Doyle's original creation, it steps boldly into new territory, allowing itself to differ from the original. Hound is the most adapted Sherlock Holmes story, one that carries with it a lot of baggage. Gatiss sheds much of that baggage by reinventing several aspects of the story and giving fans something fresh and original, something they won't be as familiar with.
Overall, it was a very strong episode. It continues on the momentum created by the raucous first episode and keeps giving us something new from our characters, which can be hard when they are so established in the public consciousness.

*Here there be spoilers:*
One small issue I did have with episode was how the characters were exposed to the hallucinogen. It wasn't in the sugar as Sherlock originally assumed, so how did it get into John's system? Before he goes into the lab, there is a pipe spurting steam and we see the passage fill with it a bit, but would a top government lab allow drugs to freely flow in its laboratories? Unless we assume that Franklin was slipping what was usually a small amount of the drug to his colleagues. That does seem like a plot hole that could use some patching.
The ending was an interesting gear up to next week's episode. Mycroft has clearly made good on his vow at the end of "Scandal" to give Moriarty some of his attention, but since he doesn't get his hands dirty, is forced to let him go. The eerie graffiti all over the holding room shows us that Moriarty has reached a new level of obsession. This version of Moriarty has been a little hard for some to swallow, but I think it's interesting. Why do the same old thing over again?
This Moriarty is a little younger, a little more childlike (which makes him a good counterpoint to our younger, sometimes immature Sherlock). He is clearly intelligent, running a huge criminal enterprise, but Sherlock has become his one obsession. Maybe it's the crack in his lens, maybe his obsession will make him vulnerable? We'll see this Sunday.

Quick Review: One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

2012-01-10T12:10:00.003-05:00

I read this over week ago, but haven't had time to review until now.
At the end of Case Histories Jackson Brodie ran off to France with his inheritance for an early retirement. One Good Turn sees him back in the UK two years later. He arrives in Edinburgh for the festival to see his girlfriend Julia in a play and finds himself in the middle of police investigations and in the cross-hairs of Louise, a no-nonsense female officer.
The plot sees several seemingly unrelated crimes: a fit of road rage, the body of a girl washed up on the beach, and the unscrupulous practices of a business man, but they all prove to be connected. Atkinson richly illustrates the lives of these characters, making each one come alive, not just Jackson. One of the best characters is Martin, a soft-boiled crime writer who is hapless, but sympathetic. Atkinson clearly has fun writing passages from Martin's formulaic stories. Gloria the middle aged wife and Tatiana "Jojo" the dominatrix form an interesting alliance to find their own brand of justice. The introduction of Louise as a match for Jackson was a good move as well, I hope that's developed more in the next book. I never liked Julia as his romantic interest.
This is a rare example of the sequel being superior to the original. Atkinson improves on her ability to balance multiple stories and bring them all back to Jackson, the linchpin. The way all the cases end up intersecting is creative and intriguing. She makes you interested in all their lives, even when they make mistakes, even when they break laws, they still have your interest, your sympathy. Rather than the unrelated stories of Case Histories, One Good Turn brings everything together to make a more cohesive story.

Review: Sherlock "A Scandal in Belgravia"

2012-01-06T16:55:00.004-05:00

After almost a year and a half, series two of Sherlock has finally arrived. The first episode quickly ties up last years cliff-hanger in a comical, yet chilling scene. It's a little abrupt, but the episode has bigger things to get to, specifically: Irene Adler.
Steve Moffat's version of the only woman to ever outsmart Holmes has stirred up a lot of controversy. Without giving too much away for those of you who haven't seen it yet, I can say that yes, she is different than Doyle's original, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Much of the backlash comes from fans claiming that this Adler is too sexualized. The character is a dominatrix in this retelling, one who gathers sensitive secrets on her camera phone from her illustrious clients. When she first meets Sherlock, she walks into the room wearing high heels and blood red lipstick.
Clearly this was a bold choice. This episode and the handling of Adler weren't perfect, but I will make a small defense of this adaptation. The original character was an opera singer who travelled the world living by her wits and was most likely the full-fledged mistress of the King of Bohemia. She was a very racy character in her day. Stage performers were seen as loose women. Having her be an opera singer who was the arm candy of some politico wouldn't have as much impact in a modern setting. Her nudity isn't used to make her an object of desire, or to make her helpless. She reverse to her nudity as being her "battle" attire. It's something that makes her powerful by making Sherlock and John uncomfortable.
As far as her being reduced to a sex object, what makes her an opponent to Holmes, what makes her someone he is (perhaps) interested, is her brain. He can't read her, she surprises him and manages to figure out the solution to one of his cases. Their relationship is very interesting to see develop. Cumberbatch does a great job of making Holmes just vulnerable enough, without ever revealing too much emotion. He and Adler circle each other, both admiring the other, but at cross purposes. It is certainly not a love story, but it introduces the feasibility of a different kind of relationship for Sherlock Holmes without taking him in a romantic direction that would be out of character.
Mycroft was much more developed in this episode as well. His role in the government and his relationship with his younger brother. There are several very telling moments between the Holmes brothers within the episode. Of course Martin Freeman's John is incandescent as usual. It was a fairly John-light episode, but he and Cumberbatch had many moments to show the way that Sherlock and John's relationship has continued to develop. Una Stubbs, as Mrs. Hudson, appeared more in this episode, showing her maternal relationship with the boys-- especially Sherlock.
Overall, it was a solid episode. Plenty of great canon references, especially at the beginning of the episode with a montage of cases for Sherlock and John. A few very funny scenes, but some dark moments as well. Not to mention, several twists that may surprise some viewers and keeps you interested.
To end with a John quote: "We solve crimes, I blog about it, he forgets his pants. I wouldn't hold on to too much hope."

2010 An Obligatory Review

2012-01-04T16:16:00.003-05:00

Oh, I have to. Even if it's only a new year according to our flawed solar calender (just saying, if we followed a lunar calender we could have thirteen 28 day months which would make a lot more sense).
So here are some ways I'll remember 2010:
1. The year of technological horror. I had one computer cord die on me and have to be replaced, then the computer itself died shortly after I replaced the cord. My flash-drive suddenly ceased functioning, then I got a very determined piece of Malware infested in my new computer in time for midterms. Then, right after finals my computer started acting up. Last week then, the Malware came back. So my whole hard drive had to be wiped. Yes, I just got it back today.
2. The year I gave Dickens another try. And you know, I found it wasn't bad. I rather enjoyed Dombey and Son. It was also perfect timing for my honors course in which we read The Mystery of Edwin Drood and wrote our own endings. My version (not surprisingly) was described by my professor as a bit "film noir." It was a lot of fun.
3. The year of rejection. For the first time, I started actively submitting my work to lit journals and querying agents and editors. I had done little touches of freelancing, but I had never submitted so much before. Ergo, I've never been rejected so much before. Dipping my toes into the publishing world was an overwhelming experience. I may have had a breakdown (or two) and reconsidered my choice to be a writer. Overall though, I learned a lot, and hope to start round two later this year.
4. The year of detective stories. Not just my own, though they have been constantly on my work table. I started a very determined course of education; I began an intensive study of the genre. When I looked back over the list of books I read, at least half were mysteries. I brushed up on my Agatha Christie as well as more contemporary offerings. I watched a good many mystery programs as well, the BBC's Luther being one of my favorites (though nothing can dethrone Sherlock of course). Though some stories have spun me around quite a bit, I've also realized that I'm a fairly hard reader to surprise. I'm fairly good at predicting plot twists. When I'm reading Doyle, it's always an ego boost if I can solve the crime before or at the same time as Holmes.
5. The year of Rory Williams. Well, I certainly appreciated him all year long and am going to miss him when he leaves next season. I think he's probably my favorite Doctor Who companion of all time.

The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

2011-12-26T20:44:00.004-05:00

Flavia de Luce, girl chemist with a possibly unhealthy interest in death is on the case again. In this sequel to The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, a puppet show run by the charismatic and crippled by polio Rupert comes to town. His assistant Nialla has been placed in a desperate position.
When Rupert ends up dead, Flavia is left to untangle the strings of this mystery. Rupert may be more than just a passerby, his history and the history of the inhabitants of Bishop Lacy prove to be tangled together. The mysterious death of a village boy, the mad woman in the woods, and secret liaisons all conspire to make a puzzle for Flavia to solve.

I very much enjoyed The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and was interested in seeing how Bradley would follow it up. He continues to explore Flavia's unique skills and talents. We gain insight into her thought process and her talent with chemical equations. Also though, Bradley expands on her emotional life as well in this volume. Her anxiety over her relationship with her sisters and her questions about the mother she never knew are touched on.
Some of the Bishop Lacey residents of the first novel appear again, but we are introduced to other locals who each help Flavia piece together the solutions to the Rupert's death as well as a death from half a decade before.
Though perhaps, lacking some of the dramatic tension of the first novel, it's still a fun read. Bradley's chapters move quickly, each one fairly short and moving. There are some satisfying twists that may come as a surprise. The solution to the mystery, however left me with mixed feelings, especially over how the murderer should be punished.
The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag is a fun, quick read that takes you back into the world of Flavia de Luce, a charismatic, but flawed and surprising believable young girl with remarkable skills. The third book A Red Herring Without Mustard will go on my TBR list. Sequels don't always live up to the quality of the first, but this novel came fairly close.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

2011-12-22T11:30:00.003-05:00

The novel opens with Richard, our narrator and protagonist thinking back on the murder he and his friends committed back in college. From there we go back to how this story began, making this a sort of inverted murder mystery. We know the victim, we know the killers, now we need to find out why.
At a small college in New England, a select group of students study the Classics with Julian, a charismatic professor who is well traveled and well loved by his students. Richard, newly transferred from California with some Greek study in his background wants to join the class, but has to be accepted by Julian personally. When he finally is, he immediately begins to form bonds with Julian's students.
There's Henry, a genius that seems to live more in the world of the classics than in real life. Charles and Camilla are the twins, they are very close and very secretive. Frances, a sensitive young man with access to his aunt's country home is also among the group. And finally, there's Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran. His family maintains an air aristocracy, but appear to be broke, equipping their son with nothing but skills at mooching off of everyone else and a crude sense of humor.
We learn in the first pages that Bunny is the murder victim. After that we go back and get the story about secrets, ancient rituals, and desperation that lead to his demise.

Overall, it's a decent story. In spite of the obvious tension within the story, there were many sections of the book that simply could not keep my attention. Passages meandered and seemed as listless as its characters after a night of bacchanals. Yes, its college student characters are constantly (infuriatingly) drunk or high, especially Richard, the narrator who wanders around getting drunk and doing cocaine for an alarmingly large amount of the time.
It's true that these are young people, and young people tend to experiment, but it seems excessive in Tartt's prose. I also began to wonder why this group of students was considered so elite, other than Henry, there was little to illustrate any impressive aptitude from them.
The novel was structured after a Greek tragedy. Early on Tartt brings up the elements of fate and the possession of a fatal flaw. In a way, looking at a modern situation through a lens of ancient tragedy can work. There is a fatal flaw, there is a fall, there is a noble sacrifice, and there is a sense of repayment and justice in the end.
Tartt is moderately successful at creating this tragic world. Richard serves as our messenger (as every good Greek play should have) who tells us how this tragedy befell our heroes and how they had to pay for it. It wasn't a bad novel. If you enjoy Greek tragedy and murder mysteries, you may find something of interest here. However, it makes sense that this was Tartt's first novel. She shows that she has talent, but she is not entirely successful with her execution.
This is a good novel to compare with Carol Goodman's Lake of Dead Languages which I reviewed a few months ago, as it deals with many similar themes. Although also flawed, I prefer Goodman's novel because of its taut, poetic language.

Life Changing Books

2011-12-14T20:43:00.002-05:00

Let's talk about life changing books. The books you read that change the way you think about something, the way you see the world. There are so many books that have effected the way I think and feel. Here are just a couple of the significant ones.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: These were my favorite book when I was young. Even into high school I read the later ones as they came out. These were so different than most books for young readers, they were dark, ironic, they sent me to the dictionary and made me love all the rich and wonderful words.
The Bell Jar: Such a wonderful book about identity, insanity and growing into young womanhood. Disorienting and razor sharp. I read this in ninth or tenth grade and loved it.
Slaughterhouse Five: Probably the best war story I've ever read. Kurt Vonnegut's genre blending and wry humor intrigued me, occasionally confused me, but ultimately enthralled me. It changed my perspective on trauma. So it goes.
Jane Eyre: Probably the first book I read that made me feel like I was the narrator, we were one. I was eighteen, dealing with isolation and trying to determine where to go with my life, this book helped me through so much.

There are so many more that have touched me or taught me, but these always stand out when I think back on my life.
What are your life changing books?

Finals

2011-12-11T12:55:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the silence over here these last two weeks. I've been writing papers and doing presentations. My semester is almost over and I'm trying to plan how best to spend my winter break.
Now, I must finish an essay on Chaucer and I webpage for my new media class. I'll be back soon with book reviews and other (hopefully) exciting posts.

Source Booking

2011-11-29T16:18:00.003-05:00

I took a play writing class a few years ago and before starting a project we needed to make a source book. This was a portfolio or document where we collected text, images, music, and anything else that was a source of inspiration or research for our intended projects.
This was invaluable at tough moments in the writing and rehearsing process. I've decided to adopt this technique for my fiction writing as well. Over the Thanksgiving break from school I began working on an old idea, but with a fresh perspective. The idea is for a piece set in Ireland during the age of mythic battles and warriors. I have several early Anglo-Saxon poems that I want to use as a source. I especially want to explore the emotional life of the women that are effected by these battles.
It's not a history piece exactly, because so much of the history from this age is just story telling with fantastical elements. It's not a grounded moment of historical fact, but a progression of human experiences. I had shelved the project a few years ago because I really had no idea where to even begin. That can often be the hardest thing for me as a writer-- I always have ideas, it's finding a way into them, a starting point that is the challenge.
Still, I'm feeling positive about this. I'm creating my source book. This has been in the back of my mind for about two and a half years, I finally think I'm ready to start working on it.
It's funny. When I finally have my mini break-down and decide not to write for anything but my own pleasure, ideas rush to me. A stopper is released and everything can flow again. I know this project will take a lot of time an research, but I'm excited about it. I think it will be good. I don't usually say that about my writing.

Possession: The Book vs. The Film

2011-11-26T18:17:00.003-05:00

Possession is a romantic novel that traces the love affair between two Victorian poets as well as the story of the modern academics piecing together the trail of letters they left behind. The novel is beautiful, full of the lush language A.S. Byatt was famous for. Though, there are some long passages of poetry that seem a little indulgent and unnecessary, you gradually get more and more drawn into the story of the Victorians, Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte.
I saw the 2002 film last night with starred Gweneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart as Maud and Roland, the modern academics turned historical detectives. Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle play Ash and LaMotte.
Of course the film makes many cuts so that it can fit in a 1 hour and 40 minute time slot. They trim down many things (like some of the epic poems) that don't effect the story too much, but the film seemed to be missing something deeper. The character of Roland, especially seems underdeveloped. Everything seems to happen very quickly and some of the slower, more character driven moments from the book are missing.
Filmmaker and playwright Neil LaBute does tap into a few highly emotional moments which came as a surprise to me. His plays are often rather cool and cynical, but he found his romantic side while working on this screenplay.
Even though it's not my favorite of Byatt's novel, it is certainly worth the reading, even if you've seen the film. If you've read the book, but haven't seen the movie, it's nice to see the story brought to life, but you may have the strange sensation of missing the characters you know from the book. As with nearly any book to film, the book is better, but it was a decent adaptation. Still interesting, intelligent, and romantic. It will never be the way I saw it in my head, of course, but that's always the problem with adaptations.

A Writer Recharges

2011-11-21T16:38:00.003-05:00

After my mini crisis last week, I quit NaNoWriMo (gasp!). I am reassembling myself and my thoughts, and especially my writing. I think I just need to reinvigorate my work. I now find myself working on a play I started a while ago. Playwriting is certainly not a profitable direction, but I can't write with selling as the point. Writing has to be the point.
The play is an hour long farce, and I'm having fun. Writing needs to be be fun again. I find that letting myself relax and enjoy what I'm doing helps the ideas flow. As a young writer, I'm still finding my methods and my niche. I'm not off making my own living yet, I still have some time to flush out my writing.
There will be plenty of pressure later.
So, I'm doing plenty of reading, writing a little everyday, and trying to get out of the house more.

Skip this rant

2011-11-18T16:57:00.003-05:00

I apologize in advance for this outburst.
A piece of flash fiction I wrote for the The Vestal Review was rejected last week which sort of set this whole thing in motion. I really liked that piece, I thought it was quality. So now I'm doubting my ability to judge my own work. Work on my NaNo has been increasingly halting because I'm a little overwhelmed with school work.
I just feel like I'm stuck in this place where I'm putting all this time and effort into a degree that no one will ever pay me for. Yes, an English degree can help you go in other directions besides writing, but I honestly don't want to do anything else. I write because I love it, because I have to do it, I can't stop myself, but now that I get closer to graduating (and having my bills ever increasing) I have to think about doing it for money as well.
Putting monetary value on my work is so difficult. When magazines and publishers aren't willing to pay for work that I originally did for free, it devalues it and makes me doubt myself as a writer. I hate entering writing contests, even though they may have cash prizes because I hate having my work held up and arbitrarily judged by people comparing it to dozens of other submissions. I'm very private about my writing and these terrible experiences trying to make it more public only tell me that it should stay private. No one wants it. But I don't know what else I can possibly do with my life. Molding words and telling stories are the only thing I know how to do. But apparently I don't do it very well.
I need something positive to happen to me, I'm having some kind of quarter life crisis here.

The Tempest (2010)

2011-11-12T22:59:00.003-05:00

I finally had a chance to see Julie Taymor's adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Taymor has previously adapted Shakespeare for the screen with Titus, her 1999 adaptation of the gory revenge tragedy, Titus Andronicus.
The first noticeable change Taymor makes to Shakespeare's play is that of making the dethroned Duke and part time sorcerer Prospero a woman, Prospera, played by Helen Mirren. People have complained about this, "But this doesn't fit the thesis I wrote about gender roles in The Tempest." However, Taymor wasn't writing a thesis, she was looking at the text with a fresh set of eyes. Mirren is incandescent in the role, full of rage and sorrow.
The rest of the casting is fantastic as well, Ben Whishaw as Ariel and Felicity Jones as Miranda stand out especially. Russell Brand appears as Trinculo, a jester sort of role. He plays Trinculo as Russell Brand, if you don't find him particularly funny, you won't enjoy his scenes very much. In my opinion, he was the one low point in the casting.
Djinmom Hounsou's portrayal of Caliban, like Helen Mirren's Prospera, add new shading to the roles and the play over all. In moments between Prospera and Caliban the sense of imperialism or western colonialism in general seems to be an undertone; the ruling invader speaking to the native, holding power over them. The role of Prospero as a woman brought in the idea the undermining of women's inheritance and legal power and, of course, the witch trials common of the era.
As usual, Taymor's visuals are stunning and artistic. Whishaw's Ariel, the airy spirit, transforms through many of the scenes. From a sheer, snowy white figure able to split himself into several portions, to a terrifying black crow, glistening and winged hovering over the King and his men, driving them mad, each scene presents a new visual landscape which Whishaw and Taymor fully embody.
Toward then end, some of the surreal visuals of the hell hounds chasing Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban looks vaguely video game like. As one of Shakespeare's later comedies, it is very dark and Taymor struggles to bring out the moments of comedy from within the play with such visuals as well as a very modern sounding musical score under these parts. It is difficult for her to capture what is humorous about these characters in this sublot on film.
In typical Taymor fashion, nothing is completely straight forward. Though the costumes of the nobles that are shipwrecked on the island are grounded in the 17th century, there is a gothic, punk-rock feel. All of their doublets are black festooned with zippers and metal. The belts and boots also have buckles and marks that would make them more appropriate for the grunge movement than the late Elizabethan era. Her costumes are like wink to the audience, reinforcing her point; it's Shakespeare, but filtered through a modern lens.
Shakespeare is different from most literature you probably read in school. It is also (and in my opinion, primarily) theatre. Literature is a more stagnant art form, but theatre is constantly moving and shaping and being collaborated on. If you aren't going to add anything new to the conversation, why bother directing Shakespeare? Taymor is always brave and always willing to experiment which makes her a director worth watching. Some of her experiments are more successful than others, but The Tempest represents mostly success.

NaNoWrimo Playlist

2011-11-10T15:50:00.002-05:00

My novel's not going as quickly as last year, I feel like it would make a better novella. I will also be working on some short stories to make my word count. Though many people use "quick and dirty" word count expanding tricks, I prefer to work on other creative projects to count toward my 50,000 goal. That really is the point of NaNo, to make time for developing your writing. I don't know about everyone else, but I love to have music playing when I write. I feel like it helps me develop an atmosphere.
Here's one of my most recent NaNo playlists:
"Girl is on my Mind" -- The Black Keys
"Crying Lightening" -- Arctic Monkeys
"Brainy" -- The National
"Miss You" -- The Rolling Stones
"I Turn My Camera On" -- Spoon
"Feathers and Down" -- The Cardigans
"Pieces of the People we Love" -- The Rapture
"What Sarah Said" -- Death Cab for Cutie
"Furnace Room Lullaby" -- Neko Case
"Shakespeare's Sister" -- The Smiths
"My Boy Builds Coffins" -- Florence + the Machine
"Dear Avery" -- The Decemberists

Happy November!

2011-11-02T11:11:00.002-04:00

I wanted to rush out of the gate and get 15,000 words my first week, but a research paper on Don DeLillo and other projects for my classes had delayed me. I'm sure I can catch up this weekend.
I'm excited about my novel. It's definitely an experiment compared to my usual writings. It is a fragmented narrative interspersed with memories and other routes that life could have taken, there may even be a little poetry involved. Lately I've just been fascinated by how slender the thread our lives hang on is. We believe we have control and we can plan out our lives, but in reality the smallest chance or the slightest choice can through us in a different direction completely. I want to explore that, whatever that is. A tidy little project for the month of November.
Happy Noveling everyone.

Refugee Writer

2011-10-31T10:44:00.002-04:00

No heat or electric since early in the day on Saturday. I've been sleeping under a pile (2) cats in an effort to stay warm. Early this morning I awoke with a red nose and numb fingertips. I've been living off apples and cashews. Trees are dangling on wires and split into pieces along roadways. It's been moderately intense.
Tomorrow the power is anticipated to be turned back on, but some of the towns around us won't have it until Thursday, so it's hard to tell. You become very aware of county and township dividing lines in this sort of weather. Roads will be clear until you pass the county line, then they are covered with tree branches and slush. I'm huddled here on campus. I may stay over until power gets back on at home.
If power comes back tomorrow, it will be just in time to start typing my NaNoWriMo masterpiece.

BBC's The Hour

2011-10-25T16:14:00.007-04:00

I was down with a fever and swollen glands last week, so to pass the time I immersed myself in the BBC series The Hour.
It surprised me that I hadn't heard about it sooner, it's a fantastic series. With all the Mad Men fever, more and more mid-century set dramas keep popping up. However, most of these dramas (Mad Men included) seem a little caught up in the costumes and the time period. The Hour makes the 50s seem immediate and fresh.
The struggle of BBC journalists amidst the cold war is full of moments of suspenseful drama. We follow Freddie (Ben Whishaw) as he decodes and unravels the involvement of MI6 with the death of a childhood friend. The reporters and staff of the program must also fight to deliver the news truthfully in spite of blockades and censorship from the government.
The cast is phenomenal. Romola Garai plays Bel, the producer of the news show called "The Hour." Though she inevitably faces some sexism, her character is not defined by it. She is tough, but has moments of self-doubt and the very common fear of becoming her mother. Her friendship with Freddie is one that shows a softer, more laid back side to Bel. Ben Whishaw's Freddie makes a compelling leading man. His earnest, determined search for the truth shows his strength, but he has moments of immaturity and unkindness, especially with Hector, the anchorman and his romantic rival for Bel played by Dominic West. West layers what could simply a "pretty boy" sort of character with surprising depths. Excellent supporting roles played by Anna Chancellor, Lisa Greenwood, Josh McGuire and Anton Lesser round out the newsroom crew.
The writers are even more responsible than the actors for the layering of the characters. With each episode we get to know the characters more, what they want, where they are vulnerable, but it all arises naturally from within the conflicts and decisions they are involved with.
Overall, I was very impressed by the series. I hope there will be a second season and more to enjoy from writer, Abi Morgan, and the cast.

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman

2011-10-19T13:24:00.004-04:00

Jane returns to Heart Lake, the boarding school she won a scholarship to as a freshman in high school. After divorcing her husband, she gets a job at the school teaching Latin, but her past won't let her go.
Her senior year, her two roommates, Deidre and Lucy, as well as Lucy's brother, killed themselves. The lake holds so many memories for Jane, most of them bad. When the events from her senior year seem to be occurring again, Jane is the only person that can unravel the threads linking the past to the present.

This book is eerily similar to Goodman's Arcadia Falls, but at the same time, a much better book. The setting of a boarding school with its atmospheric woods and equal parts beauty and danger, are the setting for both these novels.
The Lake of Dead Languages is a highly atmospheric book with a suspenseful plot. However, the suspense dwindles around the middle of the book where it becomes obvious what all the plot twists will be. There are very few surprises in the latter part of the book. One keeps reading just to make sure they are correct and hoping for a new turn that makes it exciting again. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen.
Goodman assumes the sophistication of her audience, peppering it with classical allusions, thoughtful comparisons, and plenty of Latin phrases. This is refreshing when compared to authors who write down to their audiences with 6th grade vocabulary. Some of the comparisons of within the story to the writings of Ovid and others do seem a little indulgent.
I would still recommend it for fans of modern gothic literature. Part of me wants to read more of Goodman's writing because of her lushness of language. The other part is afraid I'll be stuck in the same story for the third time.

Fall Reading Mini Reviews

2011-10-10T15:37:00.003-04:00

I've just finished my reading of A.S. Byatt's Possession. It wasn't quite as luminous as The Childrens Book. It was very intellectual, less emotional, but as the stories grows, it does grip you. Part historical, part mystery, part love story, Possession explores the nuances of what ownership means. Possession of our hearts, minds, bodies, objects. It also evaluates the genre of "romance" and classifies itself as such, but presents many variations on the term.
Besides my readings for class for this week (The Friar and Summoner's tales for my Chaucer course and Toni Morrison's Bluest Eye for my contemporary lit class), I'm working my way through Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith.
So far I'm enjoying it. Smith has a timeless, light, whimsical style and a clever way of entwining the stories of the lives connected together by the Mansions. After I finish this novel, I'd like to try some of his mysteries.
Next on the pleasure reading agenda is Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. It was suggested by my advisor and I just found out that Masterpiece Mystery is showing an adaptation of the story next week. I'm such an English major. I unwind from class readings by reading.
Today I have a respite from my classes and am using it to catch up on work as well as baking scones while singing Florence + the Machine at the top of my lungs.

To Grad School or Not to Grad School

2011-10-04T22:28:00.003-04:00

Bad Hamlet references aside, I really don't know. I really want to start my life, my writing, get out into the world and maybe travel. I have not been thinking about grad school, but my advisor suggested I really look at it.
Part of me is a little terrified that in about a year and a half I will have to go out into the world and support myself and start making my way. Grad school would delay that a bit and also throw me in the way of contacts in writing and publishing.
I've looked at Seton Hill a bit, they have an MFA in popular fiction. Their program is mostly done online with only a few weeks spent on campus (which is probably best, it is near Pittsburgh). The study of marketing and publishing your work is a major part of the course as well.
Boston University intrigues me as well. That would be a year long program of work shops and classes that would allow me to student teach as apart of the program. If I had to choose a school that would involve a move, I like the idea of Boston. For some reason I've always been drawn to New England and it's a great literary town. Their program is very selective and very specific however. They only accept 10 students for fiction, 10 for poetry, and about 6 for play writing. That would also mean I have to choose which one I want. They do have Global Fellowships in the program, though, where they send you to a country of your choice for three months to 'do there what you wish.' How amazing is that?
Of course, Emerson has an MFA in Creative writing and Publishing and Writing and they are in Boston as well.
I suppose I should leave the option open and prepare myself for the possibility of graduate school. That does mean I have to take the GREs. There are definitely some programs that sound like great opportunities, but would it be better for me to go out and find my own experiences?

Happy Banned Books Week!

2011-09-27T11:29:00.002-04:00

I am sitting at the Banned Books table for our college's branch of Sigma Tau Delta. It's probably one of my favorite society events of the year. We hand out bookmarks, sell buttons, and raffle off commonly banned books.
Visit the Banned Books Week YouTube channel

Sonnet Sunday: more Keats

2011-09-25T12:55:00.002-04:00

When I have fears that I may cease to be

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;--then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.

It's been a while since I've done Sonnet Sunday, too long. I watched Bright Star again last week and I fell in love with the poetry of Keats all over again.

We are the Snowdens of yesterday- Thoughts on Catch-22

2011-09-22T11:30:00.003-04:00

We just finished our study of Catch-22 in my Contemporary American Literature class. My experience reading it for class was much different than my first time reading it-- then again, I was about 13 the first time I read it.
Though I did appreciate the irony and concept of the "Catch-22," on this reading I began to appreciate the text as a story of trauma. The circular, recurrent pattern of the story always returns to the Avignon mission where the gunner, Snowden was killed. The way the story is told in waves of memory, often out of order it isn't just to create a state of chaos, it has psychological significance. Slowly we get closer and closer to the trauma, we get closer to Snowden's "secret" and the impact in had on Yossarian.
Heller plays with language and the inversion of expectations. The "secret" is not what we're expecting it to be. He can turn a whole situation or character in one sentence.
In class we were discussing the shift in the second half of the novel. No longer just bizarre and surreal, the world becomes a nightmare that the characters are constantly waking into. It's a fight for identity and the definition of what Catch-22 is become more and more sinister. There is less humor to find in the ending chapters. Yossarian's frustration at the insane world around him becomes our frustration as well. We are equally gutted by the horrendous deaths of characters we've come to know earlier in the story.
I really enjoyed my rereading of Catch-22, though enjoy seems the wrong word to use. I can appreciate Heller's contribution to the changing landscape of literature. It was difficult at some points, but when I finished and set it down on the table, I knew it was one of the good books, one that I'll never forget.

The Writing Life

2011-09-13T14:19:00.004-04:00

Inevitably, whenever I am busy and barely finding any time to write I am bombarded with ideas for stories. Today I mapped the plot structure of a writer's life:

Or is that just my life? I'm mapping out another murder mystery, a completely independent one, not a sequel to the story I wrote last autumn. My honors course has also inspired me write a collection of fairy tales. I've already written two. I am inspired by contemporary writers like A.S Byatt and Angela Carter.

Sherlock Season 2 Preview Released

2011-09-07T18:32:00.002-04:00

Just released from the BBC is a new teaser for the second season of Sherlock:
It looks like clips from the episode featuring Irene Adler. It looks like they will be introducing some exciting story elements and creative cinematography. Have I mentioned how excited I am? Let me reiterate the point: it is so painful that it will likely not fall in front of my eyes before 2012.

Variations on Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty

2011-09-02T16:13:00.003-04:00

The first reading for my honors course had us reading different versions of the classic stories Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty. From different times and countries, some of the variations are startling.
The morality tale for children to learn obedience, Little Red Riding Hood has sometimes included blatant references to canabalism where the wolf makes Little Red eat some of her grandmother and drink her blood. The earliest version of the tale actually describes the wolf as a sort of werewolf creature, half man, half wolf. The sexual danger posed by the wolf depending on the tale-- some version play on the idea of the wolf as a sexual predator, making Little Red take off her clothes and get into the bed with him.
Some version do allow Red to be more than an unwitting victim, but rather she cleverly outsmarts the wolf. In an early Chinese tale that also shares elements with The Three Little Pigs, three young sisters outsmart and kill a wolf that comes to their door while their mother is away.

Sleeping Beauty also contains canabalism in several versions of the story. A jealous wife or mother to the beauty's prince/king lover tries to eat both the Sleeping Beauty figure and her children on several occasions. The earliest Sleeping Beauty story in the book involved a philandering king coming upon Talia (the beauty) unconscious and basically raping her in her deep slumber. The Brothers Grimm story, Briar Rose, is by far the tamest version of the tale, but tells it more from the perspective of the prince. The chapter wraps up with "Sleeping Beauty and the Airplane" a clever modern take on the idea of the unattainable sleeping princess from the perspective of a modern day would-be prince.
It's just interesting to analyze how these stories have changed over time and what each change enhances. Sleeping Beauty seems to promote female passivity in most version, while Little Red Riding Hood encourages wariness and obedience.

The Autumn Begins

2011-08-31T11:16:00.002-04:00

It's not even September yet, but the autumn feels like it has already begun for me. Perhaps it's because I'm back in classes, but the shift in nature has already begun. A coolness has come at night and in the morning and leaves are already beginning to fall.
I already miss the freedom of summer, the time to write stories and query editors and agents will now be reduced to the odd moment between classes and papers and meetings and rehearsals. Still, aesthetically the autumn is my favorite time of year and something about cooling weather always draws me to thick books and steaming tea cups.
My class schedule is ambitious, but I'm excited about all my classes. I'm taking an honors course on "Webs and Imagined Spaces"-- it explores how story telling has changed, from basic fairy and folk tales to the Victorian era, and now how electronic media is changing the reading experience again. Our first major project is to write our own fairy tales which we will tell in a hypertext format, linking parts of the story so it can be read in different orders if you follow the links in a specific pattern. We are also writing our own ending for Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the novel he died before completing.
I'll post some of my work on here as I go.

Rock Me Like a Hurricane

2011-08-28T12:08:00.003-04:00

I've survived pretty well this weekend. Probably because of all my preparation which included bringing all the potted herbs in and making sure I had a stack of books. My father's preparations included securing pizza and beer. We have our priorities. Many friends had hurricane parties yesterday and a local cafe made their evening cocktail special "Hurricane Hooch."
Actually, where I live fared far better than the town above us. Even though we're lower, we have so much farmland and preserved open space around us, that much of the overflow from the stream was absorbed. My friend Amy who only lives a few miles away called me this morning to say that a boat went by their house. Though we are fortunate, we are also stuck. Many of the major roads are flooded or have downed trees and power lines to contend with. The rain has stopped, but the wind is whipping up, so though we have power now, that may change.
Of course, tomorrow morning I have my first class of the semester which may be a problem. Currently all routes to campus are impassable.
I have discovered that minor natural disaster bring out my nesting instinct. I picked apples on Friday and made apple sauce. It's pretty fantastic. Then I made peach and pear preserves which we had on toast this morning.
I hope everyone is staying safe and having fantastic hurricane parties.

Jane Eyre 2011

2011-08-20T11:59:00.005-04:00

I was finally able to watch this new adaptation of one of my favorite novels. Due to its limited theatrical release, I had to wait for the DVD to come out.

Unlike the novel, which is told chronologically, the film starts toward the end of the story with Jane's escape from Thornfield and discovery by St. John Rivers. This makes the story unfold through a series of memories. Jane thinks back to her childhood and her brutal schooling. Gradually then, we get to the main part of the story, Jane's life at Thornfield Hall. Time and events are extremely condensed due to the necessity of keeping the film short enough for theatrical release, but the emphasis on Jane's memory telling the story explains why passages of time seem to be missing. She is remembering the important moments in her time at Thornfield and in her relationship with Mr. Rochester.
The passage with St. John and his sisters takes on a different shade as well. The relationship is changed between Jane and St. John by their miraculous discovery of shared blood being removed from the story. It also credits St. John with more desire for Jane than he had in the original novel.
There are many important moments from the novel that are missing from this film. The character of Grace Poole is almost entirely missing and Mr. Rochester's house party only appears to last about two days, skirting over some important moments that occur between the characters during it. Having seen the deleted scenes, I believe that the veil ripping passage should have been included, it adds to the reason for Rochester's haste on the wedding day and also adds to the sense of menace and danger of the house's secrets.
Though it does lack many elements from the novel, it does still offer worthwhile qualities for Jane Eyre fans. This adaptation emphasizes the the gothic elements of the story, the other worldliness that Jane possesses and experiences, but also the fearful qualities of Thornfield. It also does an excellent job of illustrating Jane's youthfulness and inexperience. Though the 2006 mini-series adaptation preserves the story much better, due to the maturity exuded by Ruth Wilson, Jane seems to be older. Mia Wasikowska is a younger actress and better captures the fact that Jane is in her late teens, she has no experience with or knowledge of men. Though she is inexperienced, she is full of spirit and has a strong sense of self respect.
Michael Fassbender was an excellent choice for the role of Rochester. He has childlike moments of moodiness, but the deeper levels to his inner turmoil peek through, though still finding a sense of teasing to his behavior at times. Another level he brings to the character is that of desperation. He has an emotional vulnerability influenced by his past that tears the heart at moments.
Rochester is not supposed to be a pretty sort of hero, but he is given many moments of masculine strength, shown in his shirt sleeves working with his hands which makes him develop into a very attractive figure. His interactions with Jane are what make him endearing. He sees into her and appreciates her worth, he treats her with value. This exceeds all of his miserable moods, we see that with Jane he is better, and that helps Jane to blossom as well. They are perfect complements.
It is a very respectable adaptation and would be a good introduction to those unfamiliar with the story. The cast and the artistic development of atmospere is what takes it beyond the realms of mediocre and make it a piece that can hold its own against other adaptations.

Herman Melville Meets Dragons?

2011-08-11T20:05:00.002-04:00

The Syfy channel is notorious for awful original movies. The Age of Dragons is no exception. While flipping through the channels the other night I came upon this movie. My father's a dragon buff so we paused to watch a few minutes.
It was an adaptation of Melville's famous novel Moby Dick. In a world where lamps and machinery are run on vitriol, a sort of inflammatory dragon oil, Captain Ahab hunts the great White Dragon who killed his sister and maimed him as a child. Ishmael and Queequeg soon join the crew after being recruited by Rachel, Ahab's daughter (an invented character that does not appear in the book). They travel in a sort of tank/ship across a vast terrain while commanded by Ahab who never shows his face to the daylight. Ahab was played dramatically by Danny Glover.
I did not watch the movie all the way through. Being familiar with the source material, I know that only one man would survive the voyage (and that adding a female character gives a romantic interest for Ishmael and lets there be two survivors.) It was not very well written and had poorly conceived CGI dragons.
Still, it was an intriguing oddity, a fantasy version of a classic nautical tale. If you love dragons or Melville, it may be worth a look. Just don't get your hopes up.

Sherlock Season 2 News

2011-08-08T16:01:00.004-04:00

Sherlock fans have been clinging to a mere 3 episodes for almost a year now. Any crumbs of news about the next set help calm the manic frustration.
Most of you have probably heard the 3 major Holmes stories that Moffat has said this season is going to cover. It's an ambitious line up: A Scandal in Bohemia which introduces "The Woman," Irene Adler; The Hound of the Baskervilles, Doyle's best novel and one of the most adapted stories ever written; and The Final Problem where Holmes has his cross-country battle with Moriarty ending in Switzerland at the top of Reichenbach Falls. All of these stories have slightly adjusted titles for their episode names: A Scandal in Belgravia, The Hounds of the Baskerville, and The Reichenbach Fall.
The most recent bits of news have been about the anticipated air dates and the casting of Irene Adler.
Unfortunately the originally optimistic "Fall 2011" for season 2 has now been pushed back by the BBC to "Winter 2011." After a recent encore of all three episodes this date change was announced, but the hoped for season 2 trailer has not come to light yet. Word is that some American PBS stations won't be showing the new series until as late as May 2012. I find that absurd, British viewers shouldn't be surprised if American friends beg for them to mercifully upload it onto YouTube.
There has been a lot of speculation over the casting of the character Irene Adler for the first episode of the season. Emily Blunt, Rosario Dawkins, many American and British actors have been suggested as good possibilities. This week I've heard that Laura Pulver will be taking the role. Pulver is known for her roles on the American series True Blood and the recent British production of Robin Hood.
She is a very striking actress and I'm curious to see both her take and the writer's take on how the character adapts to a modern setting. She is a little older than many of the speculated actresses, but that may add interesting overtones to the character. I am a little disappointed that they didn't choose an American actress, as the character is from New Jersey in Doyle's original story.

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman

2011-08-06T12:03:00.003-04:00

This book was courtesy of the local library. I selected it by playing the "shelf game" where I pick a random shelf of books and grab whatever looks good to me on it.
When recently widowed Meg Rosenthal brings her daughter to the Arcadia boarding school for the arts it feels like stepping into a fairy tale, a fairy tale that brings the fears of nightmares to the surface. In fact, Meg's favorite story growing up, The Changeling Girl was written by the school's founders, Lily and Vera.
Meg's financial difficulties and relationship with her teenage daughter Sally move her to take the post at the school, but they don't signal an end to her problems. During the First Night celebration a student dies in a way the mimics the death of Lily 60 years before. Meg is soon untangling the past to better understand the tragedy of the present.

Goodman has deeply steeped her story in symbolism and myth. She plays with a circular sense of justice and connection that, though initially proves satisfying, feels redundant and improbably by the end of the book. The first seven eighths of the book are enjoyable and engaging, you unravel the mystery along with Meg and feel the atmosphere of the woods and her crumbling cottage.
One also feels invested in Sally's development and the relationship between mother and daughter. Indeed, this story continually comes back to the legacy a mother leaves for her child and the relationships between women. The characters of Sally's school friends sometimes come across as cardboard cut-outs, with the exception of Chloe, who also grows as the story continues. Goodman also strives add realism to her teenage characters by pop-culture references which come across as startling, especially when compared to the ethereal sense of timelessness she cultivates through the rest of the book.
Arcadia Falls is a suspenseful story about the lives of women, about love and sacrifice. It combines mystery with family drama, history, and even a little romance. It is a decent read for a sticky summer afternoon or a long trip, but the ending still annoys me. Unfortunately, though there are many things to like about this book, it is uneven.

Beautiful British Men

2011-07-28T17:47:00.002-04:00

It has been far too long since I've done a shallow man-centric post. It's just the thing to cheer me up. Here are some of my current favorites in no particular order:

John Simm- A more subtly attractive man, he has a quiet quality that is sexier than mere looks, though he is equipped in that arena as well. I first saw him as The Master in Doctor Who, but he has also starred in The Devil's Whore, Life on Mars, and Exile.

Rufus Sewell- A man who is aging beautifully, if I may say so. He never tries to be a boy, but sits comfortably in the man he is. I first discovered him in A Knight's Tale, buy have enjoyed his work in The Illusionist, Shakespeare Retold: The Taming of The Shrew, The Pillars of the Earth, and the recent series Zen.

Benedict Cumberbatch- He has the unfair advantage of playing one of the sexiest characters ever in Sherlock, his intelligence and beautiful voice increase his appeal. His other films include The Last Enemy, Atonement, The Other Boleyn Girl, and the upcoming The Hobbit

Michael Fassbender- This beautiful actor of Irish/German descent has played roles in Inglorious Basterds, 3oo, Angel, The Devil's Whore, and Jane Eyre, . Perhaps what is most attractive about him (other than those eyes...) is his intensity which he brings to emotional moments.

There are, of course, many more worthy gentlemen that could be in this post, but I don't have the time for all of them. Here are just a few that I have not sufficiently written raptures about on my blog before.

The Trouble with Costume Dramas

2011-07-23T11:42:00.002-04:00

I've had a sinus infection this week, so I've been languishing in my room watching costume dramas. Historical drama is one of my favorite genres. the problem is, the more I watch them, the more I despair over modern clothing. Sure, some garments (especially those Victorian bustles) are impractical, but the richness of fabrics and delicacy of cuts are incredibly enviable. I keep feeling like I was born in the wrong time-- though I surely would not have been content with much of 19th century society. The modern world seems to have less to discover, less optimistic possibility. It's a very cynical world.
I've been outlining my own work of historical fiction this week, my main inspiration is actually The Childrens Book by A.S. Byatt. The way she wove together history and fiction was breathtaking. I'd love to write a novel like that. It's a period piece that doesn't posture in any way. It moves at such a natural pace and does not over-idealize or scandalize the history it covers.
However, on a more practical level, I have submitted more articles for magazine publication this week. Most of the PR work I've been doing this summer is finished, which is a relief.
No more response from literary agencies, but I keep polishing my manuscript, buffing away at it. I've begun drafting the sequel as well, it's turning out to be a different creature than I originally imagined.
I must venture out into the heat now.

The Case of the Sneaky Computer

2011-07-15T11:53:00.002-04:00

Guys, my computer has been doing things behind my back at 3 am.
Yesterday I logged on and found that my "updates were complete" and "malicious software" was removed... and now I can't use Internet Explorer. So it removed my LAN thing (sorry to be so technical) and now I have to log onto the internet through my old AOL software I haven't used in three years. However, this has led me to discover that I have 600+ emails in my old AOL account and that spammers are using email addresses from my address book to send things to me.
That is unbelievably cruel. I see an email in my box from someone I haven't spoken to in a year. I think maybe he wants to reconnect and I get an elated feeling in my collarbone. Then I find out it's spam.
I'm only in this situation because my computer's default setting is apparently to do updates at 3 in the morning without permission. I looked up my update history and have found that this has been going on every two since I purchased the computer.
I know the days of this laptop are numbered, but I was hoping it would last through the fall semester. Actually, my fervent prayer was that it would last until I completed my degree, but that is two years away and my computer seems to be having seizures.
I hate technology.

Some Responses Coming In...

2011-07-12T20:22:00.004-04:00

I've heard responses from three of the agents I've queried (and I have a list of several more agents to try in the coming weeks). Three out of three are no... well, one was a 'we're not taking submissions right now, try us again in a few months,' so it's not a complete no.
The other two rejections were so vastly different. The first was very kind, thanking me for considering the agency and telling me that my story sounded interesting, just not what the agency is looking for.
The other was a simple one sentence that told me 'no,' while making a grammatical error in that short sentence to add insult to injury. I sighed deeply and then laughed.
Oh well, I supposed I among the ranks of real authors now. I've never heard a story of anyone being accepted at the first agency they try with the first query they send.
I'm rewriting my query to prepare to send out to some more agents before the end of the week.

Uncomfortable Plateau

2011-07-10T23:07:00.003-04:00

I've reached the point in my summer where I am in a slump. My sleeping schedule is obliterated, I've done some things that can marginally be considered achievements, but I'm not sure how I can best use the next month.My plans for travel are distant, fragmented dreams thanks to circumstances beyond my control.
I've realized that being self-employed is a major test of my self-discipline. My vigor toward freelance writing has diminished somewhat due to the lack of response from many editors. Most are not even courteous enough to reject me. This is something I'll have to get used to, especially if I do want to make part of my living from it in the future.
I've pretty much finished with this round of edits on my novel and I've written a basic query letter and book proposal. However, I've yet to send anything out to anyone. Perhaps it's because while it's still in my hands it's still my wonderful masterpiece. Once it enters the world it could be shredded in an instant.
I know it doesn't have to be ready for immediate publication, it will have to go through more editing even after someone has agreed to represent it, but it's a matter of professional pride I suppose-- I want it to be perfect.
This past week I've made no progress on either my freelancing or my search for an agent. I've been making soap and reading novels. I'll be at the farmer's market next weekend selling some.
So, sorry it's been quiet on this front, I have been a curious mix of busy and idle recently.

The Hunger Games

2011-07-06T18:47:00.003-04:00

After many suggestions and hearsay, I finally picked up a copy of this novel at the local book store. I started last night around 11 and finished it just before 3 am.

In a dictatorship made from the wreckage of what once was North American, The Capitol hosts a yearly competition called "The Hunger Games." One male and one female child between 12 and 18 is chosen from each of the 12 districts (district 13 was nuked years ago). Placed in an arena that changes landscaped every year, the 24 children must battle until only one remains. It is to remind the people of the districts that The Capitol is in control, they can make them watch their children kill each other on tv and there is nothing they can do about it.
When Katniss hears her 12 year old sister summoned for a place in the games, she volunteers to take her place as the girl from District 12, the coal mining district.

The novel sprints along at an unstoppable pace, making it a definite one sitting book. Though there are moments that fall from expectation, Suzanne Collins is not lacking in creativity when it comes to illustrating the brutality of The Games. Her creation of a bleak, futuristic world is a believable projection. The eerieness of reality tv becoming a weapon feels almost prophetic.
Her main character, Katniss is strong. She is aged beyond her years and a skilled hunter with a bow. Watching her tentative relationship with fellow competitor Peeta bloom is riveting, but sometimes frustrating as her wishy-washy interal monologues continue. Still, Katniss is a survivor. That is why she is so hesitant to trust anyone, but the moments when she is touched in spite of her armour are truly emotional.
Of course, the real battle is not just against the other competitors in The Games, but the government that forces it on the people... which is focused on in the next book Catching Fire. I just started on that this afternoon.

Teaser Tuesday: Third Girl

2011-06-28T21:04:00.002-04:00

I'm just finishing this novel of Agatha Christie's from the 1960s. The novel features one of her most famous and beloved characters, Poirot. Christie herself was less than favorably inclined toward her detective. In fact, this novel offers many sly references toward his arrogance, absurdity, and the fact that he may be over the hill. Here is one of those references from the second chapter:

"Who told this girl about you, Monsieur Poirot?"
"No one as far as I know. Naturally, she had heard about me, no doubt."
Mrs. Oliver thought that "naturally" was not the word at all. What was natural was that Poirot himself was sure that everyone had always heard of him. Actually large numbers of people would only look at you blankly if the name Hercules Poirot was mentioned, especially the younger generation.

I'm working my way through quite a few mysteries this summer and gaining more insights into the genre and how my stories will fit into it.

Journalists: unable to resist puns

2011-06-18T11:58:00.003-04:00

I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled editing and proposal writing (though I finally figured out how to fix my wonky margins... for now) to bring you a post about an obvious truth:
Journalists love puns. Even on the college level when we try to come up with headlines, the discussion almost always resorts to, "How about a clever pun?" I have seen many admirable examples of headline puns in newspapers, but the recent scandal involving the politician Anthony Weiner needs a post unto itself.
With a name like 'Weiner' the possibility for puns is simply too vast. Now, many newspapers have admirably stayed away from taking such juicy bait, but last night at the grocery store two papers caught my eye. One referred to 'sticking a fork' in Weiner because he's done, intentional or not, one could not help but think of the Oscar Mayer product when faced with this headline. Though it was not quite as good as the Huffington Post's headline "The Roasting of Weiner and the Public Good." Sounds like a community picnic.
Another paper on the stand referred to his 'rise and fall.' How can you print that without knowing the possible connotations? I'm sure everyone in the newsroom had a giggle over that one. That was the point where I rolled my eyes and walked away from the news stand.
Though I must admit that puns are no longer the lowest form of wit; 'your mom' jokes are.

My missing June

2011-06-17T14:45:00.004-04:00

I cannot believe it is June 17th. May was such a long languid month, but June is passing me by so quickly I feel as though I missed it. I am not ready for summer to be half over. I realized that my August plans are destroyed by the fact that I have to be back on campus a week early to work on the theatre department show that goes up during the last weekend of September.
This past week I have emerged myself in a new batch of edits on my novel. I've also been trying to read more contemporary mystery novels to see what I'm up against. Last week I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was fairly engaging and enjoyable, but in made me have a mini-panic. The kind of mystery I'm writing is different from what seems to be dominating the market and I don't know if a publisher would find that favorable. I'm a worrier you see.
I think (or rather hope) that my stories will appeal to people that like Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle because they're sort of the voices in my head when it comes to mysteries.
Anyway, as soon as I finish this round of editing, I solemnly vow to start writing my book proposal and finding agents to send the proposal to. Seriously.
Other than that, I'm working on writing press releases for some community stuff. I used to work with the organization and I heard that they were in need so, I offered my services. It's a good experience and some resume padding. Besides, it will get my writing into all the local papers.

The Romantics

2011-06-13T19:07:00.002-04:00

A group of college friends is reunited over the wedding of Lila and Tom-- two members of the group. They were all inseparable and had a reputation for "incestuous dating" among themselves, hence the nickname "The Romantics." Now on the verge of thirty they have to face realizations about themselves and their relationships, most of which are not comfortable. For Laura, the maid of honor, it's especially difficult. She dated Tom all through college and on and off over the past few years. Not only does Laura have to confront her relationship with Tom, but her relationship with Lila.

This film has taken some serious hits from critics, but I believe there are worthwhile moments and performances. It does have some slow parts where the build-up within a scene seems to go nowhere. Unlike most movies that make it to the cinema, it moves at a novelistic pace (having been based on a book, this makes sense), allowing time for conversation and development of relationships.
The ensemble cast is fantastic. Katie Holmes, who I generally consider mediocre, puts a surprising amount of energy and emotion into Laura without becoming too theatrical. Anna Paquin plays the role of the repressed and slightly neurotic Lila. Josh Duhamel plays the conflicted, poet groom, Tom. Diana Agron, Malin Akerman, Jeremy Strong, Rebecca Lawrence, Adrian Brody, and Elijah Wood round out the group. The only performer that felt wasted was Candice Bergman, in the role of Augusta Hayes, Lila's mother.
After a long, strange night of searching, drinking, streaking, and poetic recitation, the friends must face the morning of the wedding. Though the ending is ambiguous, it has metaphorical overtones. It seems to represent the conflict that has dogged the characters. The fact is that sometimes not everything can be planned for and that the unexpected steps in. These "Romantics" like the romantic poets of old must appreciate the forces of nature. The setting of the film assists in that. Plenty of views of the sea and leaf strewn lawns create the backdrop for many key scenes.

Blackbird House

2011-06-11T11:25:00.004-04:00

Yet another book kindly provided by the local library.

Alice Hoffman weaves a tale spread over several hundred year following the inhabitants of a small house on Cape Cod. Blackbird House is home to love and loss. From the first inhabitants, victim to a tragic storm at sea, to an unlikely union between the town witch and a blacksmith, to a family from the city in crisis-- the house seems to be either a blessing or a curse to those who stay there.
Hoffman has made a name for herself playing with a style of writing known as "magical realism" often seen in Spanish language writing in novels such as Like Water for Chocolate and One Hundred Years of Solitude. It's a style that emphasizes little bits of fantasy in the everyday. From the significance of a ghostly white blackbird to a pair of red boots, the symbolism becomes real. Hoffman uses this stylistic move to create a world that is based in real human emotions, but full of magic and possibility. People and things can change their shape and almost be reborn by love.
Unfortunately in the last third of the book, some of this luster starts to fade. It becomes difficult to sustain the magic in more modern settings.
Overall, it is an engaging study of relationships. Some stories are ended without any real conclusion which may prove annoying to readers, but the next story is soon the focal point. It's a very quick read, and since each chapter is almost completely self-contained it's easy to put down and pick up again without feeling lost.
Though not as effective as Here on Earth, fans of Hoffman's style will appreciate this effort from her.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

2011-06-10T15:18:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the silence this past week-- I've been absurdly preoccupied. This is a novel I checked out of the public library a few days ago.

In his debut novel, Alan Bradley offers his readers the eleven year old Flavia de Luce. A precocious young girl, she is the youngest of three daughters, heavily occupied with chemistry. Her father, a widower and stamp enthusiast is alarmed when on a summer afternoon, their cook finds a dead Jack Snipe with a postage stamp skewered on its beak. That night Flavia overhears an argument in her father's study. The following morning she is fascinated to find a man in their garden's cucumber patch. With his dying breath he mutters a mysterious word and Flavia is off on the adventure of her life.
Though young and occasionally unkind, Flavia is irresistible. The reader follows her around town on her trusty bicycle, Gladys, while she conduct interviews and searches for clues in her private investigation. Bradley's mystery has plenty of layers of intrigue to keep the reader engaged while Flavia untangles the web.
Though the occasional plot thread proves to be dropped without much ceremony, it is an excellent mystery novel. Truly character driven, you read not just to find a killer, but to discover more about the cast of three dimensional figures Bradley creates. Energetically written, the 370 pages went quickly. There is a sequel out now, hopefully Bradley will be able to recapture what made this novel special again.

Teaser Tuesday: The Children's Book

2011-05-31T21:42:00.003-04:00

I'm elbow deep in A.S. Byatt's recent novel. The story begins in the 1890s and surrounds the Wellwoods, their family, and friends. Olive Wellwood is a children's book author whose son finds a runaway named Philip in a museum basement on a trip to the city. Thus, the story is set into motion. Byatt paints a landscape of artists, revolutionaries, and dreamers, their lives intertwining and changing at the turn of the century. Teaser:

The Palace of Electricity was set about with warnings. Grande Danger de Mort. It was death without tooth, claw or crushing. An invisible death, part of an invisible animating force, the new thing in the new century.
page 355

I'm enjoying this novel better than her Possession. Though it can be a bit slow at moments, it is an enjoyable pace. Instead of sprinting toward the next action of the plot, Byatt allows the reader to stroll-- drinking in detail and getting to know the characters' internal life along the way.

Writing like it's my job... because it sort of is

2011-05-29T15:05:00.003-04:00

Hooray! One of the pieces I submitted to a periodical this month has been officially accepted for publication. I've been trying to send at least one inquiry and one story per week. Some editors have been very slow at getting back to me.
This particular editor rejected the first story I sent (see below), but has accepted a review I wrote. The best part is, I'll be getting paid ten cents per word-- not a bad rate. The worst part is, I won't be getting paid until November when the issue is published.
Oh the life of a writer: work your tail off now, starve, get paid later. I sent off a story last week that I'm really proud of, to another magazine. I hope that I hear about it soon.

I've also decided to start more seriously seeking an agent now that the second round of edits on my murder mystery are nearing completion. I've also been feverishly working on the sequel. There's some really exciting mysteries for my main team, Victoria and Jacquelyn, to solve, not just one single case as in the first novel. There also may be a new romantic interest for one of them. I wasn't planning it, but the characters just seemed to have chemistry when I was writing a scene the other night. It will lead so well into the third story where I have major things planned.
The best part about this project is that I just enjoy spending time with my characters. Hopefully other people will too. If other people ever get the chance to read them.

My kind of party

2011-05-23T11:54:00.010-04:00

I love the summer books sales at the local libraries. Love.

My First Rejection Notice

2011-05-18T09:51:00.003-04:00

Totally expected. I feel like a real writer now. One of the freelance articles I submitted was rejected. However, the editor gave me a very good reason why which gives me something constructive to work with. It needs, very simply, to be tailored more to the level of familiarity that readers of that magazine have.
He said he looks forward to hearing more from me, so apparently my overall writing style was acceptable, I just need to adjust my level of content.
This, I can do. I have a few book reviews to send in and perhaps I can get to work on a new article that will fit better.
I'm still waiting to hear about another article for a different publication, so hopefully that one will be accepted. Quite honestly, I need the money.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

2011-05-17T15:05:00.003-04:00

I found a paper-back copy of this novel for $1 at a used book store. A very good deal.

It's a hot summer day in 1935. The Tallis family has three young cousin's from the north coming to stay while their parents divorce. Briony Tallis, a budding writer at the age of 13 has composed a play for the cousins to perform. Her older sister, Cecilia, eagerly awaits the arrival of their elder brother Leon from the city. He brings along with him a wealthy candy maker named Paul Marshall.
Cecilia is back from college where she attended along with their cleaning lady's son, Robbie. They avoided each other at school and now back on the family estate together seem to do nothing but make each other anxious or annoyed. They have a scuffle by the fountain in the garden which Briony observes from her window and misinterprets.
The events of the dinner party that evening are complicated by what Briony believes she knows about Robbie.
The second part of the book picks up five years later and follows first Robbie and then Briony through their experiences during the war-- Robbie as a solider and Briony as a nurse in training. It shows how one day and one mistake shapes their entire lives from that day five years ago.

The book combined several different style elements. The first part of the story takes place mainly in the course of one day. Each chapter jumps into the perspective of a different character, but remains in third person. Later in the story, Briony tries writing in a stream of consciousness style made popular in that era by Virginia Woolf, the first part of the novel mimics elements of that style discussed later in the second part.
All of the characters have a rich internal life and it is interesting to see how they intertwine. The style changes in the second part of the book, following one character at a time and stretching over longer periods of time, condensing them.
The epilogue changes again. It is told in the first person, reflective like a journal entry.
Atonement is a beautiful, but heartbreaking story. It balances both intellect and emotion and brings a startling reality and clarity to both the trials of family relationships and the trials of war. Some of the descriptions of injury and illness in the second part of the book may bother more squeamish readers.
Ultimately, it becomes a meditation on love and forgiveness. What it means to work toward being forgiven and forgiving yourself-- spending a lifetime atoning for a sin of childhood. And the epilogue may leave tears in your eyes.

Thoughts on Series 6 of Doctor Who So Far...

2011-05-14T17:10:00.003-04:00

I know we're only for episodes in, but this has been an eventful opening to the season. If you're not caught up on your viewing yet then tread carefully, spoilers lay ahead. It also may get a bit long.

In the first fifteen minutes of the series opener, "The Impossible Astronaut," the Doctor gets killed and then killed again in the midst of his regeneration rendering him completely dead. Though we find out that it's the Doctor from 200 years in his own future the two part premiere fails to prevent/explain who kills him and why he dies. I also think the little sequence from the beginning of the Doctor leaving Amy and Rory messages throughout history may prove important.
Clearly the build up to his death or the prevention of his death is going to be an overall arch of the series. As is Amy's phantom pregnancy. With the presence of two Doctors and a woman who is simultaneously pregnant and not pregnant, I can only assume there is some sort of duel timeline or undecided reality taking place. I believe this has something to do with the Silence (or Silents-- grammatical ambiguity in their name).
Amy's pregnancy (to me) seems to be a plot of the Silence. The Silence tells her to tell the Doctor 'what she must not tell him,' and when they capture her they say, "We do you honor, you will bring the Silence." Amy is also being followed by a strange woman in a metal eye-patch that makes comments to her or about her and seems to exist in another layer or dimension.
In this week's episode, "The Doctor's Wife" we see a physical manifestation of the TARDIS (who thinks Rory is pretty). It was an interesting study on the relationship between the Doctor and the TARDIS and asks who exactly stole who away from Galifrey. Though it seems to stand by itself in the series arch, there are two points to raise. The first is that since the Doctor is so attached to the TARDIS and it is sentient and has some choice in where it lands, why is the future Doctor from "The Impossible Astronaut" without TARDIS?
In the end, Idris with the TARDIS in her tells Rory "The only water in the forest is the river." I'm wildly curious about that. It seems to be an obvious allusion to River Song, but forest and especially water imagery keeps coming up in the show and has since the mid-Ten years.

One final thing that has caught the attention of several Who-bloggers are the messages encoded on the BBC Doctor Who page. In the section on the site "The Fourth Dimension" there are facts about The current episode. In those facts are italicised words. When you line up all the words in italics it forms these sentences:
Ep. 1: "All the secrets you seek can be found here on the Webb."
Ep. 2: "We found your message! You're alive! But what secrets 'D'you mean my friend?"
Ep. 3: "I mean I glimpsed him! And may the gods help him. Perhaps you can."
Ep. 4: "To see what I saw, click on the spot beyond the Doctor's home planet."

It seems to be a conversation between two people. After this week's message you can click the period or "spot" after the word "Galifrey" (the Doctor's home planet) and it links to this video entitled "Analysis Lessons." Make of it what you will.

An American Childhood by Annie Dillard

2011-05-13T14:08:00.004-04:00

At the recommendation of my advisor, I checked this book out of the library. Annie Dillard is a well-known nature writer who won the Pulitzer Prize at 27. This memoir is about her childhood growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s.

Dillard explores her young life from about the age of five to her early teens. The oldest of three girls, and the child of two eccentric parents, she traces her changing interests and growing consciousness in these formative years. From her description of the mysterious creature floating across her walls at night (the light from passing cars she would later realize), to her obsession with the microscope she received for Christmas one year, to discovering boys, religion, people, Dillard's story of her childhood is rich with detail.
Not all the chapters are perfectly chronological, but are more arranged by subject. In spite of the many decades between my own childhood and Dillard's I found it easy to connect to her process of discovery and growing up. She has a knack for zeroing in on those significantly insignificant moments that shape thinking and perspective in a child's life.
Beyond the easy, metaphor-rich writing style, the book is also full of humor. Dillard's mother had a tendency toward practical jokes and Dillard's description of her odd habits and use of her children as straight-men will likely gain at least a smile from readers. Other incidents also stand out: Dillard describes throwing snowballs at passing cars with the neighborhood boys in winter. On one occasion a man stopped his car, got out, and chased Dillard and a friend. The anecdotes all blend seamlessly into one narrative about the process of growing up.
All in all, it's an excellent memoir. Great for a lazy afternoon. Dillard's style is accesible, but not dumbed down. I will certainly be reading more of her work in the future.

The Pen Name Question

2011-05-11T10:28:00.002-04:00

As I'm preparing several pieces to submit to different journals for summer freelancing, I'm faced with a question. I've always been planning to publish my novels under a pen name, simply so if on the off chance they become popular and I have a few nutty fans it will be harder for them to find me and kill me. And because I've always wanted a new name.
However, these magazine articles fall under journalism, which I've already started doing on a college level under my own name. So, should all my journalistic pursuits happen in my real name and all future novel publishing occur under the pen name. Or, should all professional publishing happen under my pen name?
Any advice or opinions?

10 Things I've Learned from Hitchcock

2011-05-09T15:24:00.004-04:00

I took a class on the films of Hitchcock this semester and if my interest in mysteries and the crime genre haven't make me paranoid, this class certainly did. I compiled a short list of the important life lessons Hitchcock has taught me through his movies. Feel free to contribute what he's taught you in the comments.

1. Wanted killers make the best boyfriends
2. Never trust anyone you meet on a train
3. If there’s no one else staying at the motel, you should leave
4. Don’t go up the stairs-- bad things happen there
5. Murder schemes are incredibly common in everyday life
6. Avoid: carnivals, dinner parties, vast fields, national monuments
7. The police are not to be depended on-- investigate yourself
8. Close your curtains
9. Birds in large groups are plotting your demise
10. There’s no such thing as the perfect crime, but it's fun to try

I'm Free At Last

2011-05-03T22:39:00.003-04:00

Though I still have one final paper to surrender on Friday, I am officially free from classes until the end of August! So here's what I vow for the summer:

I will post book and film reviews, writing updates, Doctor Who speculation, and (hopefully) humorous anecdotes on a more regular basis.
I will do some creative writing every day.
The freelance writing will come to fruition and I will update you lovely people when it does.
Travel. I must. Just a little.
Reading books I have chosen which I will update you with through aforementioned reviews.
I will spend ample amounts of time outside.
I will go mad in a good way.
Though the amount of coffee I consume will be considerable, I will eat healthy to balance it out.
I will actually get to go fishing this summer.
I will get up the courage to start looking into literary agents.

This is going to be a more spontaneous summer. I don't have a reading list or an hourly job. I have some tentative travel plans and the style sheets for several periodicals. Most of my income will be from writing and selling soap at farmers' markets and on Etsy. So it will be low. But this leaves me with time. Time to write and work on finding my voice. Time to have the adventures I'm always talking about having. I'm getting too old to have many opportunities for such madness left. Before I have to settle into respectable responsibility (as settled as I'll get anyway) I'd like to be distinctly unsettled.
Maybe I'll find a literary agent. Maybe I'll finish another novel. Maybe I'll fall in love with a stranger. Maybe I'll get a tan (biologically nearly impossible). Maybe I won't be so devastated when my best friend moves away in the fall as she's planning.

Rainy Spring Nights

2011-04-27T00:47:00.004-04:00

The almost non-stop rain doesn't bother me much because everything is turning such a lush shade of green and flowers are bursting out of the naked branches of winter.
It's the end of the semester rushed feeling now. When you have too much to do for your classes and extracurricular commitments, something always comes up in your personal life of course. When plans and worries are fluttering through your brain like a flock of deranged birds, it's hard to focus on your art project or your paper on Vertigo.
Taking time to eat and sleep properly is even harder. Like music and art therapy, I believe in literary therapy. Writing your feelings and even reading certain books can be extremely therapeutic. I'm currently reading An American Childhood by Annie Dillard when I have a few moments-- usually I read one or two chapters before bed. I'll post a review when it's finally finished.
Even worse is when someone decides to clean your things and then you don't know where anything is. It may seem chaotic, but there is a system of organization at work and if you interrupt it, I will be paralyzed for weeks, sorting through where everything was "put away." This is why I probably shouldn't share a living space with other people.
So, basically, it's almost 1 am, I'm sitting here listening to the rain (and looking out for Doctor Who monsters-- the season premiere freaked me out), I'm trying to relax and let my mind shut down so I can sleep tonight.

The writing saga

2011-04-22T16:59:00.002-04:00

I'm on Easter break through Monday and I have things I just need to get done. I have to finish my nature essay/memoir for my non-fiction class, I have to work on the final paper for my Hitchcock class, and I have to get things in order to start working as a freelancer over the summer.
I could not stay in my house today due to a particularly vicious altercation with a sibling earlier in the week. To write I need a bit of peace and an area where I can focus. Of course, after some deliberation, I decided to go to the organic coffee bar I posted about last month. I saw visions of myself sipping Jamaica Me Crazy while tucked into a corner table churning out masterpieces. My plan was to spend several hours there and get some revisions done on my novel as well.
They were closed for Good Friday.
I bought some ginger snaps at the whole food store that sits just behind them and decided that as long as I didn't get arrested for loitering, I would sit out on their porch and work. Though it's almost May, the day was damp and windy. After about a half an hour I had to depart. Still too early to go home without risking a run-in with my overly emotional brother, I wandered around the whole foods store for a bit, then went to look at herbs at a local nursery.
A thought struck me-- the town library of course, that would be a perfect place to work. Except that it was also closed for Good Friday.
Finally, tired and hungry, and still feeling chilled, I ended up at a nearby deli where I had a turkey wrap and did some reading. My head was aching, so in spite of my brother still being home I went back home and took a nap.
It completely slipped my mind that today was a holiday. I got very little work done.

I've been... Inducted

2011-04-18T00:10:00.004-04:00

This weekend I was inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society. Basically, I promise to uphold the ideals of "Sincerity, Truth, Design" and do my best to support and further writing and literature.
I got some fancy red and black cords I can wear at graduation, a pin, and a certificate. I can also now publish in Sigma Tau Delta's two journals: The Rectangle and The Review. The Rectangle is for creative writing, The Review is for scholarly pieces, essays and the like.
It's sort of exciting to be recognized and be among the group on campus. Of course, it's not like a sorority or anything, though that would probably be excellent. We could have a permanent literary salon where we sip caffeinated beverages and share our latest masterpieces in the rough. Oh the metaphysical debates... but alas, there's no Greek housing on our campus anyway. Only six new members pledged this year,and some of the officers are graduating, so it's a rather small group.
I hate to be immodest, but it feels nice to be among the "chosen few." There are many benefits to joining and I look forward to taking advantage of them.

Count Down to New Season of Doctor Who

2011-04-15T17:06:00.003-04:00

A week from tomorrow the sixth season of the New Who premieres in the UK and the US. Yes it is possible. With previous programming delays, one would think that film reels were being brought over in row boats. I digress.
Word is that during the opening two-parter set in America, one of the main cast is going to die. It better not be Rory. The novelty of killing him is wearing off. River Song will be back and in the mid-season finale (as they are splitting it in half after the seventh episode this season) her identity is said to be revealed.
Here is the BBC America Extended Trailer
Here is Doctor Who Insider Part 1 and Part 3 (nothing new in Part 2)
I'm so excited. It looks like all those little strings left dangling from last season (the thing in the corner of your eye, cracks, "Silence is falling") will all be brought to a climax this season. It also looks incredibly scary. There's also an episode called "The Doctor's Wife" by Neil Gaiman which should prove to be interesting.

In other Who-news, if you haven't heard, David Tennant is a dad. Georgia Moffet had their baby in March. Still trying to spread the term "Whocest" with little result.

Screnzy Slump

2011-04-12T22:49:00.003-04:00

Slumps always happen during NaNo, but for some reason I keep forgetting about Script Frenzy. I open my email and see there's another "Script Frenzy Story" posted and suddenly remember the two scripts on my flash drive.
Looking through my script library (a left over from theatre school)I've noticed that most two act stage plays fall at about seventy pages. That's why I decided to write two pieces to total my word count. Still, I always feel my narrative voice is the strongest part of my writing so it's hard for me to be so dependent on dialogue.
I've also been avoiding the forums. For some reason they've been annoying me. Script Frenzy is supposed to be for, well, amateurs. Generally unpublished writers (like myself), but some of the questions on the forums bother me. It seems like many of the writers want to be handed a guide with all the "rules" for script writing, dictating how long all their scenes must be, how many characters they should have, etc. The "quick and dirty" tricks posted for reaching the goal used to amuse me, but again I've been finding them really annoying lately.
Maybe it's because I've been taking so many writing-centric classes and have been cracking down on myself to become a more serious writer to look toward making it my career. These challenges aren't just for fun for me, I may end up living off what I've been writing for NaNo and even Script Frenzy (hopefully).
Maybe I'm also just tired, overtaxed, and wishing summer were here. No doubt that compounds all my issues. The end of the semester is creeping up with an armful of papers and exams to dump in my lap. I also agreed to perform in two of my friends' directing class final, as well as my club president duties.
I'm not in a bad mood, exactly. The weather's been quite fine (I don't even mind the rain because it makes everything so green). I'm working on some exciting stories for the paper, I've been selling things on my Etsy, I'm going back to work at the Renaissance Faire this summer (I'm such a nerd, but I've missed having an excuse to wear a corset and sword fight with pirates), I was also invited to audition for a show that one of my professors is putting on in the fall. Good things are happening, I'm just not sure if I can dedicate the time to Script Frenzy this month. I'm also feeling like I might be growing in another direction as writer-- one that Screnzy and NaNo may not accommodate much longer. There is much for me to ponder.
Sorry for the wrong rant. I'm going to bed now.

Upstairs Downstair Reboot on PBS

2011-04-11T15:42:00.005-04:00

The original Upstairs Downstairs was wildly popular, so it makes sense that it's being revisited. Last night the first episode of the reboot aired on PBS's Masterpiece program (and is available to watch online as well).
The first episode laid a lot of groundwork for things to come. In one hour they rather efficiently introduced a brand new set of characters (with the exception of the beloved Rose who now runs an employment agency for domestic workers). There were a few moments of humor and heartbreak, but over all, not a stunning episode. I look forward to seeing more plot and character development now that all the necessary exposition is out of the way.
Lady Percy, played by Claire Foy (of Little Dorrit) was hardly seen in this episode, but her struggles with her family's genteel poverty, adapting to her sister's new lifestyle, as well as her temper poise her to be an important character that will possibly serve as a catalyst to future plots.
It was a risk to try and reproduce a show that was so loved and so revolutionary. It was also a risk putting it in a Masterpiece season that just debuted the spectacular Downton Abbey-- another program that deals with the dynamic of aristocracy and their servants. Both Downton and Upstairs set their characters in a world on the verge of change, social and political conflicts challenge tradition and the way these characters view the world, especially in regards to class and position. Where they seem to diverge (so far) is that Downton is more rooted in family drama, where Upstairs seems to be going in a direction more focused on politics. All in all, worth the watching

National Poetry Month Festivities

2011-04-08T19:52:00.003-04:00

In honor of National Poetry Month, the literary society will be Committing Random Acts of Poetry (C.R.A.P) around campus this month-- not the whole month, just the latter half, but still. I will be performing "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Caroll:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought –
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

It will be epic.

A Crack in the Lens by Darlene Cypser

2011-04-04T21:55:00.007-04:00

“Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his high powered lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his.” -A Scandal in Bohemia

A young Sherlock Holmes returns to his home in the English countryside after living abroad for his health’s sake. He has a history of poor health, but now at age seventeen he’s gained strength in his time on the continent and through his study of fencing. He soon gets wrapped up in his home estate. His eldest brother, Sherrinford marries and the daughter of a tenant named Violet Rushdale catches young Sherlock’s eye. However, he is plagued by a tenuous relationship with his father, the squire. His father doesn’t think he’ll amount to much and intends to send Sherlock to study as an engineer.
His father engages a tutor to come prepare Sherlock for university. A mathematical genius, young Professor Moriarty arrives and soon he and Sherlock are engaged in a battle of wits that will endanger Sherlock and people he cares for.

Darlene Cypser paints a rich landscape for her Holmesian prequel. Well researched and thought out, it gives a possible beginning to Sherlock Holmes’ story. It gives a look at the young man before he became the calculating machine described by Watson and how his interest in solving the unsolvable originated. It’s a quick read with plenty of suspense.
Unlike prequels such as The Young Sherlock Holmes that had to rewrite history to make the story work, Cypser sticks with the story. Though initially, I was skeptical about her inserting of Moriarty into the story, Cypser fills out the image of Moriarty. She also develops a back story between Holmes and Moriarty that emphasizes why Holmes is so bent on Moriarty’s removal from society in “The Final Problem.”

Happy Script Frenzy!

2011-04-01T16:47:00.003-04:00

Today is the first official day of Script Frenzy. I've written a few pages thus far. This year I'm working on two stage plays (probably one-acts, but we'll see). One is a melancholy family drama surrounding a funeral. This is conditionally called Firefly Jar. The second piece is an eccentric comedy called The Seduction of Peter.

I wish everyone well on their writing adventures this month. I've been working on the sequel to my murder mystery as well. I'm putting that aside this month to work on my scripts, but I have about 50 pages of the sequel so far on my computer and some notes to be typed up as well.

Also, happy Poetry Month!

Wild Target (2010)

2011-03-29T14:20:00.004-04:00

If you like bizarre comedy with a witty twists, then you'll enjoy Wild Target. Recently released on DVD in America, it tells the story of professional assassin Victor Maynard (Bill Nighy). At the top of his career, he's fifty-five years old and feeling pressure from his mother (Eileen Atkins) to produce an heir to carry on the family business. After failing to kill the out-of-control young thief and amateur con-artist, Rose (Emily Blunt), he find himself protecting her with the help of an emotionally unstable Tony (Rupert Grint). Martin Freeman appears as a rival assassin with sinisterly perfect teeth. Though it is certainly not a perfect film, the cast alone is reason enough to watch. Some of the top actors of stage and screen in Britain united to make this film. It's also full of funny moments. Nighy plays Victor Maynard with a dry awkwardness that is strangely endearing-- as is his peculiar relationship that develops with Rose. Witty, ironic, and quotable dialogue is also easy to find. Though it is not a masterpiece, it is a successful farce, and a great way to pass a Sunday night.

A Scene From the Newsroom

2011-03-22T21:49:00.002-04:00

We had new editorships for next semester announced tonight, not many surprises, I'll be the Arts editor-- I do get an assistant however (trying not to feel too drunk on the power). After our meeting we found ice cream in the lounge freezer with a note saying it was leftover from an event and we should help ourselves.
After some furtive glances, we were all elbow deep in ice cream, serving and eating it with plastic forks. The sugar boost was the last thing we needed. Soon the group dissolved into stomach cramping laughter as stories of tipsy karaoke were exchanged and bizarre eccentricities rose to the top of our behavior.
Our editor in chief firmly believes that the ice cream was spiked. I know that it is just our way of making the most of our remaining time together. Some of them aren't going to be with us next semester and they will be sorely missed and they'll miss us as well I believe.
I know I should write up my reviews for The Crack in the Lens and Wild Target, but I don't have much time tonight and I just felt like sharing a little of the chaos. It's very special.
I also got to crash a party celebrating one of the professor's new publications tonight. We almost forgot about it, but Meghan (photographer extraordinaire) and I ran over to get a quick interview and snap a few pictures much to the bemusement of the Humanities faculty.

Only Two Performances Left...

2011-03-19T16:22:00.004-04:00

So I'm taking a brief breather.
It's been going well-- not too disasterous (yet). It's been a busy week of trying to keep up with school work, my Etsy, and this show. Still, I'm feeling good about what I've put into it.
Before tech started I finished The Crack in the Lens by Darlene Cypser, I haven't had time to write a review yet, but that will be forthcoming. I'm also reading Sister Carrie (mostly while I'm doing laundry or eating lunch) and slowly working my way through The Dubliners.
I also finally bought Mumford and Sons' album, Sigh No More. It's lovely.
I miss being involved in the theatre, I've realized. I haven't been keeping up with it on a local or national level like I used to-- I've been so focused on my English studies. I even let my subscription to American Theatre Magazine run out.
As I turn my thoughts back to playwriting, I'd like to become more theatre-literate again.

Tech Week Arrives

2011-03-14T15:34:00.002-04:00

After the peaceful bliss that has been spring break, there will be a week of chaos known simply as tech week. For those of you that have theatre experience, I'm sure chills are already quivering up and down your spine at the very mention. However, if you are unfamiliar, I'll explain.
Tech is when all the lights, sound, and costumes are added to a production. Each of these components has a wide margin of disaster, so it means late nights fighting with breaking props, tearing seams, and things that just aren't working for the show.
What's more, we only have three days to tech before the show opens which adds to the tension and means even later nights.
Don't be surprised if I drop off the grid for a few days-- I shall return once I have (hopefully) done a run that Tennessee Williams would have been proud of.

Stephen Sondheim Talks Theatre

2011-03-11T11:09:00.007-05:00

Earlier this week I went to see Stephen Sondheim lecture at a local college. Fortunately I was on spring break and the event was open to the public. For those of you that aren't familiar, Sondheim is one the most prolific and ingenious composers/lyricists to grace the musical theatre stage. The conversation was moderated by Frank Rich, a journalist from the New York Times that actually first met Sondheim when he wrote a review of the try-out production of Follies in his college newspaper. The production team stumbled across it and thought it a good assessment, so they met with him.
Student journalist that I am, that is a dream to imagine. I took extensive notes through the night that I will transcribe into an article for my college's paper. Here are some of the highlights of the night, however.
Rich took Sondheim through some "pivotal songs" of his career. They started with "Something's Coming" from West Side Story which was written during rehearsals in 48 hours according to Sondheim. He revealed that the music for "Gee, Officer Krupke" came from another show that Bernstein was working on, Candide. With that song, Sondheim was determined to have the first four letter word in a musical. However, they would have violated obscenities laws if they shipped the soundtrack over state lines, so the final line was changed to "Krup you!" and remains so to this day. It also turns out that Sondheim was not a fan of the movie of West Side, when asked what he thought of it he said, "Really? You really want to know?" The main problem was that he felt that the stage conventions did not translate well to film-- there was no realism or danger.
The next song was "Losing my Mind" from Follies (which is one of my personal favorites, I often entertain myself by singing and banging it out on the keyboard when I can't sleep). He purposefully made it in the style of torch songs such as Gershwin's "The Man I Love." Follies also took five years to get up, he wrote about eleven drafts by 1968, he admitted.
Rich seemed to like to throw out little details to see how Sondheim would react, when discussing Follies, Rich asked him if he discussed his writing with his therapist, "If by any chance you were in therapy...." Sondheim gracefully dodged taking the evening in a personal direction. Later, the song "I'm Still Here" from the show was also discussed. A lighthearted song full of innuendo, "Can That Boy Foxtrot" originally filled that slot in the show, but they decided to put a more serious song in it's place. Even if it didn't stop the show, "The audience will know they've been served a meal..." said Sondheim.
"Being Alive" from Company came next and Rich and Sondheim discussed that though the emotions of such songs are universal, the specific way the lyrics are written makes this a male song in the same way "Losing my Mind" is a female song. Another prickly personal detail was revealed by Rich, who pointed out that Sondheim had 'never been in a committed relationship' at the time he wrote Company. Sondheim said he never thought to himself, "I can write about myself through the guise of Bobby." The themes of yearning for connection are pretty universal, especially in the theatre. "An awful lot of yearning goes on in the theatre," said Sondheim.
A Little Night Music and "Send in the Clowns" came next. Sondheim seemed genuinely surprised that this particular song became such a hit where songs like "Losing my Mind" never did (until Liza Minnelli and The Pet Shop Boys got their hands on it any way).
"Sunday" from Sunday in the Park with George is one of Sondheim's few choral pieces (the opening of Company was the first he ever attempted). The song, performed by a group of people immortalized in a painting finally culminates to the word "Forever." "Forever-- when I wrote that, I cried," confessed Sondheim.
Sondheim said that the biggest failure of his career was Do I Hear a Waltz. It was a failure because unlike some shows that were panned by critics (like Sweeney Todd on it's first outing in London, in spite of it being Sondheim's "Love letter to London."), it was received "politely." What made it a failure was the fact that he wrote it for the wrong reasons, there was "No passion, no blood, no reason to be," Sondheim said.
Near the end of the evening he took some questions that the audience had scribbled on scraps of paper beforehand. His advice for young theatre writers was not to write for Broadway, but just keep writing. He also said that the most creative person he ever worked with was Jerome Robbins, Robbins was creative on many levels, he would apparently even invent games at parties.
What's next for Sondheim? There is a production of Company staring Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, and Patti Lupone coming up as well as Follies starring Bernadette Peters in DC and Roadshow in London. Sondheim himself is not working on any new shows currently, but writing the sequel to his book Finishing the Hat, his collected lyrics with commentary and essays. The second volume, Look, I Made a Hat will contain "Essays that will irritate a lot of people," Sondheim said.
It was a great evening and now that I've been in the same room as Sondheim, I have one to two degrees of separation from practically everyone on Broadway over the past fifty years. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos, but the entire evening was filmed for an upcoming documentary on Sondheim. He was extremely well spoken and very funny. Even my father, who isn't a huge musical theatre fan (but I dragged him along anyway), was very impressed with him and interested in seeing more of his shows.

Stephen Fry Speaks About Language...

2011-03-09T13:51:00.002-05:00

He's a wonderful man.

My new writing home

2011-03-08T15:06:00.004-05:00

My brother lives about ten minutes away from this fantastic coffee bar. It serves mainly organic and fair trade blends as well as local dairy and baked goods. Attached to the back is whole foods store. The whole place is full of old furniture, black and white photographs, cosy corners. I'm basically in love.
Today I took my friend Amy, also a writer. She's actually published the first book of her series of pirate stories and is working on putting the rest out now. We sat by the windows and tried several varieties of their coffee (Highlander Grogg is my favorite, she is partial to Rain Forest Crunch), talked about ideas, looked at the beautiful skies; it was perfect.
We've decided to make it a weekly thing to go sit and write. We're swapping manuscripts next week as well.
Even better, it's tucked away on a small country road, so the ride there is beautiful and it's not noisy or over-crowded like a Starbucks.
As we were leaving, I saw that they had ginger beer. I brought a bottle home, as well as a bag of Highlander Grogg.
Some of the greatest artistic minds have been meeting in coffee houses for hundreds of years. Atmosphere is so important, but I think Amy and I have finally found our spot. We both agreed that we felt utterly content afterwards and it was as if our mental mechanism had been lubricated for creativity.
I will, no doubt, drag my computer there during Script Frenzy.

I got a Tumblr...

2011-03-07T11:36:00.003-05:00

I wasn't going to do it. I saw no point. Then, I realized that many of my friends that are graduating and dispersing around the country have Tumblrs and that it may be a good way to keep in touch. I don't have a Facebook (I know- *gasp*), I like to refer to myself as being apart of the 'resistance.' So Tumblr seemed like a good compromise.
Here is mine, if you are so inclined, I call it "What a waste of time" because, it is.
I am on Spring Break this week! I have to catch up with reading, make sure I have my lines memorized for the Tennessee Williams play I'm in the week I come back, fill orders for my Etsy shop, spring clean, and try to do something fun for me.

Script Frenzy 2011

2011-03-05T23:31:00.004-05:00

I was going to do the Frenzy last year, I even signed up and outlined an idea. Then I just didn't bother. I had spring fever and I was in play. This year I am actually making a valid attempt. I even have an idea.

I haven't written anything for the stage since my play writing class two years ago. However, working on and seeing new plays lately has made me miss my dusty days building sets, cranking out dialogue and working on production after production in some capacity. In some respects, college theatre is great because the shows have a large budget and a whole department backing them, so the sets and costumes are all stocked. In other ways I really miss working in tiny crappy spaces with no money and being involved in making and finding everything. It made you feel like it was your play, not just some show you were in. You bled for it (often literally). I think it created some of the most poignant, entertaining work because, in a way, you suffered for it. It forced you to think outside the box. You had to make it worth it. That's drama in itself.

Right now my idea is something like a family drama in the vein of Eugene O'Neil and Tennessee Williams, but more modern and with a female central character. I know I can only aspire to be anywhere near as beautiful and lasting as their work, but it feels like something I could play with. It will be very melancholy, but with touches of dark humor. I know how it will begin and I know how it will end. It's all about stringing it together now and figuring out which characters to show and which to keep off-stage.

This could be a good project. I wasn't intending to do Frenzy, but then I had this idea. It seems very fortuitous.

The Innocent Libertine by Colette

2011-02-28T23:00:00.002-05:00

Since my conference paper was on a story of Colette's I've been trying to read more of her work before I expand my paper or seek publication.
This novel is actually a compilation of two shorter pieces about the same character, a girl named Minne. Published together in 1909, I was a bit shocked at some of the racy content. Perhaps the nude, reclining woman sketched on the cover should have tipped me off-- and not to be stereotypical, but French art and literature does have a reputation.
In the first part, we are introduced to a fourteen year old girl name Minne. She has an overactive imagination and likes to pretend she is the mistress of a notorious criminal. She pores over the papers reading about thieves, killers, prostitutes, and dreams of being the queen of them all. Her devoted, widowed mother doesn't notice these strange tendencies, but her cousin, Antione does.
They visit with her Uncle and cousin over the summer and Antione, just a few years older than Minne, discovers he has feelings for her. She does not show any signs of reciprocating and tells him she is engaged to another man-- her assassin of the underworld. Perhaps saddest of all, Minne does seem to believe there is a man of mystery waiting for her.
After an incident which leaves Minne's virtue in question we begin the second part of the story. It takes place a few years later, after Minne and Antione's marriage.
Though Antione has gotten over his awkwardness, Minne is still unsure of loving him. She feels that she was forced into the marriage. Feeling emotionally and sexually unfulfilled, she begins having affairs, looking for a man that will 'make her like other women.' She finds no happiness in these liaisons, however, feeling that her lovers are using her to find pleasure that she never experiences.
Minne is an interesting character that does many rash or questionable things, but still gains the reader's sympathy. At times she can behave in cold and extremely aggravating ways. Antione is also a likable figure. He is so in love with Minne that he is willing to allow her almost anything to make her happy.
The picture Colette paints is of, no doubt, a slightly unconventional heroine. Unlike figures such as Madame Bovary, another unfaithful wife, her story ends well. She isn't punished for her sins, nor does she feel especially guilty. She does maintain a sort of internal innocence in spite of her actions. Of course there are one or two loose ends left by one of Minne's former lovers that one can't help but wonder about.

A Whirlwind of Theatre

2011-02-26T14:59:00.003-05:00

Sorry my updates have been rather spaced out I'm in the midst of rehearsing several Tennessee Williams plays for performance next month while teching (and now performing) a production of The Vagina Monologues that our college is presenting. All the proceeds are going to a local women's shelter.
I'll, be honest, I was rather squeamish about the idea at first, but it's a really touching show that makes you realize how much women are still victimized around the world and in this country. I'm glad that I've been able to contribute.
Of course, due to the stress, lack of sleep, and fact that I've been living off sandwiches and iced tea, I'm now sick. That makes rehearsals and performances even more tiring.
I think Tennessee Williams has been inspiring me. I took a playwriting class a few years ago and was disappointed with my results. My play didn't become what I had envisioned by the time it needed to be presented in the play festival we held. I haven't really done anything in the way of writing for the stage since, but I've been thinking about it more lately. Maybe I'll give it a go during April's Script Frenzy.

Sherlock Holmes 2009 Rewatch

2011-02-22T00:29:00.004-05:00

Now that I am not such a Holmes novice, I decided a re-watch of the 2009 film was in order. I have to say, my perspective has changed considerably.
I do still think the sets were lovely, and the idea of a steampunk Sherlock Holmes still has a lot of potential. The film makers were clearly trying to make Holmes into an action hero. With his boxing, single stick fighting, and mixed martial arts mentioned in the original stories, he was a Victorian action hero.
However, sometimes deductions took a back seat to explosions in this movie. The more I get to know Holmes through my readings, the less Robert Downey jr. seems to fit the character. His physicality aside, he's a bit too sloppy and more annoying, less ingenious. Though Holmes did have anti-social tendencies and chaotic living habits, he was 'cat-like' in his personal grooming and could be very charming and suave.
Though they included Adler's photograph kept from the end of "A Scandal in Bohemia," and had this take place after that story when she returns to England as a divorcee, they over-played the relationship between Holmes and Adler. I'm not against her being considered a possible romantic interest, but she seems to be completely in love with him and refers to Holmes as her 'weakness.' During "Scandal," they only met once briefly.
I still do enjoy Jude Law as Watson, he brings a more capable side to the character, showing him to be the soldier, the man of action he was in the stories. Though, I do think they overplayed his gambling, I suppose that was their way of making it their own.
It's a fun and enjoyable movie, but it's not Holmes. To get to know the character, I'd recommend the Jeremy Brett series. He fits the image of Holmes to perfection.

I survived... Women's Studies Conference 2011

2011-02-18T16:10:00.002-05:00

I presented my humble offering at 9:30 this morning and it actually went quite well. I received some very interesting and encouraging feedback from professors from different colleges. Though I was still tinkering with edits until 10 pm last night, the editing seems to have paid off. My professor, whose class I originally wrote the paper for is encouraging me to submit the paper to some scholarly journals.
That is why immediately after the conference I went to the library to check out some of my author's other works. The author my research is focused on is Colette, a French author from the early 20th century. Unfortunately, many articles on her are at least partially in French and it is hard to find good translations of some of her works. Even my college's library had more French texts than English translations.
I took French in high school. I can't say I was overly devoted to it. I knew that it would help me in literary studies, especially 19th century literary studies because one often finds French phrases sprinkled through such novels.
High school French helped with with novels such as Jane Eyre, The Awakening, and Lolita; all of which contain phrases in French. I did have to run to my French dictionary for some more complex or obscure terms, but it was enough. However, what little I recollect from high school is not enough in this case. Understanding linguistical nuances is almost always impossible once a text is translated. Take Chekov for example-- hilarious in Russian, depressing in English. All the satire is lost. I had no idea why The Seagull was classified as a comedy when I first read it.
Still, I feel good about my showing today. I was afraid that being in a room full of bright young things and professors would make me feel stupid, or out of my depths, but instead it was very stimulating and made me feel smart. Between sessions I had the opportunity to engage in some very interesting discussions. I've never thought of myself as a scholarly writer-- creative writing has always been my preference, but perhaps I can do a little of both.

Gearing Up for the Conference

2011-02-15T13:50:00.002-05:00

My first scholarly conference is this weekend. The first I'll be presenting at, but also the first I'll be attending. I'm still doing some last minute revisions on my paper-- it actually makes me worry that I'm fiddling too much or will mess something up, we're getting very close to the end now.
I realized that I didn't know how I should refer to citations within my paper, so I had to consult one of my professors yesterday. The last thing I want is to sound like a total moron. I don't want everyone to know this is my first conference. I think the citation question has been resolved, but I'm still nervous. I've been practicing how I'll respond to questions about my paper that I don't know the answer to or questions that are antagonistic: "Thank you, I hadn't considered that." I think this is a safe fall back.
The panel makes me most nervous. There could be some tough questions.
I'll report back this weekend if I survive.

Short Stories

2011-02-12T11:07:00.002-05:00

I don't think I'm entering the Jane Austen Made Me Do It contest. I'm just not feeling it- the story doesn't feel alive to me and if it doesn't to me, it won't to the readers. Maybe next year.
However, I am entering a story I wrote over the summer to the college lit. mag. I like it, but I am always self conscious about other people reading and judging my writing. In my non-fiction class we're reading On Writing Well by William Zinsser and he says that you have to write for yourself. Eventually, if you want to do this for a living, other people have to get involved and it's not just for you any more, though. For my non-fiction class we're writing short memoirs this week, which is fun, but also challenging. Sometimes while I'm writing, I find I'm writing about other people, not myself.
Sometimes I think it's easier to write fiction, inventing a truth within the world of your story can be easier that expressing a truth from your own world.
I'm still working on rewriting my novel. Some days, after I've finished a book that was incredible; interesting, well constructed, with good characters, I feel like I am so presumptuous to think my book could compete. Yet, I love my characters too much to keep them to myself.
I've been practicing building suspense by writing some shorter stories with my characters solving puzzling mysteries in under 5000 words. I think I'll end up piecing these shorter mysteries together to create a book told from the sidekick's perspective that covers her first year working with the detective. We'll see.

History Parody Spam: Musical Edition

2011-02-08T23:43:00.003-05:00

I saw this on Lady History's Tumblr yesterday and I convulsed with laughter. Convulsed. It works so well and could be such a great tool for teaching high schoolers about the Revolutionary War, it really could.

Did you noticed I figured out how to resize YouTube videos? It wasn't very complicated, I'm not proud it has taken me this long.

Save Undershaw

2011-02-06T10:23:00.004-05:00

Arthur Conan Doyle's house, Undershaw, was the place where he wrote arguably his best novel: Hound of the Baskervilles. However, in recent years it has fallen into disrepair. Unlike the homes of many famous authors, not much has been done to preserve Doyle's home. A new preservation trust is trying to fix that. Writer and actor (and Mycroft) Mark Gatiss is helping out with the project. Here's what he had to say on the trust's website:

“I would like to express my whole-hearted enthusiasm for the campaign to save Undershaw. It seems to me a very sad reflection on our times that the home of one of our greatest and most popular writers should be so neglected and in danger of unsympathetic redevelopment.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle occupied several residences in his prolific and thrilling career, only Undershaw bears the stamp of his massive personality. Here the Hound of the Baskervilles first breathed spectral life and Sherlock Holmes himself was resurrected from the Reichenback Falls. Here Stoker, Barrie and Hornung and many others were entertained. It’s no exaggeration to say that Undershaw was the centre of Doyle’s life during perhaps the most fruitful and fascinating phase of his career. It must be saved and take its place among the sensitively preserved residences of this country’s other literary giants. This is certainly a three-pipe problem but not, I am convinced, an insoluble one.”

Here's a list of ways you can help:
Five Easy Ways to Help Save Undershaw
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The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

2011-02-02T15:08:00.006-05:00

At the Baker Street Irregulars' yearly celebration, everyone waits anxiously to hear Alex Cale reveal his finding- a lost volume of Arthur Conan Doyle's personal journal from 1900, just before he resurrects Sherlock Holmes from his supposed death at Reichenbach falls. However, the morning of the big reveal finds Alex dead and new Sherlockian, Harold, is on the case.
The book also traces the events that happen to Doyle after he kills off Holmes and during this missing section of his journals as he and his friend, Bram Stoker, become involved in investigating a series of murders in London.
The novel does use some real events and people to frame the narrative- such as the Sherlockian scholar Richard Lancelyn Green's mysterious death in 2004 and what public records there are about Doyle's life at that time. However, since it is a work of fiction, Moore allows himself to play with the possibilities.
The novel could easily breech the realms of absurdity with the character of Harold adopting Holmesian deductive techniques. Moore makes his novel self aware, it is unlikely, and his characters know that. His characters are ordinary, likable people. One has to feel sorry for Doyle, dogged by rabid Holmes fans and becoming secondary to his own character. Sometimes it is a little hard for Holmes fans to like Doyle due to how dissmissive he was of Sherlock Holmes, but The Sherlockian makes him sympathetic, taps into his experience watching England mourn a fictional character.
The chapters switch back and forth between Harold's adventure in 2010 and Doyle's mystery in 1900. Sometimes after one chapter ends on cliff-hanger, it's almost a little bit painful to have to wait to see how it will conclude (but by the time you finish the chapter that follows in, you feel the same). Moore adopts that method of building dramatic tension that Doyle himself used when publishing his longer stories in the Strand, it leaves you eager to see what happens next.
At twenty-eight, Graham Moore has made an excellent debut with The Sherlockian. He no doubt has an exciting and entertaining career of intelligent novels ahead of him. Whether he sticks to the mystery genre or not, I'll be interested in seeing where he goes next.

Editing Doesn't Completely Suck

2011-01-29T12:44:00.004-05:00

I spent most of yesterday editing my NaNo Novel and rethinking the story arch I've been plotting. I've been contemplating using the NaNo Novel as a prequel to the series I'm working on, to be published after the first five or so sequential books. Now I'm sort of wondering if that shouldn't be just the first book.
I actually like my first book. Lord knows it needs work, but I went through and took out all the random bits that happen when you have to meet a daily word count, changed a few details about the ways the characters interact, and wrote a new ending. A productive day overall. This is weird for me, a strange place to find myself in: me liking something I've written and enjoying rereading and editing, It makes me nervous in a way, because I'm afraid the more I like it, the more crushing it will be when other people dislike it.
So far, I've let one of my friends from the literary society read it-- and I read her NaNo Novel as well. She really enjoyed it, but I'm still anxious. I've decided that I'm going to apply myself not only to editing this book and continuing to work on the second, but to finding an agent this year. I fully expect to receive some rejection letters, but they'll be tough to read. Where to begin looking? I suppose I'll have to spend a weekend combing through Writer's Market after another round of editing.
Right now I'm heading to the laundromat so that I can have some clean clothes before I get snowed in again.

James Franco: English Nerd

2011-01-26T19:25:00.005-05:00

Some nerds are hot. Very hot- made hotter by the fact that they are nerds. Last night James Franco was on The Daily Show, discussing his Oscar nomination for the Danny Boyle film, 127 Hours. When he heard that he had the nomination he chose to go to his class at Yale instead of heading to a morning talk show. Apparently it was a class on the Romantic poets, so he couldn't miss that (I totally agree). He's pursuing a PhD in English, it helps 'get the ladies.'
His love and knowledge of English no doubt helped with his role as Allen Ginsberg in the recent film Howl about the obscenities trial surrounding the poem of the same name. A film I've yet to see, but have heard good things about.
So, next time someone complains about the lack of guys that are smart and sexy, point out James Franco as hope for woman-kind.

I Love The Decemberists

2011-01-25T14:21:00.005-05:00

Maybe this is a strange thing to hear someone proclaim, but I adore The Decemberists. The first time I heard their music, I was slightly skeptical, but over the past few year they have grown on me like an ingenius musical mildew.
They've developed a reputation for seeming to cater mainly to English majors, history buffs, and Anglophiles. Is it any wonder why I like them? They're known for playing with traditional styles of ballads and folk songs, especially sea shanties.
In 2009 they released the concept album The Hazards of Love- almost opera--like in scale, it tells a mythic and tragic love story. Though perhaps, slightly bizzare fare for the average radio listener, its scale of drama was strangely appealing. Several songs such as "The Wanting Comes in Wave" and "The Rake's Song" also hit lush and surprising musical nuances, drawing out a rock and roll/heavy metal sound, unusual for the band.
Perhaps what I love best about The Decemberists is their willingness to experiment and the intelligence and passion they do it with. They don't water down their music to create a more marketable single and they also enjoy playing with language and story telling. Not all of their songs have one simple meaning (in fact, I'm not sure any of them do), you could study their lyrics like you could a poem or story and dissect all sorts of meaning from it.
Their recently released album, The King is Dead shows yet another phase of experimentation for the band. Unlike the long, multi-layered songs of The Hazards of Love, King seems to be an exploration in simplicity and a return to the band's Portland OR root. The longest song on the album is five and a half minutes long, compared to earlier songs such as "The Island" and "Mariner's Revenge," or their eighteen and a half minute long EP "The Tain, "that's quite short.
I'll be reviewing their new album for the college paper, you can watch their first live performance of The King is Dead from beginning to end on NPR, here.

Goodnight Mr. Holmes by Carole Nelson Douglas

2011-01-24T20:17:00.004-05:00

Goonight Mr. Holmes: An Irene Adler Novel tells the story of Sherlock Holmes' worthy opponent from the short story "A Scandal in Bohemia," Irene Adler. According to the short story, "To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman."
The story is told from the perspective of Penelope Huxliegh, the daughter of a country curate, she finds herself orphaned and out of the job in the middle of London. When Irene Adler rescues her from an urchin trying to steal her bag, the two soon become friends and roommates. She is, in a sense, Irene's Watson. Her friend and biographer that helps keep her grounded.
Penelope or Nell is a very interesting and well rounded character in her own right, a good creation on the part of Douglas. She assists Irene, who enjoys solving problems, solving puzzles, and finding missing items for people while she waits for her opera career to take off. Among Irene's friends and clients are historical figures such as Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and the famous jeweler, Mr. Tiffany. Though it's clear that Irene's focus is her musical career, rather than detective work, she has trouble resisting the lure mysteries such as that surrounding a spectacular length of diamonds that has been missing for several generations.
Douglas's novel shows that there were several times when Adler nearly met Sherlock Holmes, their paths narrowly crossing before the events of "Scandal."
The novel creates a rich background to Adler's life before she finds herself involved with the King of Bohemia, how and why she flees his company, and how she tricked Sherlock Holmes and escaped England.
It's a loving tribute to a fantastic character that has captured readers' imaginations more than any other woman from Doyle's canon. Indeed, perhaps it is a kind of literary justice that Adler has been incorporated into so many stories by other authors. The way Douglas presents the story allows her to show the mutual fascination between Holmes and Adler without pushing a romantic relationship between them. However, Godfrey Norton, the man Adler eventually marries plays a big part and also become a much more rounded character than Doyle originally wrote.
Douglas also pulls the classic "I'm not the author, I'm the editor" gimmick, creating the illusion of the story coming straight from Penelope's diaries, and even a few portions from Dr. Watson's journals not previously published. It's a common enough style of presenting this sort of thing- Laurie King does something similar with her Mary Russell series. Douglas's post-script to the novel lays it on a little thick, however.
Overall, a good read for fans of Adler that wish she had been more developed. It is an interesting story that paints a portrait of friendship just as appealing as the classic relationship between Holmes and Watson, but in this case exploring a feminine version of this friendship, between Irene and Penelope.

Sonnet Sunday: Neruda

2011-01-23T16:16:00.001-05:00

Sonnet 16, translated by Terence Clarke

I love the clump of earth that you are,
because, from the planetary prairies,
I have no other star. You repeat
the universal multiplications.

Your wide eyes are the light that's left
of the defeated constellations.
Your skin quivers like the trails left
in the rain by the passing meteor.

Of so much of the moon, for me, were your hips,
of the entire sun your deep mouth and its delicacy,
of so much burning light, like shadowed honey,

your heart, charred with long red rays.
And so I pass by your fiery form, kissing you,
planetary and small, my geography, my dove.

The Bath Disaster

2011-01-22T14:59:00.002-05:00

Enjoy this off topic post, it's been an exhausting few days.
I have not taken a bath at this apartment yet even though I've been here for a while. Baths are one of my favorite winter activities- sometimes they are the only way I can make my entire body feel warm at one time. However, the tub here is a little scary.
The menfolk have left it rather scummy and the bottom of the tub still has the remnants of stick--on daisy shaped pads to prevent slipping left by the last tenant. These have been covered by a prickly bath mat that seems to be the place where all hair collects.
Still, I was determined that today I was going to have a bath. The kind of bath that involves music and a book and my homemade eucalyptus bath salts. Something other than the third episode of Downton Abbey should be the highlight of my weekend for goodness' sake. Alas, it was not meant to be. After scrubbing the tub and using some foaming cleaner I found it the back of the cabinet (which I got on my hands and then had a two-minute freak out over the fact that the warning label says to avoid contact with skin- I have a mild chemical phobia as it is), I finally deemed the tub clean enough to bathe in. Of course then the water would not get hot enough and the drain is apparently loose, so the lukewarm water was slowly sinking around me.
That's when I finally cast aside my copy of Little Women and gave up on the relaxing bath scenario. I took a shower and wondered why the water could be hot coming out of the shower head, but not when filling the tub.
Now I'm settling in to finish up some articles for the college paper and accepting the fact that PBS programming probably will be the highlight of my weekend. There are worse things.

Women's Studies Conference

2011-01-20T16:55:00.004-05:00

My professor made me submit a research paper to an intercollegiate women's studies conference that's happening in February and it's actually been accepted- I received notification today.
It's exciting, but also somewhat worrying- I'll have the floor for fifteen minutes and I'll be possibly questioned by a panel. A plan of action must be developed, I must talk to my professor about tidying up the paper a bit more as well.
This is, in a way, an ironic turn of events. I've never fancied myself to be a scholarly writer, I don't see that being the direction I'll go in after college either, but I did like this paper (and apparently others see some merit in it as well). I also felt quite proud of the paper on Troilus and Cressida I wrote last semester- mostly I was proud of the fact that I worked in a little joke about iambic pentameter. My professor thought it was amusing at any rate.
So, I'm excited and a little anxious at this point. The conference will interfere with my Forensic Speech schedule unfortunately, but I'm not even going to worry about that right now.

Edgar Allan Poe, You Don't Look a Day Over 200

2011-01-19T21:41:00.005-05:00

But in fact, you are 202 today!

I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. During these
fits of absolute unconsciousness, I drank--God only knows how often or how much. As a matter of course, my enemies referred the insanity to the drink rather than the drink to the insanity.

from the Memoir of Edgar Allan Poe
For the past two years the mysterious "Poe Toaster" has failed to appear. For sixty years, a mysterious figure dressed in black left roses and a bottle of cognac on Poe's grave on his birthday, but not in 2010 or this year.
Theories abound that this fan has died. A shame there is no one to take up this mantle in his place... yet.
Still, enjoy remembering Poe today by rereading "Annabel Lee", "The Black Cat," "The Raven"- or just play with your Edgar Allan Poe finger puppet.

An Unexpected Extension

2011-01-18T11:06:00.003-05:00

My winter break has been extended by some inclement weather. It was at eight fifteen this morning that I thought about skipping breakfast and climbing back into the warm cocoon of my bed, but decided to be productive instead.
I made some Calendula and Orange Goat's Milk soap and had some oatmeal.
Currently, I'm working on typing up all of my draftings and story notes for my mystery series. I have bits written for four books so far and need to start organizing them. Also, I need a new flash drive, as I start expanding my drafts, I have a feeling my already well used memory stick will fill up.
I'm writing my stories out of order. Scenes and subplots and bits of dialogue will come to me that are for two books down the road. Perhaps it is because I took a day back in early December and mapped out where I wanted the series as a whole to go. Obviously some of the details and such aren't clear yet, but I know basically what occurs in each book and how that effects an overall story arch for a five book series (and maybe a prequel).
There is something very empowering about knowing where you're going with your story and characters. Trust me, there have been many occasions where I've been lost and had no idea of what should happen next.
Still, I need to more seriously focus on finishing the first book (the second is in a far more complete state currently) and start looking for an agent. If I could publish my first novel before I finish college, I would be unutterably euphoric. More and more I realize that it really is what I want to do. So many people do work that doesn't make them happy and I don't know if I could, but writing makes me happy. Well, most of the time- even when if doesn't, I still have to do it. It's something I have to do. And I'd like to get paid for it. That would be nice.

To The Ends of the Earth: A Review

2011-01-17T16:10:00.004-05:00

To be perfectly honest, I only watched this because it was one of Benedict Cumberbatch's first staring roles. Of course when I was scouring the internet for the videos I couldn't find it. Today on Hulu I see they have the entire series uploaded. You know, now that I've purchased it. I also marched through the snow to go to the post office today only to stand in front of the locked door and suddenly remember it's a holiday. This happens to me.

At any rate, To The Ends of the Earth is the story of Edmund Talbot, a young man travelling to Australia to take up a governmental position secured for him by his influential godfather. Along the way he begins to understand that privilege and influence also comes with responsibility. The story takes its form from Edmund's journal that he keeps to give to his godfather at the end of the journey.
On the long voyage he interacts with the crew, and begins to understand the politics that run through the ship. He also makes the acquaintance of a parson, a governess, a family that is actually an artist and his two mistresses, and a radical free thinker. All of the characters have fears and secrets that are touched on during this voyage and Edmund must confront his own ways of thinking about life and society. He even falls in love when their ship meets with another after a storm.

Though To The Ends of the Earth had a lot of potential it falls sadly short. Structurally the episodes are messy, the transition from the first to the second episode is particularly poor. Certain events seem to occur randomly- especially in the final episode, and without much meaning resulting. Perhaps it is because they tried to cram an entire trilogy into three ninety minute episodes. Though Cumberbatch and the rest of the cast add dimension to their characters, a satisfying conclusion is never reached and many plot lines are left somewhat flapping in the breeze.
The romance plot is rather uncomfortable as well. Instead of coming across as sweet, it comes across as slightly creepy and possibly the symptom of head injury. At one point it seems that this is going to be another point of learning and maturation for Edmund, but it falls somewhat flat and insists upon a love-at-first-sight story with an inexplicable ending.
If you are a hardcore Cumberbatch fan you may enjoy watching it to chart the progression of his work (and, as some will no doubt watch it for, a love scene and a showering scene where there is a rather full on shot of his butt). Still, I can't say that it is a series I will watch again or recommend. For an excellent historical film featuring Cumberbatch, I would suggest Amazing Grace, though not without a few structural difficulties, it is engaging and inspiring and has cast with well known, respected, and talented actors.

Sonnet Sunday: Cummings

2011-01-16T16:59:00.003-05:00

Something more contemporary. "Unrealities III" by e.e. cummings:

it is at moments after i have dreamed
of the rare entertainment of your eyes,
when (being fool to fancy) i have deemed

with your peculiar mouth my heart made wise;
at moments when the glassy darkness holds

the genuine apparition of your smile
(it was through tears always) and silence moulds
such strangeness as was mine a little while;

moments when my once more illustrious arms
are filled with fascination, when my breast
wears the intolerant brightness of your charms:

one pierced moment whiter than the rest

--turning from the tremendous lie of sleep
i watch the roses of the day grow deep.

The Tail End of Winter Break

2011-01-15T21:16:00.003-05:00

The Spring semester starts in two days. I've enjoyed almost four weeks of *wild debauchery* that is now coming to an end.
By wild debauchery of course, I mean I've read several lovely books that weren't required for classes, I've had a few semi-spontaneous social interactions, made lip balm, consumed copious amounts of tea and toast, and I've accomplished a great deal of writing as well- none of which was class required. What can I say? I'm quite the delinquent. Honestly, I dread giving up the liberty to do what I want with my time for a somewhat rigorous schedule of classes, club meetings, and rehearsals.
I like having time to talk to my characters and nurture my stories.
My short story for the Jane Austen Made Me Do It contest isn't going as well as I'd hoped, unfortunately. I only have a few pages and I feel like it's not Austen enough. I actually scrapped my initial attempt and started over- but it still isn't hitting the note I want it to. It needs some work shopping.
All my textbooks have arrived, I am taking some interesting classes this semester at least. I'm also in a Tennessee Williams play- I adore him.

Reading Challenges- Sherlock Holmes

2011-01-13T11:51:00.005-05:00

I see blogs hosting reading challenges all the time, I've even participated in a few. However, I really want to host my own now.
I've been reading so much Sherlock Holmes, the originals and pastiches and talking to others that either have been as well, or want to start. This is why I suddenly want to host a Sherlock Holmes reading challenge.
Obviously there are several obstacles such as getting the word out and the question: Who wants to start a reading challenge in February?
Perhaps I'll wait and make this a summer reading challenge, in the meantime I'll put out some feelers to see if there is any interest in such an undertaking. Think of it as sort of a book club for those that are enamoured with the great detective.
The exact parameters still have to be determined, but probably the standard 4-6 books and I'll probably include movies as well.
What do you guys think?

The Great Gatsby... in 3D?

2011-01-10T17:05:00.003-05:00

Subtitle: WHY BAZ LUHRMANN? WHY?
I just read this article and I am appalled. I am a fan of Baz Luhrmann, his decadent, surrealist style usually works quite well and the man is not afraid of a metaphor or two. The idea of him directing the jazz age tragedy that has recently become one of my favorite novels could be an intriguing one. It could really be a great fit.
Then I found out that he is planning to do it in 3-D.
My issue with 3-D movies is that has it become a cheap gimmick to make audiences pay more without really adding to the quality or thematic messages of the film. By breaking that fourth wall it doesn't make the movie more real to the audience, it emphasizes the un-reality of the event. The movie points out its own artificiality (and not in a poignant post modern way). Besides that, those stupid glasses give me a headache.
I just don't see how making The Great Gatsby in 3-D will add anything to the story or characters. Ideally, an audience's investment in the characters, the movement of the plot, and the effect of the theme should be why people watch movies, not just to see when something pops out at them next. For kid's movies and such, sure it can be fun, but ultimately it can dumb down the movie and muddle a fantastic story. Gatsby is compelling enough, it doesn't need flimsy tricks. Fitzgerald would not approve.
In a way, it's ironic because I feel like one of the main messages of Gatsby is how meaningless decadence and cheap modern window dressing are- life, and in my argument, film needs a solid foundation of something other than spectacle to make it worthwhile. I'm sorry if you like 3-D movies, to each their own, but in this case, it feels wildly inappropriate.

Sonnet Sunday: Shakespeare 138

2011-01-09T03:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't done a Sonnet Sunday post since May! National Poetry Month in April exhausted my lust for iambic pentameter, but I think it's time again. After all, we only have three months to prepare ourselves for NPM festivities. I'm coercing the literary society into performing "Random Acts of Poetry" on campus. I knew there were benefits to being president, besides my new nickname- "She who must be obeyed."
So, for your reading pleasure, Sonnet 138 by William Shakespeare:

When my love swears that she is made of truth
I do believe her though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth
Unlearned in the world's false subtleties.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue;
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed.
But wherefore says she not she is unjust,
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
O, love's best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love loves not to have years told.
Therefore I lie with her, and she with me,
And in our faults by lies we flattered be.

A Quick Review: The King's Speech

2011-01-08T17:21:00.000-05:00

This was an excellent film. It is perhaps a little more sedate than many of the movies that hit theatres during the holiday season, but well performed and with a great deal of heart.

It chronicles King George VI's ascension to the throne and his struggle with a stammer. With the support of his wife (played by the ever-lovely Helena Bonham Carter), "Bertie" finds a speech therapist, Lionel Logue, that helps him overcome his impediment. Not only does Lionel help him with the mechanical issues of speech, he becomes his friend and helps Bertie tackle some of the emotional struggles that effect his speech. In a country on the verge of war, King George feels the pressure to be able to raise the spirits of the people. He is pitted against Adolf Hitler, a very dynamic speaker. The strained relationship between Bertie and his older brother David (King Edward VIII) who abdicated the throne to marry divorced socialite, Wallace Simpson, is also highlighted. Though the actor playing David, Guy Pearce, looks younger than Colin Firth, there interaction felt realistic- the not quite animosity between them comes out in several scenes.

Firth very believably portrayed Bertie's struggle with verbally expressing himself. For a well spoken actor, it was no doubt a difficult balancing act to portray Bertie's stammer accurately. Still, he succeeds in showing the frustrating experience of his character. Geoffrey Rush is very likable as the speech therapist that isn't afraid to be unconventional or treat Bertie more like a friend than a member of the royal family.

Michael Gambon and Jennifer Ehle also make appearances as George V and Mrs. Logue, respectively.

This film was rated 'R'. I don't generally watch 'R' rated films because they tend to be gratuitous, often movies receive that rating for excessive violence or graphic sexuality or vulgarity. However, this film merely drops the f-word a few times as a part of Bertie's speech exercises. Many PG-13 movies have far more offensive content. The high rating seemed unnecessary and will probably keep many younger audiences from being taken to see it. Though I don't advocate swearing, it doesn't come out of an offensive or degrading context. This would still be an excellent film for a young person with a speech impediment to see. It's inspiring and hopeful- rare qualities for a movie lately.