Hee hee, I copied you Ice Cream, and changed my blog look. You guys should go check out what her blog looks like now, it's really pretty!
Ahem. Diversion!!
Hi guys! Finals are over, it's almost Christmas, and I've finally gotten the hang of my orchestra music. I'd feel just perfect if my French teacher would only get our grades up on the college student accounts!
Anyway, re-doing the blog look really made me feel ridonkulously happy, but I want to make sure that it's easy to read. The font for the blog title is called Calligraffiti, and the body of the posts and such is called Indie Flower. I really like the look, but I can make the font bigger if it's hard to read. :)
So if you feel like it, tell me what you think!
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Friday, December 19, 2014
Momo Chibis!
Hi guys! Yesterday was my Piano and French finals, and I so can't believe that it's over! I already miss my friend I was going to school with (even though we'll totally see each other again in January when school starts up again, at the very latest). But it was nice, I think I aced my Piano final (though at the end of my song, there were three notes to be played at once, and accidentally only played one. Derp!)
So anyway, I have some chibi comic ideas, but I forgot to write them down, what with my Finals and such. XD So here, enjoy these chibis of the cast of Momo! Momo is a wonderful German book (my Michael Ende) about a mysterious orphan girl who has the unique ability to help people just by listening to them talk about their problems. Once people listen to Momo, they are suddenly able to go and fix their problems. Then one day, strange and creepy gray men start appearing all over town and begin to steal people's time. It's a really good book, and I highly recommend it. :)
So anyway, I have some chibi comic ideas, but I forgot to write them down, what with my Finals and such. XD So here, enjoy these chibis of the cast of Momo! Momo is a wonderful German book (my Michael Ende) about a mysterious orphan girl who has the unique ability to help people just by listening to them talk about their problems. Once people listen to Momo, they are suddenly able to go and fix their problems. Then one day, strange and creepy gray men start appearing all over town and begin to steal people's time. It's a really good book, and I highly recommend it. :)
Monday, December 15, 2014
Thursday, December 11, 2014
[A rant on] The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Well.
Has this book got me frustrated or what? I'm not saying that it's good or bad, all I'm saying is that it has me really confused and a little irritated.
Confused, because I know that there is a point in there somewhere (Monica's going to take a magical journey to the land of Sparknotes!), but I can't seem to figure it out. That's what has me irritated.
For a good portion of the book, I couldn't really figure out for myself what was going on under the surface. And sometimes I couldn't even figure out what was going on in the plot. I guess I have a basic enough understanding of the plot to have a vague idea of what the point of the story was, but this book still makes me feel like I'm the idiot for not understanding all the weird symbolism and motifs and stuff. Argh.
And there was the rather sudden ending, well, I guess it wasn't really that sudden or ambiguous. The dealio is, that Prince (who is a really sweet, kind man) has spend the whole book torn between two women. The adventurous and feisty Aglaya, and the tortured, guilt-ridden Nastasia (who feels that way because she was somebody's mistress, I think. Wouldn't swear to it). Prince Muishkin truly loves Aglaya, but his love for Nastasia is more of elevated pity.
By the climax of the story, Aglaya dumps him because she realizes that his epilepsy will have him sickly forever, so after some time he and Nastasia grow closer and become engaged. However, on their wedding day, Nastasia runs away with another man who loves her, Rogojin, because she feels like a rough, mean man like Rogojin is the only kind of man she deserves. In a few days, a worried Muishkin locates Rogojin and makes the horrifying discovery that Rogojin has murdered Nastasia. This, along with the realization that every good thing he tries to do just leads to more trouble, drive Muishkin to madness, and at the end of the book he can't recognize any of his friends, or even speak. Rogojin is shipped off to Siberia, and Aglaya gets married to some loser who lied about his big fortune.
The end.
And you know what, I had some issues with the ending of The Man Who Laughs, but that was sort of made up for by the ending line.
When Ursus recovered consciousness, he no longer saw Gwynplaine, and he beheld Homo near the edge, howling into the gloom as he gazed out at the sea.
I know, I know, it makes no sense in context, but I don't want to give away spoilers for a book that the post isn't about. Now, I find the last scene of the Idiot just plain anti-climatic.
So spoke the good old lady, almost angrily, as she took leave of Evgenie Pavlovich.
Um, no offence or anything book, but if I were you, I would have ended on a scene relevant to the main characters and themes of the novel. Eugh.
I guess no letter grade for this one, because I don't feel clever today. :P I guess I'll read it again someday, because it did have it's very strong moments where I really liked it. I feel like the execution could have been better, though.
Has this book got me frustrated or what? I'm not saying that it's good or bad, all I'm saying is that it has me really confused and a little irritated.
Confused, because I know that there is a point in there somewhere (Monica's going to take a magical journey to the land of Sparknotes!), but I can't seem to figure it out. That's what has me irritated.
For a good portion of the book, I couldn't really figure out for myself what was going on under the surface. And sometimes I couldn't even figure out what was going on in the plot. I guess I have a basic enough understanding of the plot to have a vague idea of what the point of the story was, but this book still makes me feel like I'm the idiot for not understanding all the weird symbolism and motifs and stuff. Argh.
By the climax of the story, Aglaya dumps him because she realizes that his epilepsy will have him sickly forever, so after some time he and Nastasia grow closer and become engaged. However, on their wedding day, Nastasia runs away with another man who loves her, Rogojin, because she feels like a rough, mean man like Rogojin is the only kind of man she deserves. In a few days, a worried Muishkin locates Rogojin and makes the horrifying discovery that Rogojin has murdered Nastasia. This, along with the realization that every good thing he tries to do just leads to more trouble, drive Muishkin to madness, and at the end of the book he can't recognize any of his friends, or even speak. Rogojin is shipped off to Siberia, and Aglaya gets married to some loser who lied about his big fortune.
The end.
And you know what, I had some issues with the ending of The Man Who Laughs, but that was sort of made up for by the ending line.
When Ursus recovered consciousness, he no longer saw Gwynplaine, and he beheld Homo near the edge, howling into the gloom as he gazed out at the sea.
I know, I know, it makes no sense in context, but I don't want to give away spoilers for a book that the post isn't about. Now, I find the last scene of the Idiot just plain anti-climatic.
So spoke the good old lady, almost angrily, as she took leave of Evgenie Pavlovich.
Um, no offence or anything book, but if I were you, I would have ended on a scene relevant to the main characters and themes of the novel. Eugh.
I guess no letter grade for this one, because I don't feel clever today. :P I guess I'll read it again someday, because it did have it's very strong moments where I really liked it. I feel like the execution could have been better, though.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Favorite Songs from Musicals #15: The Final Battle
I'm a horrible, horrible, person. But for all the death and destruction and loud explosions (well, the explosions were really loud in the performance we saw!), this song is also pretty dang cool. I mean sure, they all die ten seconds after the singing stops, but dang! Those lyrics! They manage to be all inspiring and depressing at the same time.
P.S: The guy who plays Enjolras on this recording is awesome. ;)
P.S: The guy who plays Enjolras on this recording is awesome. ;)
Friday, December 5, 2014
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card [1985]
Earth was the constant noise of crickets and winds and birds. And the voice of one girl, who spoke to him out of his far-off childhood.
Wow! I read a Sci-Fi novel, and I actually loved it! Not just liked, but loved. This book isn't perfect. There are a few things that I don't like about it, but it is certainly a worthwhile read. Let me just throw it out here that this book does have language and a little crass talk. Just because I really liked the book does not mean that I approve of all that.
This review will have spoilers, but it's been out for ages, so I'm not pulling out the angry red font.
So. I really liked the writing in the book. The author is really good at really making you feel the way the character does. A lot of people say that Ender is a boring, static character, but I really liked his character arc. All through the book, Ender is afraid that he is like his psychopathic brother, Peter.
It's true, when Ender is confronted by an enemy (like bullies, or the weird giant thing in those computer games) he doesn't pull punches, he practically eliminates the threats so they can't hurt him anymore.
Then at the end of the book, his worst fears are practically confirmed when he is tricked into destroying the bugger's homeworld. But then, he finds that last egg or something from the last queen bugger, and sets out on a mission to find a place where the egg an hatch and thrive. The book ends with the line "He searched for a long time."
I'm doing a poor job explaining this, but I'm trying to lead up to my point. I have a friend at college (one of the two people who recommended the book to me!) who thinks that the ending was setting up the sequels, but I actually think that it was a really good ending for the story.
There are a lot of books that just kind end, with absolutely nothing resolved. These kinds of books are very unsatisfying to read, and kind of wreck the book even if you feel like the rest of it was well plotted and such.
Then there are book that end with some of the plotlines still dangling, but emotionally, philosophically, and thematically, the story is over. Are you guys picking up what I'm putting down? I'm thinking about books like The Brothers Karamazov or The Road. Books where yes, there are still things that are unknown, and maybe you don't know if everything will be okay, but the characters have found- I hate to say this because it sounds really stupid- inner peace. You know, emotionally, the story is resolved and you maybe don't need to know what happens next.
Maybe I'm just silly or something, Je ne sais pas.
Anyhoo, something I really liked about this book was that the hero's most important female relationship is with his sister, Valentine (who is also a really interesting character!). Not with some half-baked love interest, but with his sister. Their dynamic is very well-written.
The Verdict: A
I didn't expect this book to make me cry, but I almost did at the ending. This book is well written and well plotted, and it kept my attention very well all throughout. This book is quite deep, and pondered some interesting questions, and I can't wait to read it again sometime next year. ;) I don't know if I'll be reading the other books because the ending of this one just seemed so 'right' to me.
Age Appropriateness: 14+
There's some cussing and crass talk, and a few borderline-disturbing scenes.
Wow! I read a Sci-Fi novel, and I actually loved it! Not just liked, but loved. This book isn't perfect. There are a few things that I don't like about it, but it is certainly a worthwhile read. Let me just throw it out here that this book does have language and a little crass talk. Just because I really liked the book does not mean that I approve of all that. This review will have spoilers, but it's been out for ages, so I'm not pulling out the angry red font.
So. I really liked the writing in the book. The author is really good at really making you feel the way the character does. A lot of people say that Ender is a boring, static character, but I really liked his character arc. All through the book, Ender is afraid that he is like his psychopathic brother, Peter.
It's true, when Ender is confronted by an enemy (like bullies, or the weird giant thing in those computer games) he doesn't pull punches, he practically eliminates the threats so they can't hurt him anymore.
Then at the end of the book, his worst fears are practically confirmed when he is tricked into destroying the bugger's homeworld. But then, he finds that last egg or something from the last queen bugger, and sets out on a mission to find a place where the egg an hatch and thrive. The book ends with the line "He searched for a long time."
I'm doing a poor job explaining this, but I'm trying to lead up to my point. I have a friend at college (one of the two people who recommended the book to me!) who thinks that the ending was setting up the sequels, but I actually think that it was a really good ending for the story.
There are a lot of books that just kind end, with absolutely nothing resolved. These kinds of books are very unsatisfying to read, and kind of wreck the book even if you feel like the rest of it was well plotted and such.
Then there are book that end with some of the plotlines still dangling, but emotionally, philosophically, and thematically, the story is over. Are you guys picking up what I'm putting down? I'm thinking about books like The Brothers Karamazov or The Road. Books where yes, there are still things that are unknown, and maybe you don't know if everything will be okay, but the characters have found- I hate to say this because it sounds really stupid- inner peace. You know, emotionally, the story is resolved and you maybe don't need to know what happens next.
Maybe I'm just silly or something, Je ne sais pas.
Anyhoo, something I really liked about this book was that the hero's most important female relationship is with his sister, Valentine (who is also a really interesting character!). Not with some half-baked love interest, but with his sister. Their dynamic is very well-written.
The Verdict: A
I didn't expect this book to make me cry, but I almost did at the ending. This book is well written and well plotted, and it kept my attention very well all throughout. This book is quite deep, and pondered some interesting questions, and I can't wait to read it again sometime next year. ;) I don't know if I'll be reading the other books because the ending of this one just seemed so 'right' to me.
Age Appropriateness: 14+
There's some cussing and crass talk, and a few borderline-disturbing scenes.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Favorite Songs From Musicals #14: The Farmer and the Cowman
Okay. This song is a MASSIVE earworm. Like, I couldn't get it out of my head after listening to it just once. Despite the fact that it tortures me by buzzing around in my head during French Class, I really like it. The tune is fun and energetic, and it totally wants you to clap along with the rhythm.
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