![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Welcome to my archive. Grab a cup of tea and lounge about for awhile. Read anything you like, but leave a comment, if you please.
You will find there is something of a piratical focus at the time, but Elves and Naiads will arrive eventually.
*~Constructive criticism is welcome~*
*~Comments are love~*
*~Flames will be laughed at and used to boil water for tea~*
The Inkwell
Mayhem O'Malley's Writing Archive
So I got Photoshop for FREE from my computers professor...it's C32, but hey...it was FREE! And I'll be getting the new upgraded version next year...also FREE!
Since I got this fun program, I decided to make some graphics for my stories. The ironic part is, I've always pictured Grace being played by Romola Garai ever since I saw her in Atonement. I didn't know about Mary Bryant....
( Irony! )
Since I got this fun program, I decided to make some graphics for my stories. The ironic part is, I've always pictured Grace being played by Romola Garai ever since I saw her in Atonement. I didn't know about Mary Bryant....
( Irony! )
I would like to take this opportunity to say that I find it highly ironic that even the avowed atheists go home for Easter.
Thank you, and goodnight.
Thank you, and goodnight.
Look! Look! The Midwest is slowly learning!
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/03/i
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/03/i
My playwriting professor assigned us to write two spoken word poems inspired by two pieces of music as an exercise in the rhythm and musicality of language. An Irish folk song prompted this:
Snap
Crack
Throw to the back and
pull for the chickie in the canvas dress
'cause her daddy's gone to sellin' and
her momma's gone to prayin' and
high noon's comin' so
up she gets!
Wrench
Grind
Tie down the line and
pretty little chickie wants her curls done fine
but her lady's gone to lovin' and
her maid is still a -sleepin' and
her lover's comin' runnin' with
a tricksy mind!
Grip
Guide
Throw to the side and
pretty little chickie needs her corset tied
fore takes the lar and aft takes the star and
hold her or the kitty's gonna
stripe your hide!
It's a sea chanty for the world I plan on moving Smuggler/Scoundrel into (brownie points if you know what sort of work goes with it). "Fern" by Zoe Keating produced this:
the Empress in white lace,
she waits waits
waits for the sound in the empty place between where she hoped and where she
broke, a fleeting and flitting and faraway token of
the possibility of something more for her
to keep.
how long will the spinning world outside ignore her agony
her stretching and straining, the cross she bears uncomplaining of its weight
on her shoulders, she’s older
than the roses and everyone knows it
so who wants a lily when the red petal is so pretty?
the step-child waits waits
waits at the window for a sight of the silk that was hers once upon the faraway time
in the spring when the fountain ran dancing and she laughed with wind in her grasp.
But the Ink
the Ink the Ink made her shrink and she choked on the song made sick in the wrong
key.
a fallen sister lamenting the lost story sucked up in the inventing and the
sinking and the setting until it’s worth letting
go
of what she knows.
the wicked Queen cries,
cries, cries at her mirror when the Ink makes it clear that her daughters all fear her
and flick through forests in smiles and love joyous and blaming their source for
any slip or miscourse in the road that whips and winds
through the Ink.
and she waits waits
waits.
Now, I don't usually enjoy writing poetry, but I actually rather like these two. And since it's meant to be spoken, it's all about the rhythms, so the rhythms of the words are what dictate the form. I posted these on my Facebook account. I'm normally very fond of constructive criticism, but my best friend's only response was:
"these are excellent, but you should work on breaking your lines. don't end on words like "of" and "for." End on stronger words that draw the eye down to the next line.
"Morning Lines" has such a fantastic sounds! i'd play around with the "wait wait wait"s. They might function better all on one line. Or maybe diagonally.
Sorry I am nitpicky. I"m a product of poetry workshops. But these poems are so badass I can't help but want to encourage you to make them as strong as possible!"
My issue lies in the bolded portions.
Line Breaks:
I disagree with her philosophy of what draws the eye to the next line. Not that I planned on putting prepositions at the end because they were prepositions, that was just where the rhythm fell. But thinking about it, my opinion is words like "of" and "for" draw the mind to the next line by creating a brief question. "Of" what? "For" what? and that makes someone keep reading. If the poem ended on one of those words, it would be incredibly frustrating and incite curiosity and independent imagining. It creates an expectation, then pulls it away. Or maybe I've just been watching too much Beckett lately.
Stronger Words:
I can see word strength in adjectives, but for the above reasons, can't see how ending on a noun or adjective is any stronger in this case.
Poetry Workshops:
This is my greatest problem, and the bit that irked me personally. Of all the creative writing styles, poetry is perhaps the most truly artistic, since, to quote the Bard, it "gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name". (Yes, I can randomly quote passages of Shakespeare...seven years of childhood and adolescent study will do that). Poetry is art. Art has no rules. Therefore, while poetry workshops can widen a writer's exposure to styles and themes, they can't claim to be The Authority on what makes this poem "stronger" than that poem. To me, the measure of a poem's worth is entirely subjective, dependent upon the reader's opinion. Someone somewhere at sometime thought that this:
so much depends
upon a red wheel
barrow glazed with rain
water beside the white
chickens.
was brilliant poetry, worthy of inclusion in American Literature anthologies lugged about by high school students nationwide. I, personally, don't see what's so great about this sentence broken up on different lines, but someone thought it was genius. And let's not forget the saps who believe Eragon's "epic master work" of the Hippie!Elf Orgy in the Red Brick to be on the same pedestal as Beowulf and The Iliad. Likewise, Emily Dickinson, whose work I adore, is fervently disliked by many people. For that matter, so is Beowulf.
I'm not claiming to be a brilliant poet...it's very rare that I actually like a poem that I write. The annoyance lies in the sense that these workshops have endowed my friend with a higher understanding of what is "stronger" in writing than I, who have taken no such seminars or classes, possess.
This draws me to the opinion that seminars like this are very limiting in their way. They foster this sort of enlightened feeling in the participants that can potentially lead to pretentiousness. (Wow..alliteration, much?) But this is the danger with all artistic classes. However, there is a distinct difference between poetry, which is by its nature formless, and something like playwriting, in which "strength" is measured more in terms of the audience understanding what the playwright wanted them to understand. There can be several meanings, of course, but there are points that a playwright will want to be sure are absolutely clear to as many people as possible. Even Beckett (I'm back to him again...) who when asked what Waiting for Godot meant replied with "If I knew, I would have said so in the play", was intensely specific on certain matters. Poetry isn't like that. Poetry says "Here! Listen to this...what does it mean to you?"
The seminar makes it all about Form and Style, and forgets about the Soul and the Music.
Snap
Crack
Throw to the back and
pull for the chickie in the canvas dress
'cause her daddy's gone to sellin' and
her momma's gone to prayin' and
high noon's comin' so
up she gets!
Wrench
Grind
Tie down the line and
pretty little chickie wants her curls done fine
but her lady's gone to lovin' and
her maid is still a -sleepin' and
her lover's comin' runnin' with
a tricksy mind!
Grip
Guide
Throw to the side and
pretty little chickie needs her corset tied
fore takes the lar and aft takes the star and
hold her or the kitty's gonna
stripe your hide!
It's a sea chanty for the world I plan on moving Smuggler/Scoundrel into (brownie points if you know what sort of work goes with it). "Fern" by Zoe Keating produced this:
the Empress in white lace,
she waits waits
waits for the sound in the empty place between where she hoped and where she
broke, a fleeting and flitting and faraway token of
the possibility of something more for her
to keep.
how long will the spinning world outside ignore her agony
her stretching and straining, the cross she bears uncomplaining of its weight
on her shoulders, she’s older
than the roses and everyone knows it
so who wants a lily when the red petal is so pretty?
the step-child waits waits
waits at the window for a sight of the silk that was hers once upon the faraway time
in the spring when the fountain ran dancing and she laughed with wind in her grasp.
But the Ink
the Ink the Ink made her shrink and she choked on the song made sick in the wrong
key.
a fallen sister lamenting the lost story sucked up in the inventing and the
sinking and the setting until it’s worth letting
go
of what she knows.
the wicked Queen cries,
cries, cries at her mirror when the Ink makes it clear that her daughters all fear her
and flick through forests in smiles and love joyous and blaming their source for
any slip or miscourse in the road that whips and winds
through the Ink.
and she waits waits
waits.
Now, I don't usually enjoy writing poetry, but I actually rather like these two. And since it's meant to be spoken, it's all about the rhythms, so the rhythms of the words are what dictate the form. I posted these on my Facebook account. I'm normally very fond of constructive criticism, but my best friend's only response was:
"these are excellent, but you should work on breaking your lines. don't end on words like "of" and "for." End on stronger words that draw the eye down to the next line.
"Morning Lines" has such a fantastic sounds! i'd play around with the "wait wait wait"s. They might function better all on one line. Or maybe diagonally.
Sorry I am nitpicky. I"m a product of poetry workshops. But these poems are so badass I can't help but want to encourage you to make them as strong as possible!"
My issue lies in the bolded portions.
Line Breaks:
I disagree with her philosophy of what draws the eye to the next line. Not that I planned on putting prepositions at the end because they were prepositions, that was just where the rhythm fell. But thinking about it, my opinion is words like "of" and "for" draw the mind to the next line by creating a brief question. "Of" what? "For" what? and that makes someone keep reading. If the poem ended on one of those words, it would be incredibly frustrating and incite curiosity and independent imagining. It creates an expectation, then pulls it away. Or maybe I've just been watching too much Beckett lately.
Stronger Words:
I can see word strength in adjectives, but for the above reasons, can't see how ending on a noun or adjective is any stronger in this case.
Poetry Workshops:
This is my greatest problem, and the bit that irked me personally. Of all the creative writing styles, poetry is perhaps the most truly artistic, since, to quote the Bard, it "gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name". (Yes, I can randomly quote passages of Shakespeare...seven years of childhood and adolescent study will do that). Poetry is art. Art has no rules. Therefore, while poetry workshops can widen a writer's exposure to styles and themes, they can't claim to be The Authority on what makes this poem "stronger" than that poem. To me, the measure of a poem's worth is entirely subjective, dependent upon the reader's opinion. Someone somewhere at sometime thought that this:
so much depends
upon a red wheel
barrow glazed with rain
water beside the white
chickens.
was brilliant poetry, worthy of inclusion in American Literature anthologies lugged about by high school students nationwide. I, personally, don't see what's so great about this sentence broken up on different lines, but someone thought it was genius. And let's not forget the saps who believe Eragon's "epic master work" of the Hippie!Elf Orgy in the Red Brick to be on the same pedestal as Beowulf and The Iliad. Likewise, Emily Dickinson, whose work I adore, is fervently disliked by many people. For that matter, so is Beowulf.
I'm not claiming to be a brilliant poet...it's very rare that I actually like a poem that I write. The annoyance lies in the sense that these workshops have endowed my friend with a higher understanding of what is "stronger" in writing than I, who have taken no such seminars or classes, possess.
This draws me to the opinion that seminars like this are very limiting in their way. They foster this sort of enlightened feeling in the participants that can potentially lead to pretentiousness. (Wow..alliteration, much?) But this is the danger with all artistic classes. However, there is a distinct difference between poetry, which is by its nature formless, and something like playwriting, in which "strength" is measured more in terms of the audience understanding what the playwright wanted them to understand. There can be several meanings, of course, but there are points that a playwright will want to be sure are absolutely clear to as many people as possible. Even Beckett (I'm back to him again...) who when asked what Waiting for Godot meant replied with "If I knew, I would have said so in the play", was intensely specific on certain matters. Poetry isn't like that. Poetry says "Here! Listen to this...what does it mean to you?"
The seminar makes it all about Form and Style, and forgets about the Soul and the Music.
pissed off!
Sarah Palin scares the shit out of me. She's an idiot, and the current Republican party is a kowtowing mass of hypocritical bastards. When I hear anything political described as "old time religion", I get worried. The fact that they claim to base their policy on "morality" and "what's right!" is bullshit. Have they considered that maybe Palin's pregnant teen daughter doesn't want to be held up as the Republican Pro-Life poster girl? That maybe because she's 17, she might just want to be left alone to deal with her situation and move on with her life? Nope. They prop her up and use her as a pillar to show Mommy's morality. If I were her, I would harbor some serious resentment. And the footage of the Republicans watching the VP debate and LAUGHING! when Biden became emotional about his DEAD CHILD! was beyond revolting to me. Republicans like that do not operate on morality or Christian values of any kind. It is a disgusting hypocracy.
Honestly, I leaned towards voting for Obama in the first place, but I listened to both sides of the argument. But when Palin showed up, McCain lost any and all possibility of getting my vote. I do not want there to be even the slightest chance that she could end up running the country. She claims to represent all women and "real women vote Palin" and all this bullshit, but she is a disgrace to the gender. She is uninformed on the issues at hand, unqualified, and was only chosen as VP candidate because, as SNL so astutely pointed out, she has a vagina, and McCain wanted all the ex-Hillary votes. So he chose a backwoods hockey mom from Alaska, who's idea of foreign policy is to point over yonder permafrosted horizon and say "See? Alaska is close to Russia! that means I'm an expert!" Yeah, it's "close" to Russia...the Siberian half of it. As far as I know, that's some pretty remote territory.
And I don't even want to think about her stance on women's rights. How dare she think she has the right to tell me that I can't have access to state supplied birth control? My family insurance doesn't fucking cover it because it's from a Catholic hospital! I have no other choice but to get it from the state, and I really don't want kids, and I like not having highly pervasive and Plauge-like acne all over my body. And, suck it up people, because right-wing morality is not going to stop people from having sex. Why? Because, we're human and it's a hell of a lot of fun. In what universe is it okay to lie to our children about sex? Sex education is mentally and emotionally scarring for girls. We are told that sex will make us feel useless, degraded, and that if we have sex before marriage, no one will want us. A local school actually employed federal sponsored pamphlets containing ideas like "If you have sex before you're married, it''s like you're a rose that's had all it's petals plucked off: no longer beautiful", and classroom exercises in which the girls were given lollipops, told to eat them, and then it was explained to them that sex before marriage makes them like a used lollipop: No one else wants it. How is this okay? How is this considered decent? It's not promoting abstinence, it's promoting Puritanical views that women should be afraid of their sexuality and that they shouldn't enjoy it! Abstinence only education doesn't work. It's based on scare tactics, and all it does is leave the teenage masses uninformed and tragically ignorant. Not once in my entire public school health class career was the female half of the class told about condoms. Sure, they were mentioned as a "method of protection", but that was it, and that was the only form of birth control we covered.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a woman president...just not this woman. She doesn't want to "shatter the glass ceiling"...she'd much rather make it concrete again.
And on top of everything, Sarah Palin makes me want to change my name out of embarrassment that I have one pissy little thing in common with her.
Honestly, I leaned towards voting for Obama in the first place, but I listened to both sides of the argument. But when Palin showed up, McCain lost any and all possibility of getting my vote. I do not want there to be even the slightest chance that she could end up running the country. She claims to represent all women and "real women vote Palin" and all this bullshit, but she is a disgrace to the gender. She is uninformed on the issues at hand, unqualified, and was only chosen as VP candidate because, as SNL so astutely pointed out, she has a vagina, and McCain wanted all the ex-Hillary votes. So he chose a backwoods hockey mom from Alaska, who's idea of foreign policy is to point over yonder permafrosted horizon and say "See? Alaska is close to Russia! that means I'm an expert!" Yeah, it's "close" to Russia...the Siberian half of it. As far as I know, that's some pretty remote territory.
And I don't even want to think about her stance on women's rights. How dare she think she has the right to tell me that I can't have access to state supplied birth control? My family insurance doesn't fucking cover it because it's from a Catholic hospital! I have no other choice but to get it from the state, and I really don't want kids, and I like not having highly pervasive and Plauge-like acne all over my body. And, suck it up people, because right-wing morality is not going to stop people from having sex. Why? Because, we're human and it's a hell of a lot of fun. In what universe is it okay to lie to our children about sex? Sex education is mentally and emotionally scarring for girls. We are told that sex will make us feel useless, degraded, and that if we have sex before marriage, no one will want us. A local school actually employed federal sponsored pamphlets containing ideas like "If you have sex before you're married, it''s like you're a rose that's had all it's petals plucked off: no longer beautiful", and classroom exercises in which the girls were given lollipops, told to eat them, and then it was explained to them that sex before marriage makes them like a used lollipop: No one else wants it. How is this okay? How is this considered decent? It's not promoting abstinence, it's promoting Puritanical views that women should be afraid of their sexuality and that they shouldn't enjoy it! Abstinence only education doesn't work. It's based on scare tactics, and all it does is leave the teenage masses uninformed and tragically ignorant. Not once in my entire public school health class career was the female half of the class told about condoms. Sure, they were mentioned as a "method of protection", but that was it, and that was the only form of birth control we covered.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a woman president...just not this woman. She doesn't want to "shatter the glass ceiling"...she'd much rather make it concrete again.
And on top of everything, Sarah Palin makes me want to change my name out of embarrassment that I have one pissy little thing in common with her.
blah
1) If you got married to your boyfriend/girlfriend or crush what would your last name be?
let's just say it would be way more pronounceable than my last name now
2) What did you do this afternoon?
drove around doing errands and unsuccessfully searching for a dress for my uncle's wedding
3) When do you plan on having kids or your next kid?
the 12th of never...if I want a family, I'll adopt.
4) whens the last time you smiled?
really smiled? yesterday
5) Who has your heart?
I do, and I don't plan on giving it away anytime soon.
6) Can you use chopsticks?
hell no!
7) How old were you when you lost your first tooth?
6
8) Were you a hyper or mellow kid?
mellow with a ridiculously high level of concentration
9) Why did you throw up last?
I had a mild case of food poisoning
11) What's for dinner?
whatever I can scrounge out of the fridge
12) Ever been to the Statue of Liberty?
No, but I've seen it from a plane...I will go there this summer
14) How many e-mail addresses do you have?
umm...three
15) Do you HAVE to have brand name stuff?
fuck no.
16) Last time you washed your hair?
this morning
17) Who will you be sleeping with tonight?
*sigh* Me, myself, and I....though I wish it was someone else...
18) Do you like Oreos?
I love them. They're a vice.
19) Do you send out Thank-You cards?
For important things....like Christmas and graduation presents
20) Can you ice skate?
yep
21) Do you have a brother?
uh-huh
22) Do you know how to change a diaper?
yeah
23) Do you flip people off while driving?
No. I drive while I'm driving.
24) What color is your car?
I don't have one.
25) Would you take a bullet for anyone?
meh...I doubt it
26) Do you keep a planner?
just a calendar
27) Who is your favorite judge​ on American Idol?
I don't watch, but I rather like Simon
28) Do you like to grocery shop?
no
29) What kind of mood are you in?
a not so good one
30) Last time you cleaned?
a few days ago
31) Did you get an Easter basket?
no. Easter happens while I'm at school.
32) What pills do you take daily?
erythromycin, but I ran out
33) Are you in anyone's wedding this year?
no, but I'm attending two
34) Do you do your own laundry?
At school
35) Do you go tanning?
FUCK NO!
36) Has someone close to you passed away?
my step-grandfather died last year...he was a better grandpa than my 2 biological ones
37) Baths or showers?
showers, mostly...but a bath is nice every now and then
38) Do you take out the garbage?
nope. I have a little brother.
39) Are you getting engaged any time soon?
hahahaha! no.
40) What's the best part about being single?
umm....I don't know.
41) Paper or Plastic?
either one
42) Do you watch "The Hills"?
do I watch the what now?
43) Last song you played?
I think I woke up to "Enter Sandman" this morning...
45) What do you order from taco bell?
whatever strikes my fancy
46) Which one of your friends is going to have the cutest baby?
probably Lyndsay because she's gorgeous and so is Keith
47) Are you wearin any bracelets?
nah
49) Last thing someone bought for you?
my mom bought me some pants...
50) What are you going to do now?
something equally as pointless as this
let's just say it would be way more pronounceable than my last name now
2) What did you do this afternoon?
drove around doing errands and unsuccessfully searching for a dress for my uncle's wedding
3) When do you plan on having kids or your next kid?
the 12th of never...if I want a family, I'll adopt.
4) whens the last time you smiled?
really smiled? yesterday
5) Who has your heart?
I do, and I don't plan on giving it away anytime soon.
6) Can you use chopsticks?
hell no!
7) How old were you when you lost your first tooth?
6
8) Were you a hyper or mellow kid?
mellow with a ridiculously high level of concentration
9) Why did you throw up last?
I had a mild case of food poisoning
11) What's for dinner?
whatever I can scrounge out of the fridge
12) Ever been to the Statue of Liberty?
No, but I've seen it from a plane...I will go there this summer
14) How many e-mail addresses do you have?
umm...three
15) Do you HAVE to have brand name stuff?
fuck no.
16) Last time you washed your hair?
this morning
17) Who will you be sleeping with tonight?
*sigh* Me, myself, and I....though I wish it was someone else...
18) Do you like Oreos?
I love them. They're a vice.
19) Do you send out Thank-You cards?
For important things....like Christmas and graduation presents
20) Can you ice skate?
yep
21) Do you have a brother?
uh-huh
22) Do you know how to change a diaper?
yeah
23) Do you flip people off while driving?
No. I drive while I'm driving.
24) What color is your car?
I don't have one.
25) Would you take a bullet for anyone?
meh...I doubt it
26) Do you keep a planner?
just a calendar
27) Who is your favorite judge​ on American Idol?
I don't watch, but I rather like Simon
28) Do you like to grocery shop?
no
29) What kind of mood are you in?
a not so good one
30) Last time you cleaned?
a few days ago
31) Did you get an Easter basket?
no. Easter happens while I'm at school.
32) What pills do you take daily?
erythromycin, but I ran out
33) Are you in anyone's wedding this year?
no, but I'm attending two
34) Do you do your own laundry?
At school
35) Do you go tanning?
FUCK NO!
36) Has someone close to you passed away?
my step-grandfather died last year...he was a better grandpa than my 2 biological ones
37) Baths or showers?
showers, mostly...but a bath is nice every now and then
38) Do you take out the garbage?
nope. I have a little brother.
39) Are you getting engaged any time soon?
hahahaha! no.
40) What's the best part about being single?
umm....I don't know.
41) Paper or Plastic?
either one
42) Do you watch "The Hills"?
do I watch the what now?
43) Last song you played?
I think I woke up to "Enter Sandman" this morning...
45) What do you order from taco bell?
whatever strikes my fancy
46) Which one of your friends is going to have the cutest baby?
probably Lyndsay because she's gorgeous and so is Keith
47) Are you wearin any bracelets?
nah
49) Last thing someone bought for you?
my mom bought me some pants...
50) What are you going to do now?
something equally as pointless as this
Since I'm rather bored and haven't done anything in a while, I'm going to post pointless surveys today.
So far in 08:
1. Have you had any relationships this year?..
in a way...
2. Have you had your birthday?
yes
3. Been to church?
Nope
4. Cried yet?
Once or twice, I think.
5. Been on a diet?
perpetually....hypoglycemia will do that.
6. Pulled an all nighter?
Actually, I haven't! It's miraculous! I did all my papers before the night before they were due.
7. Drank Starbucks?
twice...
8. Went shopping?
I assume this means for recreation...so, no.
9. Went Camping?
unfortunately not
11. Bought something(s) for over $200?
plane ticket to New Jersey so I can get to work
12. Been out of state?
nope
14. Gone Snowboarding?
uhhh....no
Have you...
1.) Hugged someone?
yes
2.) Slept in someone elses bed?
not yet! ;D
3.) Drank any?
ew, no.
6.) Gone over your cell phone bill?
I don't think so
7.) Been called a whale?
no, can't say that I have.
8.) Done something you regret?
Recently? Nope.
9)Last Person you hugged?
Neal, yesterday
10)Last Person to call you?
also Neal
11)Last time you took a shower?
this morning
12)When was the last time you felt stupid?
my production jury...ugh!
13)Who was the last person you danced with?
umm...Jensen, I think, for a movie, ages ago.
14)What did you do today?
Woke up to "The House of the Rising Sun" (yay! good song!), ate some Cheerios, took a shower, got dressed and dried my hair, made myself a sandwich, and now I'm fucking around on this thing.
TEN FACTS
01. Hometown?
Valparaiso
02. Natural hair color?
Blonde
03. Initials?
SJM
04. Hair style?
Shoulder length, stick straight
05. Eye color:
dark blue/grey
06. Height:
5'9"
07. Pets:
My dog, Oliver
08. Mood:
irritated about being stuck in the house with my sick, perpetually pissed-off mother
09. Where would you rather be?
somewhere on the other side of the Pond
10. Last thing you drank?
milk
TEN THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE:
01. Have you ever been in love?
I don't think so
02. Do you believe in love?
yes
03. Why did your LAST relationship fail?
Considering nothing ever got started, there was no failing to be done...still sucked, though
04. Have you ever been heartbroken:
yes
05. Have you ever broken someone's heart:
I hope not!
06. Have you ever fallen for your best friend?
a very close friend, yes
07. Have you ever loved someone but never told them:
it wasn't love, but yes.
08. Are you afraid of commitment?
not at all. That's a dumbass thing to be afraid of. It can't kill you.
09. Would you ever go back to one of your exes?
Since I don't have any exes, I'd have to say no.
10. Have you had more than 5 different serious relationships in your life?
I'm only kinda sorta halfway working on 1. Five is just ludicrous.
5 EMOTIONS
01. Are you missing someone right now:?
oh, yes
02. Are you happy?
that's a loaded question, and I refuse to answer without clarification.
04. Are you eating anything?
no
05. Do you like someone right now?
Yep, and things are good for the moment. :D
So far in 08:
1. Have you had any relationships this year?..
in a way...
2. Have you had your birthday?
yes
3. Been to church?
Nope
4. Cried yet?
Once or twice, I think.
5. Been on a diet?
perpetually....hypoglycemia will do that.
6. Pulled an all nighter?
Actually, I haven't! It's miraculous! I did all my papers before the night before they were due.
7. Drank Starbucks?
twice...
8. Went shopping?
I assume this means for recreation...so, no.
9. Went Camping?
unfortunately not
11. Bought something(s) for over $200?
plane ticket to New Jersey so I can get to work
12. Been out of state?
nope
14. Gone Snowboarding?
uhhh....no
Have you...
1.) Hugged someone?
yes
2.) Slept in someone elses bed?
not yet! ;D
3.) Drank any?
ew, no.
6.) Gone over your cell phone bill?
I don't think so
7.) Been called a whale?
no, can't say that I have.
8.) Done something you regret?
Recently? Nope.
9)Last Person you hugged?
Neal, yesterday
10)Last Person to call you?
also Neal
11)Last time you took a shower?
this morning
12)When was the last time you felt stupid?
my production jury...ugh!
13)Who was the last person you danced with?
umm...Jensen, I think, for a movie, ages ago.
14)What did you do today?
Woke up to "The House of the Rising Sun" (yay! good song!), ate some Cheerios, took a shower, got dressed and dried my hair, made myself a sandwich, and now I'm fucking around on this thing.
TEN FACTS
01. Hometown?
Valparaiso
02. Natural hair color?
Blonde
03. Initials?
SJM
04. Hair style?
Shoulder length, stick straight
05. Eye color:
dark blue/grey
06. Height:
5'9"
07. Pets:
My dog, Oliver
08. Mood:
irritated about being stuck in the house with my sick, perpetually pissed-off mother
09. Where would you rather be?
somewhere on the other side of the Pond
10. Last thing you drank?
milk
TEN THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE:
01. Have you ever been in love?
I don't think so
02. Do you believe in love?
yes
03. Why did your LAST relationship fail?
Considering nothing ever got started, there was no failing to be done...still sucked, though
04. Have you ever been heartbroken:
yes
05. Have you ever broken someone's heart:
I hope not!
06. Have you ever fallen for your best friend?
a very close friend, yes
07. Have you ever loved someone but never told them:
it wasn't love, but yes.
08. Are you afraid of commitment?
not at all. That's a dumbass thing to be afraid of. It can't kill you.
09. Would you ever go back to one of your exes?
Since I don't have any exes, I'd have to say no.
10. Have you had more than 5 different serious relationships in your life?
I'm only kinda sorta halfway working on 1. Five is just ludicrous.
5 EMOTIONS
01. Are you missing someone right now:?
oh, yes
02. Are you happy?
that's a loaded question, and I refuse to answer without clarification.
04. Are you eating anything?
no
05. Do you like someone right now?
Yep, and things are good for the moment. :D
since my last rant, and I really need to set my thoughts down about this.
My anthropology class is currently studying gender and gender roles in society, including issues pertaining to the GLBT community, and right in the middle of this, a certain Female to Male Transgenderd man decides to start marketing himself (and I use the term deliberately) as the world's "first pregnant man".
Now, I have no problems whatsoever with the fact that he's transgendered. That is not the issue. If a woman feels like she was born in the wrong sex body, fine, remove your breasts and take testosterone! Legally change your name and sex! I don't care. Same goes for a man who feels he is actually a woman. It doesn't matter either way.
My problem with this is the way he is portraying himself and the way it's being reported and received. I understand the circumstances of their situation, which is that his girlfriend/wife can't conceive. Fine. I, however, don't consider this to be a pregnant man. Gender and sex are not the same thing. Gender is how you see and carry yourself in a social context and sex is purely biological. In a biological sense, this man still has ovaries and a uterus...as far as the laws of nature are concerned, he is still a woman, and when I say "laws of nature" I don't in any way mean the "laws of God". He can have no breasts and as much facial hair as he likes and dress and act like a man, but that doesn't change the fact that he is still biologically female.
Therefore, I see this as a transgendered pregnancy. It's not special. Yes, the one carrying the child is considered male socially and legally, but he's still got a woman's insides. The day a man without a uterus (transgenderd or not) conceives is when we can announce that a man is pregnant. The only thing making this sensational is that he's walking around saying "Look! I'm legally considered male and I'm pregnant! Yay!" Does anyone else find this odd? If he was so uncomfortable being a woman that he had to change his gender, why is he so pleased about being pregnant?
Really! If you're a female->male transgendered and you still have all the necessary pieces for bearing children and you want a child, fine. Whatever. But at least have enough respect for us biological women who are quite happy to stay female to call it what it is. You can think of yourself as male, the legal system can call you male, society can call you male, but the laws of nature govern childbirth, not the laws of man. And sorry, but nature says you're female. Bearing children is a woman's responsibility. Please don't take that away from us.
My anthropology class is currently studying gender and gender roles in society, including issues pertaining to the GLBT community, and right in the middle of this, a certain Female to Male Transgenderd man decides to start marketing himself (and I use the term deliberately) as the world's "first pregnant man".
Now, I have no problems whatsoever with the fact that he's transgendered. That is not the issue. If a woman feels like she was born in the wrong sex body, fine, remove your breasts and take testosterone! Legally change your name and sex! I don't care. Same goes for a man who feels he is actually a woman. It doesn't matter either way.
My problem with this is the way he is portraying himself and the way it's being reported and received. I understand the circumstances of their situation, which is that his girlfriend/wife can't conceive. Fine. I, however, don't consider this to be a pregnant man. Gender and sex are not the same thing. Gender is how you see and carry yourself in a social context and sex is purely biological. In a biological sense, this man still has ovaries and a uterus...as far as the laws of nature are concerned, he is still a woman, and when I say "laws of nature" I don't in any way mean the "laws of God". He can have no breasts and as much facial hair as he likes and dress and act like a man, but that doesn't change the fact that he is still biologically female.
Therefore, I see this as a transgendered pregnancy. It's not special. Yes, the one carrying the child is considered male socially and legally, but he's still got a woman's insides. The day a man without a uterus (transgenderd or not) conceives is when we can announce that a man is pregnant. The only thing making this sensational is that he's walking around saying "Look! I'm legally considered male and I'm pregnant! Yay!" Does anyone else find this odd? If he was so uncomfortable being a woman that he had to change his gender, why is he so pleased about being pregnant?
Really! If you're a female->male transgendered and you still have all the necessary pieces for bearing children and you want a child, fine. Whatever. But at least have enough respect for us biological women who are quite happy to stay female to call it what it is. You can think of yourself as male, the legal system can call you male, society can call you male, but the laws of nature govern childbirth, not the laws of man. And sorry, but nature says you're female. Bearing children is a woman's responsibility. Please don't take that away from us.
rehearsals make me tired
So it's that supposedly joyful, Cupid and candy-hearted time of year again, when all us reasonable people get migraines from the over abundance of red and pink, and probably break into hives from the sight of too much lace. Despite my cynicism, I don't actually feel quite so annoyed and depressed about it this year. No, I haven't had some sort of inner strength revelation, I've become unofficially attached to a member of the opposite gender. I say unofficially because while the tone is undeniably lover-like, nothing has actually been decided.
Anyway, being as busy as I am lately with rehearsals for my assistant directing position, I've been largely absent from the fanfiction community, which is rather upsetting to me. I miss my stories and my characters, but my soul still hasn't recovered from the repeated creative rape it endured in last semester's film class from Hell. They've seriously not said a word since the start of first semester, and it worries me. Not that I really have the time to devote to it at the moment, but it would be nice if they'd pop in for a chat now and then.
Anyway, being as busy as I am lately with rehearsals for my assistant directing position, I've been largely absent from the fanfiction community, which is rather upsetting to me. I miss my stories and my characters, but my soul still hasn't recovered from the repeated creative rape it endured in last semester's film class from Hell. They've seriously not said a word since the start of first semester, and it worries me. Not that I really have the time to devote to it at the moment, but it would be nice if they'd pop in for a chat now and then.
It's increasingly difficult being the only religiously open minded person in a group. This causes the unfortunate circumstance of whenever I would like to have a serious discussion about something in the spiritual realm, I get looked at askance and shot down with broad comments.
I get endlessly irritated when people refuse to come to their own conclusions, and just take the words of others as truth. For example, a friend of mine said last week she wouldn't vote for Obama "because he's Muslim". This made me scratch my head, because the only mention I've ever seen or heard of Obama being a follower of Islam was in a poorly spelled, all caps response to an article that made no sense what-so-ever. When I asked her how she knew this, the response I received was "I heard that he was". Whether or not he is is of no import to me, really. The unnerving thing was that she seemed to have no desire to find out for herself. She just preferred to be a blind little sheep and follow along with something she may have heard somewhere said by someone.
The same holds true with panicked religious fervor. I went to see the Golden Compass. I even saw it twice, the second time with my fervently atheist friend (as oxymoronic as that statement is.) I happen to be wired in such a way that controversy is endlessly intriguing, and I have an intense desire to debate it. However, neither my devoutly religious friends from school, nor my fervently atheist friend from home were willing to have a serious discussion with me about this film that has sparked so much talk among church circles. I began to wonder....why was that? It seemed strange to me that, in the case of my atheist friend especially, that she didn't have more to say.
I think what it comes down to, after a lot of thought, is that no one wants to question. Set patterns, whatever those patterns may be, are easier, more comfortable, safer. Regardless of what the film is actually about, the point is...why avoid seeing it? I understand the concept of a boycott, but church groups here and there boycotting a huge industry film is not going to have much influence, and in some cases, can work against the case of those doing the protesting. It's like Prohibition...once something becomes illegal, it becomes exciting.
But really, things get so out of hand, and yes, I'm going to place direct blame on religious establishment. It's fine and dandy to disagree, but don't tell your congregation that their children and grandchildren are going to Hell! Back a few years ago, during the Harry Potter hatred phase, my grandmother bought me a book called "Harry Potter and the Bible", which I read because....hey, I read pretty much anything. The author was a complete moron who used slanted writing and heavily weighted resources, not to mention was hypocritical to an extent I didn't think possible. While he spends the entire book claiming that Harry Potter will make your children worship Satan, the last chapter is devoted to retelling, in grim detail, the story of one young man who worshiped the Devil and practiced human sacrifice, and was sentenced to death for murder. This chapter also happened to list a full Satanic ritual. I was so enraged by this author's complete idiocy, I searched for a way to contact him, just so I could know what on earth he was thinking. Sadly, I wasn't able to. The same thing happened this year with the Golden Compass. My grandmother was convinced I was going to Hell because her pastor told her I was, and my mother, who is a much more open-minded Christian, was able to calm her down before she went buying me any books this time. I was very angry when I heard this. My grandmother has just lost her husband due to complications from a drunk driving crash two years ago, has just moved house, and is highly stressed right now. She did not need some pompous pastor telling her he knew just where my soul was going. That is not a stressor she needs!
I discussed this whole debacle with my mother, and we came to this conclusion. Modern churches, not the religion of Christianity itself (this is an important distinction) is imperfect, corrupt. Why? Because it is run by Man, who is, by nature, imperfect. We are not God, and we never will be. This is why I don't follow organized religion. I don't need to tell another human, and no other human has authority over the fate of my soul. That right is reserved for whatever the higher power is. To me, the theme of the Golden Compass is not "go forth and kill God and be atheist". It's "use that free will of yours and question!". Free will is a gift from God, our intellect is a gift from God...if we weren't intended to use them, why did God bother giving them to us? This point is something so many hard-core religious types, including my college friends, can't seem to wrap their minds around.
Well, I think I've got that out of my system for the time being.
I get endlessly irritated when people refuse to come to their own conclusions, and just take the words of others as truth. For example, a friend of mine said last week she wouldn't vote for Obama "because he's Muslim". This made me scratch my head, because the only mention I've ever seen or heard of Obama being a follower of Islam was in a poorly spelled, all caps response to an article that made no sense what-so-ever. When I asked her how she knew this, the response I received was "I heard that he was". Whether or not he is is of no import to me, really. The unnerving thing was that she seemed to have no desire to find out for herself. She just preferred to be a blind little sheep and follow along with something she may have heard somewhere said by someone.
The same holds true with panicked religious fervor. I went to see the Golden Compass. I even saw it twice, the second time with my fervently atheist friend (as oxymoronic as that statement is.) I happen to be wired in such a way that controversy is endlessly intriguing, and I have an intense desire to debate it. However, neither my devoutly religious friends from school, nor my fervently atheist friend from home were willing to have a serious discussion with me about this film that has sparked so much talk among church circles. I began to wonder....why was that? It seemed strange to me that, in the case of my atheist friend especially, that she didn't have more to say.
I think what it comes down to, after a lot of thought, is that no one wants to question. Set patterns, whatever those patterns may be, are easier, more comfortable, safer. Regardless of what the film is actually about, the point is...why avoid seeing it? I understand the concept of a boycott, but church groups here and there boycotting a huge industry film is not going to have much influence, and in some cases, can work against the case of those doing the protesting. It's like Prohibition...once something becomes illegal, it becomes exciting.
But really, things get so out of hand, and yes, I'm going to place direct blame on religious establishment. It's fine and dandy to disagree, but don't tell your congregation that their children and grandchildren are going to Hell! Back a few years ago, during the Harry Potter hatred phase, my grandmother bought me a book called "Harry Potter and the Bible", which I read because....hey, I read pretty much anything. The author was a complete moron who used slanted writing and heavily weighted resources, not to mention was hypocritical to an extent I didn't think possible. While he spends the entire book claiming that Harry Potter will make your children worship Satan, the last chapter is devoted to retelling, in grim detail, the story of one young man who worshiped the Devil and practiced human sacrifice, and was sentenced to death for murder. This chapter also happened to list a full Satanic ritual. I was so enraged by this author's complete idiocy, I searched for a way to contact him, just so I could know what on earth he was thinking. Sadly, I wasn't able to. The same thing happened this year with the Golden Compass. My grandmother was convinced I was going to Hell because her pastor told her I was, and my mother, who is a much more open-minded Christian, was able to calm her down before she went buying me any books this time. I was very angry when I heard this. My grandmother has just lost her husband due to complications from a drunk driving crash two years ago, has just moved house, and is highly stressed right now. She did not need some pompous pastor telling her he knew just where my soul was going. That is not a stressor she needs!
I discussed this whole debacle with my mother, and we came to this conclusion. Modern churches, not the religion of Christianity itself (this is an important distinction) is imperfect, corrupt. Why? Because it is run by Man, who is, by nature, imperfect. We are not God, and we never will be. This is why I don't follow organized religion. I don't need to tell another human, and no other human has authority over the fate of my soul. That right is reserved for whatever the higher power is. To me, the theme of the Golden Compass is not "go forth and kill God and be atheist". It's "use that free will of yours and question!". Free will is a gift from God, our intellect is a gift from God...if we weren't intended to use them, why did God bother giving them to us? This point is something so many hard-core religious types, including my college friends, can't seem to wrap their minds around.
Well, I think I've got that out of my system for the time being.
WOOOHOOO!!!"Early in the book I have a chapter called "The Criminalization of Natural Play." Add up all the federal, state, and local laws -- and all the well-meaning and probably necessary restrictions on kids picking up horny toads and the like. Then add to those the enormous increase in covenants, conditions, and restrictions -- about 75 million Americans now live in communities covered by these things, to different degrees. On the first day of the book tour, a woman told me that her community association had just outlawed chalk drawing on sidewalks -- which, you know, does lead to cocaine use.
Try to put up a basketball hoop in some of these communities, let alone build a tree house. The message to kids and parents is very clear: nature's in the past. It doesn't count anymore. The future's in electronics. The bogeyman lives in the woods. Playing outdoors is illicit and maybe even illegal."
That's it. If I ever have children, I'm raising them in the middle of nowhere on a working farm. And if I can't do that, there will be no videogames allowed. I've seen what those brain-sucking machines do.
I mean, come on! Nature is not going to kill your children! In fact, keeping them too clean will probably give them more issues, since their bodies will have NO CHANCE to build IMMUNITY to things!
Seriously! Go catch a frog! I've kissed the things, and I'm not dead!
That's it. If I ever have children, I'm raising them in the middle of nowhere on a working farm. And if I can't do that, there will be no videogames allowed. I've seen what those brain-sucking machines do.
I mean, come on! Nature is not going to kill your children! In fact, keeping them too clean will probably give them more issues, since their bodies will have NO CHANCE to build IMMUNITY to things!
Seriously! Go catch a frog! I've kissed the things, and I'm not dead!
cheerful
...Realization:
I am too much like Dani for my own good.
Why do I have to put myself into my stories?
Damn.
I am too much like Dani for my own good.
Why do I have to put myself into my stories?
Damn.
spastic!!!
CLICK THE LINK! WATCH! VOTE!
http://edcommunity.apple.com/insomnia_fa
If we win we get MacBookPros with FinalCut and all sorts of fun editing stuff!!!! so....
VOTE NOW!!!!
http://edcommunity.apple.com/insomnia_fa
If we win we get MacBookPros with FinalCut and all sorts of fun editing stuff!!!! so....
VOTE NOW!!!!
Mac, how do I hate thee? I cannot count the ways.
Seriously. They eat their own files without warning, don't allow other files to transfer, have stupidly tiny icons, and get hot enough to fry yourself a full country breakfast!
They just suck out loud.
Seriously. They eat their own files without warning, don't allow other files to transfer, have stupidly tiny icons, and get hot enough to fry yourself a full country breakfast!
They just suck out loud.
So yesterday was the Apple Computers Insomnia Film Festival in which thousands of high school and college students torture themselves by making a 3 minute film in 24 hours.
I was on a team of 3 people, myself included. We got the list of things we had to use in the film at 9AM. We finished editing at 6AM the next morning. 23 hours of filming. This is what I'm setting my life up to be.
Anyway, our film went great! We got extremely lucky on locations and costumes, and we were able to get an awesome actor. Being the only girl on the team, I ended up spending more time in front of the camera than behind it, but I'm not complaining. I got to waltz with and kiss one of the most gorgeous and talented men in our Theatre department. It's times like that when the repetitive nature of film making is a good thing.
Voting opens on October 19...if we win, we get MacBookPro's equipped with the motherload of editing software, national recognition, and an instant "A" for the semester. Did I mention that MacBooks cost upwards of $4,000?
So.....VOTE for "Who's Listening?"!
I was on a team of 3 people, myself included. We got the list of things we had to use in the film at 9AM. We finished editing at 6AM the next morning. 23 hours of filming. This is what I'm setting my life up to be.
Anyway, our film went great! We got extremely lucky on locations and costumes, and we were able to get an awesome actor. Being the only girl on the team, I ended up spending more time in front of the camera than behind it, but I'm not complaining. I got to waltz with and kiss one of the most gorgeous and talented men in our Theatre department. It's times like that when the repetitive nature of film making is a good thing.
Voting opens on October 19...if we win, we get MacBookPro's equipped with the motherload of editing software, national recognition, and an instant "A" for the semester. Did I mention that MacBooks cost upwards of $4,000?
So.....VOTE for "Who's Listening?"!
Talk Like a Pirate day is imminent! I intend to represent the voice of reason and the Royal Navy in all the madness that will undoubtedly ensue in my residence hall.
Now. Off to read Marxism.
My writing is suffering severely from my course work. This weekend I hope to actually have time to do something!
Now. Off to read Marxism.
My writing is suffering severely from my course work. This weekend I hope to actually have time to do something!
1) I have 21 credit hours worth of classes.
2) One of said classes requires me to make a short film every two weeks. In the interim week, I must remake the film from the previous week.
2-a) I must find all my own actors and locations.
2-b)Which is difficult not having a car.
2-c) I have to edit on a mac, which I don't have which means that I have to use the labs.
3) I have to find actors for and find time to rehearse for a Chekhov scene for my Directing 2 class
4) I have to somehow magically find myself a new Assistant Directing assignment that I will have time to commit to.
5) I have to make a film today, when I have no location.
6) I have to work on ridiculous discussion board assignments that I don't give a damn about, but have to do because I have to do well in all my classes.
7) Somehow in between all this, I have to search for as many scholarships as possible to finance my possible study in Northern Ireland next year.
7-a) find time to complete forms for any scholarships I happen to find.
So, in a nutshell, the world is a cruel, evil place that should be shot with a bus.
2) One of said classes requires me to make a short film every two weeks. In the interim week, I must remake the film from the previous week.
2-a) I must find all my own actors and locations.
2-b)Which is difficult not having a car.
2-c) I have to edit on a mac, which I don't have which means that I have to use the labs.
3) I have to find actors for and find time to rehearse for a Chekhov scene for my Directing 2 class
4) I have to somehow magically find myself a new Assistant Directing assignment that I will have time to commit to.
5) I have to make a film today, when I have no location.
6) I have to work on ridiculous discussion board assignments that I don't give a damn about, but have to do because I have to do well in all my classes.
7) Somehow in between all this, I have to search for as many scholarships as possible to finance my possible study in Northern Ireland next year.
7-a) find time to complete forms for any scholarships I happen to find.
So, in a nutshell, the world is a cruel, evil place that should be shot with a bus.