Whimsical Ramblings of an English Major

A New Project

2011-06-08T17:40:00.002-05:00

Clearly I haven't been keeping up with this blog. I've started a new project here. It's something a little different, but I'll be keeping up with it. Hope to see you over there :)

How to Tell My Parents I Plan to Write for a Living

2010-07-05T23:38:00.002-05:00

I was happy, this summer, to return to my happy Texas suburb. No more papers for three months. No more reading assignments. I have a job. I have a car. The neighborhood pool looks over the lake. Generally, there’s time to relax, but I’m also earning some extra cash. This summer was supposed to be fool-proof.

That is, until you factor in the parental units.

The thing is, I love my parents. They’re strict, yeah, but they’ve taught me how to survive in the world. I didn’t grow up to be one of the multitude of idiots I encounter in my day-to-day life, and I am grateful.

Yet, somehow they got it into their heads that I’m going to go to grad school and become an English professor. It’s not that that’s a bad idea. It’s actually a smart idea—which is why they love it. The problem with this whole shebang is that I have never once expressed interest in going to grad school, let alone becoming a professor. You’d think they’d notice that I’ve yet to sign up for the GRE. But no. They talk about it at least once a week. Bring it up casually, as if they are pushing it into my head.

If this is their plan, it’s failing miserably. Sorry. What I really want to do is write. Specifically, write for television.

I love tv. I mean, most people do, but I don’t just like to watch it—I love the way it works. Serialized stories have always appealed to me. Television characters seem to become so much more than other characters. You get to follow them through years and years. They get so much screen time that they become real. Also, to be honest, tv is sometimes the only storytelling people get. I don’t approve of this. I am an English major after all. I work in a bookstore. Books are necessary. Unfortunately, many people live without knowing the joy of reading. Without the knowledge that comes with it. Good tv—great writing—is one way to bring a little bit of the literary world into people’s lives. That may sound a little ridiculous, but the more smart tv we have out there, the better off we are as a society. Seriously, if anything half-decent replace things like “Jersey Shore,” we’ll all certainly be better off.

In any case, it’s easy to write that here, but less easy to tell my parents that after graduation I plan to pack up and move to LA. I like to hope that they’ll support me in whatever I decide to do, but who knows?

Operation Re-Watch LOST

2010-05-05T11:21:00.002-05:00

I officially finished my Junior year of college yesterday. That, my friends, is quite scary. Real World Countdown: 1 year. In the meantime, however, I plan on making the most of my summer free time (I say "free" meaning the time when I'm not at work. It's nice not having homework, yes?). I foresee much reading by the pool in the next few weeks until the temperature hits the triple digits when being outside is just silly, after which I plan on using my Netflix account to its fullest extent.
So, I've decided that it's finally time to do it. Re-Watch LOST. As the final season comes to a close, it just makes sense to go back and watch all of the old episodes again. LOST is one of those shows that is planned so impeccably (almost all of the time)that re-watching is worth every second. And no, I'm not one of those LOST junkies trying to ease the pain of withdrawal, I'm just a girl who loves watching stories unfold. And this story is masterful. It almost seems like a crime that it has to be split up into seasons with long months of hiatus during which I forget all those minor details which make LOST so interesting. Also, I like the idea of writing for television, and the only way to learn how is to watch the good stuff.
If you're not a LOST fan, I get it. It can be pretty ridiculous in its epic-ness, and its certainly not for everyone. But if you just haven't watched it, I suggest it. It takes a lot of dedication to pick something like this up mid-series because every episode holds so much crucial information, but its well worth the time (and you can make a summer project out of it!).
So I'm probably going to be posting some of my reactions to re-watching LOST here. Not too many (and don't you worry Katie, I won't bore you with too many details), but I think it's interesting to think about the crazy-awesome plot structure JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse created.

Film Reviews

2010-02-24T17:05:00.024-06:00

Well, I seem to generally fail at keeping up with this. So here’s the short version of my reviews for all of the movies I saw over Christmas break:

The Young Victoria - Jean-Marc Vallée
This film was just as close to perfect as you can get. Okay, I’m a sucker for a period piece, but this film was truly stunning. The cinematography is beautiful, the costumes are exquisite and terribly accurate, and the acting is perfection. One cannot imagine a better fir to the 18 year old monarch than Emily Blunt, who balances Victoria’s youth and strength as a ruler in her lifelike portrayal. Rupert Friend is Wickham no more as he proves his strength as an actor in his Prince Albert. Friend’s Albert is lovable and honest, and convinces the audience he is worthy of Victoria’s love.

But, as much as this love story is beautiful, it is not the focus of the film. This film is truly about the young Victoria, and is certainly worth a watch.

Up in the Air - Jason Reitman

Yes, this film got a lot of hype, but was it as good as it’s made out to be?
Yes, and more. Jason Reitman’s film is funny, poignant, and pertinent. Clooney is impressive as Ryan Bingham, but the true light of the film comes from the women. Both Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga shine in their respective roles. In short, see it. It’s worth it.

The Princess and the Frog - Ron Clements, John Musker
Okay, I embraced my inner 8 year old when I saw this and dressed as a princess—tiara and all. Needless to say the adults in the theater were either confused or amused, but the kids were so jealous. But that’s not what made this movie-going experience magical. The film did that all on its own. Taking me back to my childhood (oh Beauty and the Beast, how I love you), Disney completed The Princess and the Frog with hand-drawn animation. The film is also a true musical in the old tradition, with a soundtrack to die for, capturing the Cajun and jazz essence of Louisiana while keeping the music appealing to everyone.

The story is wonderful, the jokes hit, the animation is beautiful, and the singing is to die for. SEE IT!

Sherlock Holmes - Guy Ritchie
It’s fun, I’ll give it that. Steampunk makes me a little too happy sometimes. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law have great chemistry, and embody the (interestingly rewritten) characters. Okay, I’m an English Major, and sometimes I take umbrage when my favorite characters are messed with. This is why I couldn’t completely embrace the film. But the end-credits were to die for!

Avatar - James Cameron
Meh… Avatar is a gorgeous film. The visuals are ridiculously good, and the special effects dazzle. But come on, it’s FernGully. And that movie scared me as a kid.

Maybe I’m being critical, but the whole story seemed unoriginal to me. The acting was okay from most parties, and Zoe Saldana was amazing. I do admire the physical work the actors had to put in to play the Na’vi, but the story fell so flat. Sorry guys. I didn’t see it in 3-D though, and maybe that makes the visuals worth the sub-par plot.

Nine (2009) – Rob Marshall

2009-12-31T19:32:00.003-06:00

This film was certainly a treat. Having seen neither Fellini’s 8 ½ nor the Broadway musical, Nine, I went to the theater with a fresh pair of eyes, and was not disappointed.

Nine has its flaws—it’s too long, it’s not enough either musical or straight movie, it lacks focus—but there’s something about this collection of performances that drew me in and, even after 2 hours and 20 minutes, had me begging for more. These individual performances are the heart of the film. Each woman in the star-studded cast has one, perhaps two, beautiful moments of song and dance before again fading again into the background of the plot. The one exception is Marion Cotillard’s Luisa Contini. Cotillard outshines the rest of the cast as Guido’s shunned wife, bringing a life to the character that none of the other actors manage.

As far as the musical numbers go, they certainly please. They may not quite feel right in the rest of the film, but individually they shine—quite literally in the case of Kate Hudson’s Cinema Italiano. The best number by far is Be Italian performed by Fergie (Stacy Ferguson) as Saraghina—the prostitute that taught young Guido about sex. Fergie demands attention with her stunning vocals and stage presence.

In short, if you don’t leave the theater in love with the film, at least you’ll leave craving more of Marshall’s killer song and dance routines.

Summer's End

2009-08-07T22:56:00.000-05:00

My summer is quickly coming to a close, and looking back I realize that I really haven’t accomplished everything I wanted to, but I don’t feel too terrible about it. On my list of accomplishments is learning how to drive a standard car, which is sort of a miracle for me. Okay, so I’m still not great at it, but I can get from one place to another without annoying other drivers (as long as I don’t stop on a hill, that is). I’ve also managed to procure a job for the fall semester, which is terribly important considering my study abroad plans in the spring. Other than that, I can’t say that I did too much other than read, write a little, and watch a lot of tv and a bunch of movies. I certainly didn’t write as much as a)I wanted to or b) I should have considering I want to be a writer for a living and if I don’t practice I won’t get better or even really develop a style that isn’t rambly where I make up words because I like the way they sound…
Anyway, what I did this summer instead of developing skills to advance my career aspirations or working to earn money is watch a lot of YouTube videos. I know that this sounds kind of lame. I mean, what kind of self-respecting girl watches YouTube all summer? Well, this one did, and it was enlightening. This is because I didn’t spend my time watching viral videos of kittens in baskets or something of the like, but instead watching vlogs and original music. It really gave me hope for the future of the arts. I mean, here is this venue on which thousands of aspiring artists are recording music or creating short films, or collaboratively making up a person who can become “real” via the internet (just google Paige Railstone).
Honestly, YouTube is waving and shouting “Look here! The arts aren’t dead!!” They’re simply morphing with new technologies and media of expression. Sure for every John and Hank Green there are a million cat videos, but hey—that’s true of any medium. So, in short, keep an eye on the YouTube community, it’s going places fast!

The Times They Are a-Changin'

2009-07-13T16:40:00.002-05:00

So, I didn’t ever really write a birthday post, but turning 20 is sort of a weird experience. It’s not any real benchmark age here in the US. It marks the end of “the teenage years,” but brings with it no perks—nothing seems to change. But leaving teenager-hood (I feel like there’s a better word than that. Adolescence would probably be better, no?) is a little intimidating; I mean, I’ve been alive for two whole decades! I don’t think that this hit me really hard until I watched home videos from my eleventh birthday party and realized how close that seemed, even though it’s been half my lifetime since then. I got this flash of how swiftly time passes, and it shook me. In two years time I’ll be graduating college. Graduating! I should not be allowed to be a real adult yet. I am still wholly in the dark about what I might do with myself once I leave school. I toyed with the idea of graduate school there for a bit, just to avoid the real world, but I don’t think it’s for me. That may change, but for now a mere two years separate me and the “real world,” and somehow I don’t think that “author” is a reasonable straight out of school profession (that is to say, for someone who is unpublished and hasn’t finished any novels or even very many short stories as of yet). So looking out into the future is a scary thing right now, as I am much too comfortable in my current place in the world and don’t really want to ponder where I might go next (or should need to go next).
That’s really it for now. I leave you with a strange old but young feeling, but perhaps that’s because I refuse to ever “grow up.”

Harry Potter Success!

2009-07-08T16:49:00.002-05:00

Harry Potter success! Okay, the success was about 5 days ago, but it is success nonetheless. Perhaps now I will watch all of the movies again before Wednesday when Half-Blood Prince comes out. Then again, maybe I’ll just watch Order of the Phoenix and be done with it. I’ve seen all the others more times than is good for me already.

Rereading all of the books, however, I found to be extremely rewarding. I hadn’t read the first two since middle school, and it’s amazing what you can pick up when you’re a) older and b) know the end of the story and can see all of the lovely foreshadowing. That’s another thing that I noticed as I worked my way through the series all in one go—the complexity of the whole project. I am floored by just how perfectly everything fits together. And now, as an “adult” who has attempted to write fiction, I can truly appreciate the ridiculous amount of planning and forethought that went into the seven novels. It also reassures me that my (yet to be actually written) novel hiding in ever so many scribbles in notebooks may come to fruition one day and be all the better for the years of planning and researching and notes. (At least this is what I tell myself when I get frustrated and want to chuck the whole thing before I even start writing it)

A side effect of all this Harry Potter reading is reliving the first time I read the books. THIS brought back many memories of a 10 year-old girl who wanted more than anything to get a letter from Hogwarts herself. No joke. If you were a Harry Potter fan back in the day, you remember that feeling. I mean, I was just the right age. A little young at first, but then I was always about the same age as Harry, and I think that really helped me connect with the books and understand Harry and his friends just a little more than the adult world. Take Order of the Phoenix. A fellow 15 year-old knows exactly why Harry overreacts to everything, why he’s generally a jerk to everyone he encounters—it’s because he’s 15. That’s how everyone acts (or wants to act) at 15. Reading it now I realize exactly how moody Harry is (it’s not a flaw, it’s just an accurate characterization of a teenager under stress), but when I read it the first time I agreed with what Harry did (most of the time) and thought that he was acting just how I would in his situation. Okay, that was a rambly tangent (yes I know rambly isn’t a word, but I’ll use it if I like) and I apologize. I’m saving the rest of this tangent for a later post, to which it connects more directly and less tangentially.

Anyway, perspective is an interesting thing, and being taken on a tour of my own childhood was not something I was expecting when I set out on this reading adventure, but lo and behold, I opened the book and there was my guide with a large gold badge pinned on his shirt displaying his name: “Harry Potter – Tour Guide of Your Childhood.” While I analyzed our young heroes, watching them grow into their adult selves so much faster than they should have, I also had the opportunity to analyze young me. This was a gift I was not expecting, and I want to thank JK Rowling not only for entertaining me in my youth, but also for teaching me to look for the wonderful things in my life and treasure them and giving me a chance to myself for once. Not who I want to be or who I’m afraid to be, but simply who I am and how I got here.

On the Subject of Summer Projects

2009-06-24T16:02:00.000-05:00

I began the summer with an epic list of things I wanted to accomplish in the few months I had to essays to write or required reading. Perhaps I was too ambitious. Perhaps(and more likely)I got lazy, because summer does that to me. Either way, I started a good many of these projects and have accomplished very little in them all.

Not the least of these projects is this blog. I'll be better about posting(I hope)in the coming weeks. Writing everyday, be it prose, poetry, fiction or non-fiction, is so very important to me, and yet I seem to get lazy about it far too easily. In short, if I want to write for a living I'd better get a grip and hit the keyboard more often.

Second to blogging is vlogging. I started vlogging recently, and I am not very good at keeping up with it. Even if I'm a little lax on how many videos I post, I feel like it's been really good for me to get myself out there and try to come out of my shell a little bit.

I have about a million reading projects that have gone the way of the blogging as well. I started Little Dorrit, but got distracted. I started Ulysses, and read one chapter (mind you, I took good notes, so I can just pick up where I left off)but I really need to get on that. I promised myself that I would make it through that book this summer, and I will prevail!! Also, I decided to reread all of the Harry Potter books. In a row. That's actually the reading project I've stuck to the best. I'm on The Goblet of Fire. Unfortunately, I've been on The Goblet of Fire for like a week now. (I DO have an excuse for this weekend, though. I was at the lake, and I didn't want my copy to be subjected to lake water and sand. I did read all of A Room With a View, however, and LOVED it!)But I'm back on the Harry Potter reading wagon, so hopefully in the next week I can finish off the series again :) On the successes list is my Georgette Heyer reading. I've read quite a bit of Georgette Heyer this summer.

I'm really writing all of this down in order to remind myself everything I wish to accomplish in the next month and a half.

I WILL be seeing you here again soon! Promise.

Join the Street Team!

2009-05-30T11:58:00.001-05:00

An Open (though occasionally tangential) Letter to the Nerdfighters

2009-05-29T23:36:00.000-05:00

Watching the Vlogbrothers on YouTube has done a lot for me. John and Hank’s videos have proved to me that I am nowhere near alone. Sometimes when I watch a movie I love or listen to a CD with my dad he’ll look at me and tell me that I need to “be a little more mainstream.” (I think that was a rather strong reaction to In Bruges but I guess I billed it as a black comedy (which it IS, but I think the comedy is enough to balance the violence and sadness, while apparently my dad was left more disturbed than amused)) Anyway, the Brothers Green introduced me to the Nerdfighters, for which I will never cease to be grateful. Now, at my school all of my friends are nerdfighters—though they don’t all know the term. (I go to a small private school where there are 3 kinds of people. 1)Nerdfighters with scholarships 2)Nerdfighters with scholarships who pretend to be “the popular kids” in order to fit in with the 3)popular people who aren’t terribly interested school, but their parents can pay for tuition without a scholarship or are prestigious alumni with a lot of pull in the admissions office) So, at school, I don’t feel alone. But when I return home for the summer or, heaven forbid, go out into the “real” world, I used feel like I was part of some hugely nerdy minority. But not anymore. Now I know that there are tens of thousands of Nerdfighters out there who are (each in their own way) just like me.

John’s videos have been especially important to me because I aspire, like John, to make a living writing books. There’s something about watching an author whom you admire go through everyday life. There’s John Green, the author of books I adore, and he’s a normal person. He’s a nerd like I am. Watching him go through the writing process makes my goals seem attainable, not just some castles in the air. Because “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Authors are people too?”

In short, thank you John, Hank, and all the Nerdfighters for never forgetting to be awesome.

Ramblings Indeed

2009-05-29T13:40:00.000-05:00

I've had a few blogs in other places, but I'm really going to try to keep this one up.
I'll probably ramble quite a bit (because I'm ridiculously good at it) and hopefully I'll get around to posting some of my writing and maybe some photography.
I'm making it my goal this summer to follow through with a lot of things that I've started. So here goes nothing!