Purple Raindrops

"The Fault in Our stars" by John Green & Meeting John Green

2012-01-15T22:14:00.000-05:00

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Published: January 10, 2012

Pages: 313

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

I have to say that I was looking forward to this book so much, because its release meant that within days I would meet its author in real life. My copy arrived (pre-ordered last spring) the eleventh and I read it in two days.

My evident excitement.

I read it in two days (something I only do with REALLY good books) because it was one. I mean, I expected nothing less, coming from John Green. I think he is the most brilliant person/author ever. And c'mon, he co-invented Nerdfighteria [Google may help you if you have no idea what I'm going on about].

From the first page, he captures your attention and holds on to it strongly until the novel's end. And even though it does involve cancer, he wrote in things that made me laugh out loud when I'd been nearly sobbing the previous minute. The characters are two extemely interesting teenagers... They each have very unique interests and personalities. It is a very truthful book; it shows you love isn't always the perfectly dreamed out version you see on TV. Green shows love can withstand lots, and the people who struggle are often a lot stronger than they may seem.

You will laugh. You will believe in love. You will cry. I CRIED IN, LIKE, THREE DIFFERENT CLASSES AT SCHOOL while reading this. But I am SOOO glad that I read it.

5 out of 5 purple raindrops!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also, you heard me correctly. I met John Green. And Hank Green. It was awesome.

So yesterday, Saturday the 14th, my dad drove two of my friends and me to Raleigh to go to the Nerdfighting event. It began at six and ohmygod. Like, yeah. When the woman on stage was announcing that John green would come out, and then he came out, I couldn't stop screaming. He was wearing a suit and carrying a copy of TFiOS and a camcorder. He said hello and proceeded with reading from his novel. Literally the best thing ever. Then he talked about issues in the book, love, life. If he wrote a Bible I just might convert to John Greenism.

And Hank, his brother, came out and played Nerdfighter songs, and songs he wrote specifically for this tour. Again, awesome. Then they both answered questions and everyone had a real great time.I will aspire to be John Green-esque when I'm older.

Then we had to wait awhile to get things signed because we were letter Q in the alphabetized line. So we bought things. I bought: a "Keep Calm and DFTBA" shirt, the CD Hank made for this tour, a tour poster. I also got a free button and poster. Pretty cool. Anyway, when we were called my stomach went all crazy and I was screaming/shaking/generally freaking out. And we met them. They were a little... stressed, because there were so many people around. But this is how it went down:

JG: Hi! How are you?

Me: Oh, I'm good! How are you?

JG: I'm good! *Reads slip* Are you Liza?

Me: Yeah.

JG: Nice shirt. *Signs book*

Me: Oh, thanks!

JG: *Signs shirt*

Me: OhMyGodThankYouSoMuch!!!

JG: No problem, I hope you enjoy it!

Me: Oh, I already read it! It was amazing!

JG: Oh, thank you!

*Liza's dead, and moves on to Hank*

Me: OhMyGod, hi, Hank!

HG: Hi! *Signs things*

Me: Oh my god, this is so weird!!

HG: *laughs* Thank you!

Me; No, THANK YOU!

John Green's J-scribble and a Hanklerfish!

So yeah. That happened. possibly one of the best things in my life, right up on the list next to Visiting Paris.

Also, they had their own bus!!!

THE FREAKING TOUR BUS!!!

2012-01-10T09:45:00.002-05:00

Happy The Fault in Our Stars Day!

DFTBA

what is this?

Why The U.K. is awesome with music.

2012-01-08T17:09:00.000-05:00

The Beatles, obviously.

[also, The Clash, The Cure, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Kinks]

But, with newer music:

Radiohead

Coldplay

Franz Ferdinand

Friendly Fires

The Kooks

One Night Only

Also check out: The Kaiser Chiefs, One Direction, Late of the Pier, Mumford and Sons, and the Stiff Dylans.

From red hair to blue!

2012-01-07T18:19:00.002-05:00

And, you see, I've gotten the leopard prints shoes I posted about earlier. They are actually quite comfortable as they are Dr Martens. (Oh, BTW, I need to learn how to look like a normal person in photographs.)

there is a rave.

2012-01-06T22:03:00.000-05:00

Y'know. I feel raves can only be cool if they are in Skins. And even then they include vomiting and drunkenness, so.

1.	Rave
	1) n. any gathering of people centered around listening to and dancing to electronic music, as played by a set of live djs. Originated in 1989 in the UK as underground, often illegal gatherings in abandoned warehouses. Often characterized by the positive, psychedelic atmosphere, influenced often (but not always) by drugs and casual sex.

Interesting, no? Instead we had Chinese food and went to a coffee shop. And listened to the pulsing bass from across the street as we saw teenagers strolling around clad in hula skirts and bathing suits.

How I'd rather spend my time:

1. Chilling with my cats, yo.

2. Having tea.

3. Being studious and doing my g*dd*mn homework.

4. Internet-ing.

5. Reading Great Expectations.

6. Watching Charlie Siem à la Youtube.

And even though this rave is... legal, I still don't think I'd feel comfortable being squished in a room with sweaty people grinding to incredibly loud repetitive music. Maybe I'm just weird.

I don't know.

"Clockwork Prince" by Cassandra Clare

2012-01-01T19:36:00.000-05:00

Title: Clockwork Prince

Author: Cassandra Clare

Reading Level: Young Adult

Published: December 6, 2011

Pages: 502

The Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare, is the sequel to The Clockwork Angel, of the Infernal Devices Series. This series takes place in Victorian England, and prequels the Mortal Instruments series. I do recommend reading the Clockwork Angel before this novel, and even this review, because it may contain spoilers of the first book.

Summary from Amazon:

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

I've been a fan of Cassandra Clare ever since I picked up a copy of City of Bones a few years ago. I was hooked on her writing and stories, and they never cease to amaze me. She typically releases books from a series around a year apart, so the Clockwork Angel, I read last year. As I began to read this novel, I had realized I'd forgotten quite a lot of what transpired in the story. Eventually the characters came back, but there were still some things that I felt should have been re-explained, for those like me, who read the novels as they come out.

So, yes. Onward. The main character is sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray, a girl who doesn't know what she is… demon, human, or shadowhunter, downworlder, or some combination. In the last book, she came to The Institute in London, a safe house for shadowhunters (a race of half human, half angel, that fights demonic beings), because she found out she was able to shape shift into other people. Her brother, Nate, betrayed her and now she is virtually family-less, though she's begun getting closer to the people at The Institute: Charlotte, its leader, Henry, who invents things like weapons, and three people around her age. There is Will Herondale, who is always cold-hearted, but very handsome, and occasionally sweet with Tessa. There is silver-haired, silver-eyed Jem, who is one of the nicest boys Tessa has ever met, but is slowly dying from an illness, and his medication doesn't cure, only prolongs. And there is Jessamine; she is constantly described as being rather air-headed and full of herself.

All of Clare's books have similar qualities. Brilliant action, suspense, beautiful and heartbreaking love, complete with I-never-saw-it-coming twists and turns.

I truthfully do not know where to begin.

My favorite part, honestly, was the romance. Clare just writes literally the best romance I've ever read. The love is honest and beautiful that my heart went out to the characters.

And, it takes place in freaking Victorian England. Like, literally one of the coolest settings for novels. The dress, the formality, the language, everything.

5+ out of 5 stars!

Every book I've read in 2011.

2011-12-28T23:17:00.001-05:00

Apparently, in my 2009 post, I read 73 books. That makes this post depressing.

Click on the underlined titles for my reviews!

1. Crescendo, Becca Fitzpatrick
2. Fearscape, Simon Holt
3. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
4. Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
5. Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins
6. Prisoners in the Palace, Michaela MacColl
7. Son of a Witch, Gregory Maguire
8. This Lullaby, Sarah Dessen
9. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
10. Neverwhere Graphic Novel, Neil Gaiman
11. An Abundance of Katherines, John Green
12. A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare
13. The Mist, Stephen King
14. Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane
15. White Cat, Holly Black
16. Going Bovine, Libba Bray
17. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
18. The Water Wars, Cameron Stratcher
19. The Splendor Falls, Rosemary Clement-Moore
20. Vidalia in Paris, Sasha Watson
21. Need, Carrie Jones
22. Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins
23. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
24. City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare
25. The Odyssey, Homer
26. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay
27. Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
28. Matched, Ally Condie
29. Starcrossed, Josephine Angelini
30. Tantalize, Cynthia Smith
31. Red Glove, Holly Black
32. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, Beth Fantaskey
33. (the above's sequel)
34. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, David levithan, Rachel Cohn
35. The Dark and Hollow Places, Carrie Ryan
36. Fallen, Lauren Kate
37. Torment, Lauren Kate
38. Deadly Little Games, Laurie Stolarz
39. Radiant Shadows, Melissa Marr
40. Paranormalcy, Kiersten White
41. Jane, April Lindner
42. Dead Beautiful, Yvonne Woon
43. Lola and the Boy Next Door, Stephanie Perkins
44. The Epic of Gilgamesh
45. The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson
46. Halo, Alexandra Adornetto
47. Passion, Lauren Kate
48. Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly
49. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Dai Sijie

...Well... I've been slacking this year, haven't I? Especially compared to this, when I reviewed nearly all of them.

And, taken from the original post:

Best Classic- A Midsummer Night's Dream

Best Mystery- The Da Vinci Code

~~Best Horror-~~

~~Best Magic-~~

~~Best Inspiration-~~

Best Romance-Anna and the French Kiss

Best Fantasy- The Fallen series

Best Action- The Hunger Games Trilogy

~~Best Vampires- Interview with the Vampire~~

I want to offer some last recommendations. I strongly suggest reading the Hush, Hush Series, The Hunger Games Trilogy, anything by John Green (literally), Shutter Island, The Da Vinci Code, The Splendor Falls, Stieg Larsson's novels, Anna... and Lola... by Perkins, Water for Elephants, Starcrossed, The Fallen Series, Jane, and Dead Beautiful.

Okay, I'm content now. All my cataloging's done.

What I'm obsessed with right now.

2011-12-26T16:37:00.000-05:00

2011-12-22T13:17:00.001-05:00

Oh, grammar jokes...

2011-12-21T23:19:00.001-05:00

an update?

2011-12-18T10:48:00.003-05:00

I found this song through Nicola Sirkis, of Indochine. I like it because of her hair and the outfits :)

I only have two more days of school until Christmas break , thank God. (Though unfortunately tomorrow I have a Chemistry test, wooh!)

Sherlock Holmes

I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie, and it was incredible. I mean, c'mon. It was set in Victorian London, Paris, and Germany. There were scenes in French and German sans subtitles that i could understand. Cool. Except when the German were screaming/shouting; I can't understand angry German.

The mystery, the slowed-down fight scenes, ahh. It was the style of the first, with more. I do reccomend it. Also, the soundtrack. I love movies that inspire me to buy their soundtracks, even if they are just instrumental.

*********

I'm currently reading "Revolution" by Jennifer Donnelly. It's truthfully coming along rather slow. The beginning hasn't "reeled me in" yet. In the next... ten days (when my books are due at the library) I will hpefully read "As Simple As Snow" and "Shade". I haven't asked for any books this year as I've been going to the town library more, and even my school library (it's seems to have really good things.)

So, yeah. I will post more after school has ended.

Oh. I have ten days until my sixteenth birthday. Pretty exciting. I'm actually looking forward to it. Though I can't drive 'til next October.

the prep lives on.

2011-12-10T19:54:00.001-05:00

This blog is so cool I don't even have words. The following pictures I found there (including the wonderful video.)

Also:

2011-12-04T00:02:00.001-05:00

What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction on Grooveshark

I have a guilty pleasure of listening to boy-bands.

Film Recommendation: Hugo

2011-11-27T18:29:00.001-05:00

Title: Hugo

Release Date: 23 November 2011

Based on: The Invention of Hugo Cabret Novel

"Hugo" was incredible and everything that one could wish for in a film. It takes place in the 1930s in La Belle Paris, la ville de mon coeur. Hugo is a little orphan boy who lives in a train station since his father, who was an horloger, or clockmaker, died. His father left behind an automaton (a robot capable of different things) that he'd taken from a museum. Hugo spends his time trying to get the automaton to work again. Along the way, he meets a girl, and they have little adventures together. There are many small characters in the film with their own sweet stories. The whole film is a mystery, as twists and turns keep occuring.

So, yes, it was amazing. I simply adored the setting of Paris in the 30s, and my heart warmed whenever I saw tweed jackets, or spectacles, or berets... The cityscape was breathtaking, seeing snow fall on a calmer, yet equally beautiful Paris. I became reminsecent and missed it intensely. The score, done by Howard Shore (the same of Lord of the Rings) was lovely, with accordions to make it all the more Parisien.

The whole story, ahh. It was incredibly heartwarming and seriously cool. Amazing acting, with many familiar American and British actors. This was definitely one of the best films I've seen in a long while. Also, it's completely appropriate for all ages, yes, adults. I, a teenager, could not have been more pleased.

I did see it in 3D and strongly recommend doing so if able.

5 out of 5 stars, a future classic

of fashion.

2011-11-20T13:51:00.003-05:00

I got these shoes yesterday from Urban Outfitters and they are literally the best thing ever. I went in, thinking, how I would like some high heeled boots... and these were on sale! For thirty dollars (originally seventy!). WOOHOO.

I just need to learn how to walk prperly in them.

Me trying to be all fashionable.

Lately with fashion, I've been into more classic-preppy-British-schoolgirl-from-the-sixties-traditional-college type clothes.

Make sense?

Argyle socks and sweaters, blazers, brooches, pearls, corduroy, hats, velvet, sweaters.

les photos pour novembre// pictures for november

2011-11-06T15:51:00.000-05:00

all from weheartit.

Music Recommendation: GROUPLOVE

2011-11-05T18:08:00.000-04:00

I read about the band GROUPLOVE in an issue of TeenVogue, which, by the way, also got me into Friendly Fires; they always suggest really awesome music.

GROUPLOVE formed in 2009, and their first album is entitled "Never Trust a Happy Song", which came out this September. They hail from Los Angeles.

That out of the way, let's get onto the actual music part. Let me just say: every single song on this album is amazing and completely addicting. I have literally listened to the album 10+ times in the last week. I was watching an interview with the band and they were saying yes, they were described as an indie band, but they don't listen to the labels, and they don't need the whole album to sound the same.

That being said, some songs are very slow with sweet guitar parts, many are upbeat cheerful rock 'n roll types, and some are more electronic (still with many instruments, though.) The lyrics are catchy and beautiful. They are sung by at least three different people: the main male lead, the girl, and then another guy on one or two songs.

And, in the last song on the album, they incorporate howling. Yes, howling.

This album is definitely one of the best that I've heard in a while. It will spread happiness throughout you, absolutely.

Oh, also, the cover art? Done by a member of the band. HOW COOL IS THAT?

the fantastic trio: Tim Burton, Johhny Depp, and Danny Elfman

2011-10-30T21:33:00.001-04:00

If you've seen a Tim Burton film, you must've, by now, recognized how often Johnny Depp appears in his films. You may not know, but Danny Elfman (the singer of Oingo Boingo) composed many of the soundtracks to his films. Together, these guys create arguably some of the best of cinema.

Directed, produced, and written by Tim Burton/ starring Johnny Depp as Edward/ the beautiful score written by Danny Elfman

Directed by Tim Burton/ starring Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane/ score by Danny Elfman

Directed and produced by Tim Burton/ starring Johnny Depp as Victor/ score written by Danny Elfman

These are my three favorite spooky films where they all appear, but of course, they are all completely fabulous individually. I highly recommend all of Tim Burton's films, by the way.

Halloween & tea

2011-10-30T21:08:00.000-04:00

dans Paris // an epic post

2011-10-28T23:21:00.000-04:00

Oh, mon dieu. I literally started writing this right after I got back from Paris in June... and began to translate into French, became tired, and forgot about it. I'll post it now, the translation incomplete.

I stayed in Paris for only a week, but I saw so much stuff and had a wonderful time. It was different than I thought it would be. It was more similar to American big cities than I thought.

We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast called La Maison Bacana, located south-ish of Paris in Vitry-Sur-Seine. It was really nice and the owners were very nice to help us with everything. There are three bedrooms for guests. There is a beautiful garden and a "common place" where we ate breakfast. Oh goodness, the breakfast. Croissants with jam and butter, cake bread, little glass pots of yogurt, tea or coffee, orange juice. Yes, the breakfast was amazing.

We did so many things; we saw Le Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, walked through Père Lachaise [and I kissed Oscar Wilde's grave!!! and saw La Fontaine, Jim Morrison, Moliere, Victor Noir, etc.], went into Notre Dame, went into Sainte-Chappelle, saw Shakespeare & Co., walked through the Latin Quarter, Le Marais (the real Paris), went into the Tour Eiffel, and so much more. And every day I had two meals at Parisian cafes.

The speaking was harder than I thought it would be. Often when we were shopping, I'd go up to a cashier and say 'bonjour', and then they would think I was French, so they would begin speaking rapidly, and I would just stare for a sec and awkwardly mumble, "Pardon?". I was only able to catch a bit of random people's conversations, too. The reading part was for the most part alright. Like, I was able to understand most of the poster advertisements and signs in the metros. Oh well, this just makes me want to become fluent even faster than before.

I looked at the area of La Sorbonne, the famous university in Paris. It was scattered in buildings in the Latin Quarter. I was able to imagine what it would be like to go to school there.

And gosh, everyone is so freaking fashionable there. Like really. Girls would predominantly wear heels, even just walking down the street. Everyone wears scarves. In Paris, you don't see anyone wearing sweatpants, besides the American tourists of course, or anything like that. I wasn't able to see that many teenage Parisians because they are still in school. On Wednesday afteroon I did see a few, and it was pretty interesting.

It was cooolllllddd there. Here in the Southeast of the US, it's like deadly muggy horrible-ness outside. 90-100 degrees f. Yay weather. Plus humidity. But in Paris now it was in the 60s-70s for the most part, and pretty windy. When we went to the Eiffel tower, I was only wearing a sweater over my clothes, and I had to put on my raincoat, but I was still cold. I need to remember this for the next time I go to Europe in the summer. Bring warmer clothes, gosh darnit.

I know I'll go to Paris again someday.

Je restait dans Paris pour seulement une semaine, mais j'ai vu beaucoup de choses, et j'ai un bon séjour. C'était different que je l'ai pensé. C'était plus semblable que les grandes villes américaines.

Nous restions dans un B & B qui s'appelle La Maison Bacana, situé sud de Paris, dans Vitry-sur-Seine. Il était très gentil et les propriétaires étaient gentils avec nous, et ils nous aidaient avec tout. Il a trois chambres, et un beau jardin et une cuisine pour tous où nous avons mange notre petit déjeuner. Oh, le petit déjeuner. Les croissants avec de la confiture ou de beurre, les petits pots de yaourt, le thé ou le café, le jus d'orange. Oui, le petit déjeuner était merveilleux.

Nous avons fait beaucoup de choses. Nous avons vu Le Louvre, Musée d'Orsay. Nous nous sommes promènés dans Père Lachaise [et j'ai embrassé le tombeau d'Oscar Wilde!!! et vu La Fontaine, Jim Morrison, Moliere, Victor Noir, etc.] J'ai vu Notre Dame, Sainte-Chappelle, Shakespear & Co., le Tour Eiffel. Je me suis promènée à travers La Quartier Latine, Le Marais (le vrai Paris!). Et chaque jour j'ai pris deux repas aux cafes Parisiens.

Le parler était difficile. Quand nous achetions, je parlais avec les caissiers comme <>, et ensuite ils commencaient à parler trop vite -_- et donc je parlais, <> J'ai compris seulment un peu des conversations des gens de Paris. Le lire était bon... Je pouvais comprendre les advertisements dan le métro. Maintenant je veux être fluent en ce langage.

J'ai vu La Sorbonne- l'université célèbre de Paris.

The Story of a True Haunted House

2011-10-27T21:42:00.001-04:00

Last night my friends, my dad and I went to this haunted house, called The Original Hollywood Horror Show, in Snow Camp, North Carolina.

We left around 6:30, and we picked up my friend, Camila, from school. The drive to Snow Camp was interesting. The entire route was rural, on thin roads surrounded by tall, dark trees. The sun faded over the horizon and left the sky with a reddish glow. It wasn't made clear when we entered Snow Camp, and it doesn't really seem like a town at all. There was a convenience store, a gas station, houses, and more shadowy trees.

A little after seven we arrived at the haunt. We knew we were there due to the old sign that read: "horror show". We drove in and parked the car. I noticed immediately the hearse that was parked in front of the decrepit wooden house. Since we were so early, we decided to look at the museum. It was filled with movie props from films like "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "The Addams Family". The walls were filled with autographed photographs from famous actors. My friends and I each bought a shirt.

Around 7:45 we got in the line. We could hear the people inside, testing the chainsaws, and the screams of practicing actors. We were the first in line, and at eight, about a dozen women dressed as nuns went into a dark tent in front of us. Once our tickets had been checked, we went in.

They take small groups, with 6-8 people at a time. We stood in the tent while the went over the rules, like, "Do not eat the dead things; the dead thigns will not eat you". Seriously. And they introduced us to our first "guest"- this skeletal woman in a coffin. The nuns urged us forward but no one dared. I managed a step or two, but I was fearing the skeletal woman was really a real woman who would jump out at me (it has happened before).

Then it began. The nun led us through narrow corridors that were either dark or crazily decorated. Sometimes, out of the corner of my eye, I would see something. Something that looked like the shape of a human, standing against the wall. But then again, due to the fog, the music, and the terror in my heart, I never was really sure what was alive and what wasn't. If I made that known, like, "I think that's a person..." to my friends, the thing would take that moment to jump out and scream in our faces.

We went through so many different rooms. One was reminescent of Stephen King's "It", with a man-hole in the floor, messily colored walls, bubble that when popped would turn to fog, and the deranged looking clowns that would giggle maniacally as we passed, asking us to stay around.

We went through a room based on "The Ring", with an actor dressed as the girl, climbing out of a faux-well, and coming up to our faces and staring intently.

We saw many Michael Myerses- he would be in the shadows of practically every scene.

One room was done as the "Saw" films, with tables stacked with body parts. There was a Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where we were warned to watch our heads, as the headless horsemen came out, again, to scream in our faces. I was only slightly disappointed he didn't have a horse, or a pumpkin-head.

The end, though, was the most terrifying. For the entirety of the show, Rachel was in the front after the nun. When the nun stopped walking and said, "Please just keep walking that way," I thought the show was over. NOPE. Then, the guy with the chainsaw came out. Rachel would go forward a little, but then he would advance also, so this prevented us from moving. If he acted like he was stopping, he would then jump back in our faces. The freaky part is that I could smell the gasoline from the chainsaw. Eventually, the nun told us to go to the side, and Rachel wasn't moving, so I went first, AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER MONSTER. Like, goodness gracious. So then I screamed and grabbed for hands and ran out into the open area, with the big sky and the crinkly leaves underfoot, and the lines of people watching us and smiling, surely having heared our screams, asking, "Was it scary?"

*All pictures from weheartit, of the actual movies. I wasn't allowed to take pictures on the inside.

Spooky Tunes: Music for Halloween

2011-10-16T21:42:00.000-04:00

Halloween is Coming

2011-10-10T21:41:00.000-04:00

I know last year I did 31 days filled with Halloween-y goodness, but this year I've found myself busier with school and boring things like that.

Some photographs I like:

All from weheartit.

I still don't know what I'm going to be.
I have a crazy to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Halloween is three weeks from today.
I need to start reading some spooky novels...
...and catch up on my horror films...

Until next time,

"Lola and the Boy Next Door" by Stephanie Perkins

2011-10-02T16:31:00.000-04:00

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Reading Level: Young Adult

Published: September 29, 2011

Pages: 384

In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think.

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket—a gifted inventor—steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

You guys know how much I'm obsessed with Anna and the French Kiss, right? The book that I recommended to all of my friends, who adored it, and I read for a second time coming back from Paris?

Yeah, read that first, and then immediately read Lola.

Stephanie Perkins is definitely one of my top favorite authors. Ever. The way she writes is amazing, fitting in humour with beautiful stories of teenage love.

Her characters are amazing. I guess Étienne (from Anna) has some competition in book-characters-that-I-am-in-love-with. Cricket is interesting. He dresses impeccably, with tight pants rolled up to show his snazzy socks and pointy shoes. He is seriously one of the nicest boys ever.

Also, the relationships between everyone, not just Cricket and Lola, are intriguing. Cricket and his sister are really close, but his sister has more attention from their parents, and doesn't seem to like Lola that much. There are so many well-developed characters- the older rocker boyfriend that is the exact opposite of Cricket, Lola, herself, who wears crazy outfits every day and lives with her two dads.

I don't really know what else to say besides that this was amazing; I mean, I read it in a freaking day, it was so good.

Buy it. Now.

BTW, Anna and Étienne make pretty decent appearances in this book!

;)

again, 5+/5 stars!

I've been reading really good books lately!

c'est octobre!

2011-10-01T09:53:00.002-04:00

all from weheartit.

"Dead Beautiful" by Yvonne Woon

2011-09-29T20:28:00.000-04:00

Title: Dead Beautiful
Author: Yvonne Woon
Reading Level: Young Adult
Published: September 21, 2010
Pages: 464

On the morning of her sixteenth birthday, Renée Winters was still an ordinary girl. She spent her summers at the beach, had the perfect best friend, and had just started dating the cutest guy at school. No one she'd ever known had died. But all that changes when she finds her parents dead in the Redwood Forest, in what appears to be a strange double murder.

After the funeral Renée’s wealthy grandfather sends her to Gottfried Academy, a remote and mysterious boarding school in Maine, where she finds herself studying subjects like Philosophy, Latin, and the “Crude Sciences.”

It’s there that she meets Dante Berlin, a handsome and elusive boy to whom she feels inexplicably drawn. As they grow closer, unexplainable things begin to happen, but Renée can’t stop herself from falling in love. It’s only when she discovers a dark tragedy in Gottfried’s past that she begins to wonder if the Academy is everything it seems.

Little does she know, Dante is the one hiding a dangerous secret, one that has him fearing for her life.

Dead Beautiful is both a compelling romance and thought-provoking read, bringing shocking new meaning to life, death, love, and the nature of the soul.

This was fantastic! It kept me intrigued the entire time, with a wonderful plot that had twists and turns all along. I loved the setting, as boarding schools in the Northeast make for good places. It is a love story, but not conventional, and girl is strong and interesting. There is a legend of the undead woven into the pages, and yet it isn't about "zombies". The writing is amazing, and I am deeply looking forward to the sequel, out in January 2012.

5+ / 5 stars

"Jane" by April Lindner

2011-09-25T15:14:00.000-04:00

Title: Jane
Author: April Lindner
Reading Level: Young Adult
Published: October 11, 2010
Pages: 384

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance. But there's a mystery at Thornfield, and Jane's much-envied relationship with Nico is soon tested by an agonizing secret from his past. Torn between her feelings for Nico and his fateful secret, Jane must decide: Does being true to herself mean giving up on true love? An irresistible romance interwoven with a darkly engrossing mystery, this contemporary retelling of the beloved classic Jane Eyre promises to enchant a new generation of readers.

I chose to read this after hearing about it from other blogs and seeing it at every bookstore... and the cover looked cool. I wish, perhaps, that I'd read Jane Eyre before this, because now I feel when I do read it, I'll know how the story basically goes.

The writing is very good, and I was kept interested throughout the entire book, a quality I love to find in books. The mystery was possibly the best part. Nico kept a secret in his house, and it's shocking when revealed to us. I wish that the suspense could have been prolonged, since we found him out in the middle.

The main character, Jane, could be a bit... boring at times. She dresses plainly and had an "overdone" bad childhood and relationship with her family.

The relationship between Jane and Nico was a bit strange and not very appealing to me, since Nico is old enough to be her dad. Nico didn't have many redeeming qualities either, and he would be rude with or get mad at her often. The fact that he fell in love with her was very surprising, because one page everything was normal, and then it seemed the next they were totally different.

Despite some complaints that I have with the characters, I did enjoy this book. It was intriguing, and now I'm looking forward to reading and comparing it with Jane Eyre.

4.5/5 stars

2011-09-14T20:21:00.000-04:00

I have not posted regularly in quite awhile. I apologize. I'll blame it on the start of school and stuff. LOLZ my excuses fail.

And I haven't done an actual book review on here in even longer. I guess this is because maybe I haven't read any super amazing books lately. Unfortunately I've not been reading as much as I used to.

ANYWAY. Of late I've been listening to & been obsessed with:

I want autumn.

2011-09-11T16:29:00.000-04:00

on the last day of summer

2011-08-24T13:15:00.000-04:00

It feels so weird right now. My friends and I just went to our school to see where our classes will be. We saw a lot of our teachers, which was cool, but I was reminded of how strongly I dislike school. Eight hours a day/ five days a week. It's really insane if you think about it.
Summers are nice because they give me time. I have so much time that I usually don't know what to do and end up being bored, but still. I know for a fact that once school is regular again, that I will not be able to read, make art, watch shows, etc., as much as I have of late.
In some ways it feels like summer just began, but then I think about Paris and how far away that feels from me now. I went to France the first week of break and miss it too much. It's almost unreal, like a recurring dream at night for me.
I will also miss going to bed in the morning and waking up at ten. Being at a lake in the mountains with Emma, laying on the dock and talking about the future. Or walking through the zoo in DC with her one day because we didn't know what to do.
I can say that I won't miss the weather. Summers here are as hot as hell. Autumn will be an improvement in that aspect.

My classes are

1- High School Health (Study Hall next semester)
2- Chemistry
3- English II Honors
4- Honors Civics & Economics
*Lunch*
5- French III Honors
6- Honors Algebra II
7- German II

Hope I don't die.
Yay sophomores.
No.

de la musique // of music

2011-08-18T15:24:00.001-04:00

this song. amazing. i've been listening to it on repeat. later tonight i intend to look up more from them.

oh, BTW, the singer- George Craig- yeah, he's a model.

ohmygod yes.

and... if anyone's interested, Chinatown posted a link on their facebook for a free download of an album by Origami [in French, too.] i haven't listened to all of it yet, but from what I have so far it sounds cool.

I'm fammoouuuusssss!

2011-08-16T21:39:00.001-04:00

[Click the pics to make them grow!!!]

Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss, posted on her blog a picture I drew of the characters. And my name was mentioned often. This is very cool.

purple hair, again

2011-08-14T20:22:00.000-04:00

Love her hair!!

wish I had this hair.

2011-08-09T16:05:00.003-04:00

Made this today. With graphite pencils & normal colored pencils. I changed the contrast & darkened the shadows in photoshop because my scanner made it too light.

And this, below, is not by me. From weheartit.

fashion website

2011-08-07T23:17:00.002-04:00

there's this website that lets you create outfits on models. it's cool.

2011-07-31T20:19:00.000-04:00

I'm in love with KickThePj.

...Can you tell that I just learned I'm able to directly copy GIFs onto other web pages? yep.

The Hunger Games movie pictures!

2011-07-28T13:27:00.005-04:00

Oh my god.

a slant of light

2011-07-27T23:48:00.003-04:00

This is from last April, when the trees were beginning to blossom and the woods were still bare.

Tomorrow I'm starting the actual driving part of driver's ed. I'm not so sure this is a good idea.

what I've been watching this summer (TV-wise)

2011-07-19T18:20:00.000-04:00

Pretty Little Liars

This show is amazing. I've watched every episode since its premiere. If you do not watch this series, I strongly suggest you do, because it's addicting.
It's about the four girls below- Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily, who keep receiving stalker messages from "A", an unknown creeper who seems to know everything about them, ever since the mysterious death of their other friend Alison.

From my plot summary you can get that it's mysterious, sure, but there's so much more. This prominently appeals to teenage girls, like the protagonists, and I [being a teenage girl] like the cute boys and the fashions of the girls.

see the cute boys that are in pretty much every episode?! Wow, I sound like a fan girl.

On ABC Family Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern.

Teen Wolf

This is apparently loosely based on the eighties movie of the same title. I've been casually watching it since it premiered last month. It's not as good as PLL, but it sure is fun to watch.
The protagonist is a high school student named Scott, who, guess what? GETS TURNED INTO A WEREWOLF. Shocking, no?

The cast-

On Mondays at 10 p.m. on MTV.

Yeah, so only two shows regularly. I've watched Doctor Who on Netflix, though.
Tonight I'm gonna watch the premiere of "Awkward" on MTV because it looks funny.

On the Final Harry Potter

2011-07-17T16:50:00.002-04:00

I don't remember as exactly as others the one moment when I was introduced to Harry Potter. It was with the movie, as I was too young to read big books; from then he became a part of all of our lives.

I remember certain things, like kids dressing up as characters from the books for Halloween, or eating those Harry Potter jelly beans that taste disgusting, and watching the first film on a rainy night on an island in Australia when I was nine. By now, he is as real as any other thing that has been introduced to us. He is as familiar to us as strawberries- everyone knows him.

When the final book came out, in July of 2007, I went dressed as Hermione to the midnight release. Everyone there was as excited as I had been. Upon coming home with my friend that evening, even though it must have been one or two in the morning, we had to start to read. I had camp for the next week- an actual camp, like rowing, hiking, sports, swimming, etc.- but I brought my book to read at any chance I had. And I wasn't the only one. Pretty much every other kid there who wasn't totally opposed to the idea of reading held their copies with them at all times, too. And so it ended; the original way of portraying the story. But now that the movies have as well it feels even more real. I won't have the breathtaking moment when the title appears on screen and the well-known theme plays softly in the background.

Does that not make you feel incredibly sad and that this is the most EPIC THING EVER?!

Why is Harry Potter so much of a big deal, you may ask? Besides so many of my generation growing up with the characters, the story is one of the greatest of all time. It makes kids believe in magic and heroes. It makes them want to be witches and wizards. And haven't we all secretly "waited for our Hogwarts letters?" The stories aren't just those of magic, but of love, bravery and power.

So, for now, I say goodbye to The Boy Who Lived. Yet I know that anytime now I can still open a book or watch a movie to revisit him and his friends.

It feels like the end of a culture generation.

And thank you to the wonderful author, Joanne Rowling.

2011-07-14T16:34:00.002-04:00

What's new?

I like this song by Washed Out.

I was in the mountains for a few days with my dad and my friend, and I experienced interesting-rural-southern-I-kinda-feel-like-I'm-in-the-middle-of-nowhere feelings. But it was fun! Swimming! Becoming tan! Eating barbecue!

I read this horrible book.

I have realized why Dead Man's Bones has not updated their website, videos, anything, in forever. Because Ryan Gosling's been actin'. I saw ads for him in Blue Valentine and Crazy Stupid Love.

See? Ryan Gosling in DM'sB.

OHMAHGAWD, almost forgot to mention the whole HARRY POTTER THING.

The final movie is coming out at midnight tonight here in the US. I would go, but hey- I like sleep.

And I can just see it tomorrow or the next day. But that doesn't mean that I'm not super excited.

Harry Potter = childhood.

Untitled

2011-07-02T21:26:00.001-04:00

Untitled by .Liza. featuring christian louboutin wedges

Untitled

2011-07-02T21:25:00.001-04:00

Untitled by .Liza. featuring a pleated skirt

of course

2011-06-24T09:17:00.000-04:00

This song is ah-mazing. I've been listening to it on repeat. I don't even understand most of it. Oh well.

Paris post is coming once I get done attempting to translate into French. grumble.

Paris vs. New York

2011-06-12T08:30:00.002-04:00

from: here

so tomorrow I go to Paris// demain je vais aller a Paris

2011-06-12T08:05:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it. I've been counting down for this trip for months, and now it's here! I really hope that the people there will be willing to talk to me in French, and won't just assume that since I'm an American I only speak English.

It will be a nice change of weather, too. Here it's been in the 90s-100s in the daytime and 70s usually at night, while there the high for the day is in the 70s.

I hope I don't come off obviously as a tourist; I'm not bringing any white sneakers, shorts, and will not carry a backpack around town, don't worry.

I'm just so excited. I can't think of any place in the world I'd rather go. And I'm excited for the French conversation even if it is just:

"Vous desirez, Mademoiselle?"

"Une limonade, s'il vous plait."

"Bien, je reviendrai vite..."

Ou quelque chose... je ne sais pas comment les francais ont leur conversations vraiments.

It's the Paris of

All from weheartit.

Friendly Fires - Hurting

2011-06-05T09:37:00.000-04:00

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson

2011-06-02T21:46:00.004-04:00

Haven't posted in a while... so, what's new?

I finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson, and it was pretty good. It was very long- around seven hundred pages. Um, what to say. I don't really know, since it's like the most famous and bestselling book in the world.

It's about a guy named Mikael Blomkvist who works for this magazine. Oh, it takes place in Sweden [and was written in Swedish, duh]. He gets hired by this old guy, Henrik Vanger, to try and solve a mystery. The mystery is Henrik's niece disappeared nearly 40 years ago and she's never been seen since, with a body never to be found. Every year since her disappearance, Henrik receives a framed dried flower in the mail for his birthday, like his niece used to give him. Mikael does the investigating with young Lisbeth Salander, who wears black, has tons of piercings and tattoos, but is brilliant and is the best computer hacker in the country.

One thing- I really don't know why the English title is about Lisbeth. She doesn't entirely seem like the main character to me. Mikael Blomkvist is more the main character in present times, and the protagonist of the past is the girl who disappeared. Just saying. I... liked this, I think. It did take a while to read, and didn't totally captivate me much. It was kind of gross, at some points, and horrible to imagine some scenarios in the story. But the plot really was amazing, and I have to say that the ending surprised me.

3.5 out of 5 purple raindrops

I'll probably read the sequel, anyhow.

And sorry for not translating this into French- I really just don't want to now.

Tourist

2011-05-22T11:30:00.001-04:00

Tourist by .Liza. featuring a butterfly dress

2011-05-19T21:26:00.001-04:00

ohmahgawd, amazing.

everything French that I love.

2011-05-18T19:33:00.006-04:00

(or proof of my love...)

1. My iPod is set in French.

2. My facebook is set in French.

3. I've watched, like, all of the French instant movies available on Netflix.

4. I read my French grammar book for fun.

5. I have at least 4 calenders counting down the days to Paris.

6. At night, before I sleep, I imagine in my head what it will be like to arrive at Charles de Gaule Airport.

7. I get excited when I see ANYTHING in French.

8. As of today, I have 95 French songs on iTunes.

[soundtrack of Les Chansons D'Amour, 3 Gars Su'l Sofa, Malajube, Indochine, Yelle, Chinatown, and some random songs...]

Tout français que j'aime... ou preuve de mon amour:

1. Mon iPod est en français.

2. Mon facebook est en français.

3. J'ai vu tous les films en français qui sont sur Netflix.

4. Je lis mon livre de grammaire française pour l'amusement.

5. J'ai au moins 4 calandres pour jusqu'à Paris.

6. La nuit, avant de coucher, j'imagine l'arrivée à CDG aeroport.

7. Je m'excite quand je vois quelque chose en français.

8. Aujourd'hui, j'ai 95 chansons française dans iTunes.

[bande sonore de Les Chansons D'Amour, 3 Gars Su'l Sofa, Malajube, Indochine, Yelle, Chinatown, et plus]

"Anna and the French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

2011-05-16T18:00:00.003-04:00

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt.

(from author's site)

I have to say, when the setting is Paris, and the blurb says it'll be about a gorgeous boy- how could I possibly not like it in the end? So, yes. This is my favorite book at the moment because IT WAS SO FREAKING AMAZING.

I wasn't even a hundred percent I would like it, because a lot of time teen girl books really get on my nerves. They usually all have similar plots, wherein the guys are described as being incredibly sexy, but forbidden, and the girls get all woozy and then they become a couple with stupid dialogue. Y'know, right?

Anyway. THIS book. Where shall I start? The writing, firstly, was intelligent, clever, funny, romantic, and I didn't find the plot to be predictable at all. The main character, Anna, was really interesting. All of her friends had different personalities. And of course, Étienne. Oh my. Étienne St. Clair. He is the "romantic opposite" in this and I'm totally in love with him now.

I loved every single part of this book and I wish I could read it again and again and again!

5 out of 5 purple raindrops!

Hee hee ha ha hoo ha hee ha hoo hee ha.

2011-05-12T08:08:00.000-04:00

là, tu décideras...

2011-05-06T21:23:00.004-04:00

This I did yesterday, based off a picture of Christian Bale in American Psycho. I know it's not the best... I really need to get better at drawing bodies.

J'ai fait ceci hier, d'un photo de Christian Bale dans American Pyscho.

Lately I've been very excited about France and French. I think I'm seriously obsessed... I don't know how I'll feel when we get back from Paris.

Récemment, je suis très excitée pour le voyage en France. Je pense que je suis hantée (obsessed?). Je ne sais pas comment je sera quand nous revenons de Paris.

Here's some actual American music... for once...

Et donc, c'est vrai musique américaine...

Excuse mon français, s'il te plaît :))

2011-05-01T08:32:00.002-04:00

I'm so glad that it's May now, but it's a bit hard to believe. Only one more month-ish left of school. And then Paris.

Je suis très heureuse que c'est mai, mais c'est difficile pour moi de croire. Juste un mois jusqu'à la fin de l'école. Et puis Paris.

2011-04-29T18:42:00.001-04:00

Untitled by .Liza. featuring an oval ring

Crop top
$88 - amrag.com

Dorothy Perkins long blue skirt
32 GBP - dorothyperkins.com

Wedge heels
$650 - giuseppezanottidesign.com

By Sou Brette ring
81 GBP - kabiri.co.uk

River Island green earring
7.99 GBP - riverisland.com

MNG by Mango oval ring
$24 - jcpenney.com

By Sou Brette white jewelry
81 GBP - kabiri.co.uk

2011-04-28T08:01:00.000-04:00

Stop!

It is here, the empire of the dead.

rather bored

2011-04-24T15:37:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter, everyone! I have way too much free time today and I don't know what to do. I'm waiting for some family to come over so we can have a sort-of-fancy dinner.

PS. It's really hot out, even inside.

Joyeuses Pâques, tout le monde! J'ai trop de temps maintenant quand je ne sais pas pour faire. J'attend pour ma famile de venir ici pour le dîner.

PS. Il fait très chaud dehors, même dans ma chambre.

"The Water Wars" by Cameron Stracher

2011-04-23T08:49:00.002-04:00

In a futuristic world desperate for water, Vera and her older brother, Will, struggle to help their father eke out a meager living and care for their stricken mother. When Vera befriends Kai, a wealthy teen whose father is a wildcat water driller away for months at a time, he soon becomes a fixture at their home. After he fails to meet them one day, Vera and Will stumble upon evidence that he was abducted. Their search for their friend takes them far from their republic of Illinowa in what was the Midwestern United States through the republic of Minnesota and into Canada. Along the way, they are befriended by a band of pirates and taken hostage by a group of domestic terrorists. They eventually escape and track Kai and his father to Bluewater, the shadowy organization that has a monopoly on the water desalinization process and intends to exploit Kai's rare gift of divination.

(link)

Dans le monde futuriste les gens veulent seulment l'eau. Vera, et son frère, Will, essayent d'aider leur père avec de l'argent. Leur mère, aussi, est malade, et les enfants espèrent qu'elle ira bien. Vera a un nouveau ami- Kai- qui est riche, et son père travaille pour une compagnie de l'eau. Kai commence de rester chez les enfants parfois. Un jour, Vera et Will découvrent qu'il a été enlevé. Ils cherchent pour lui dans la république du Minnesota (était les EU), et en le Canada. Tandis que là, ils rencontrent un groupe de pirates et un groupe de terroristes domestiques.

This book was certainly different than anything I've ever read (and good timing with Earth Day). I picked it up at my school library because on the cover it said it was comparable to The Hunger Games. And the cover looks really freaking cool, too. The idea of the story was really frightening. It takes place sometime in the future, and the environmental impacts from the human race have finally caught up with them. All of the ice at the poles totally melted and sea levels rose, demolishing many of the cities that are famous to us now. The climate of the entire world is a desert. No one grows anything anymore and all of the food is virtually synthetic. Countries became mad at each other- the US split into, like, three to five different countries [Minnesota, Virginia, North Carolina, the very southeast, and the entire west.] Canada had a war with the US, and Minnesota had a war with the lower parts, blocking off the Mississippi River. Anyway, water is the most valuable substance in the world.

I really liked it, though I hope we can fix our mistakes before it becomes reality. The characters each were unique and interesting. The setting was described so brilliantly that I could see every detail. I definitely recommend it.

4 out 0f 5 purple raindrops!

2011-04-21T08:10:00.001-04:00

Via Weheartit.

The Beatles having tea!

The Beatles prennent du thé!

in the garden, and an art desk!

2011-04-15T17:28:00.005-04:00

Finally got around to getting an art desk. I painted it over spring break with a grey-blue stain, and had to put two coats of polyurethane on the top, so now it's in my room! [I'm not finished decorating yet...]

My friend and I planted onions, cucumbers and green beans exactly two weeks ago, and this is how they look!

I've been playing this song over and over in my head today. The lyrics, music, and music video are too beautiful.

Sorry I'm not translating this... there are too many things I don't know how to say :/

"Going Bovine" by Libba Bray

2011-04-13T21:52:00.003-04:00

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

Un garçon s'appelle Cameron et il a 16 ans. Tous qu'il veut est finir son lycée- et la vie en général- facilement. C'est simple. Mais il découvre la mauvaise nouvelle- il est malade et il mourra. L'espoir arrive avec Dulcie folle, un ange punk qui aime le sucre. Elle lui dit que qu'il y a un remède- si il veut le chercher. Avec l'aide d'un nain et un gnome de yard, Cameron commence son voyage dans les EU.

I've read Libba Bray's famous trilogy of Gemma Doyle, and it was amazing. I thought from the giant gold medal on the cover of this that it would be really good, but I was surprisingly misled.

1. I didn't like the main character, Cameron. He's a druggie who's always rude to his parents and doesn't seem to care about anything.

2. The whole inside however many hundred pages consisted of the road trip... where nothing really happened. They kept getting into wacky situations, sure, but the book could have definitely been half the size and still convey the same message.

3. Everything that did happen seemed random.

4. The ending was not to my liking.

J'ai lu la trilogie célèbre de Libbra Bray- Gemma Doyle, et elle était très cool. J'ai pensé de l'autocollant que ce livre est bon. Ce n'est pas vrai.

1. Je n'aimé pas le garçon. Il était grossier à ses parents.

2. C'été trop long.... trop.

3. Tout a semblé aléatoire.

4. Je n'aime pas la fin.

2 out of 5 purple raindrops

A Very Long Engagement

2011-04-02T20:58:00.003-04:00

Spring break is coming to a sad end. The thought of school right now is completely disgusting. Geometry, PE, Bio, history, German- ugh. The only classes that I enjoy immensely are English and French and lunch. Though, I need to get through the rest of the year to go to Paris, so at least I have something to look forward to.

Les vacances du printemps sont terminée presque. L'idée de l'école maintenant est grosteque. La géométrie, éducation physique, la biologie, l'histoire du monde, l'allemand- ugh. Les seules classes que j'aime sont anglais, français, et le déjeuner. Je veux le reste de l'année à venir rapidement pour voyager à Paris. Je peux être excitée de ça.

I watched A Very Long Engagement, with my two favorite French actors- Gaspard Ulliel and Audrey Tatou. The story took place in France during WWI, with Mathilde (Tatou) searching for her fiancé Manech (Ulliel), who may have died at war. The movie has two sides. One is having very beautiful yellow-tinted scenery, while everything is calm in the countryside. The other is a dirty, cold, grey, way of showing the war. The second side was horrible. Not that it was badly acted or anything, just it was hard to watch because of the violence. I much preferred the countryside scenes, obviously. Anyway, it's a very good movie.

J'ai regardé Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles, avec mes deux acteurs français favoris- Gaspard Ulliel et Audrey Tatou. L'histoire était dans France pendant la seconde guerre mondiale, avec Mathilde (Tatou) qui cherche pour son fiancé, Manech (Ulliel), qui possiblement est mort pendant la guerre. Le film a deux types. Un est être très beau dans la campagne. L'autre est froid, gris, sale, d'afficher la guerre. Le second était horrible. Je n'aime pas la violence, donc je préfère la campagne. Ben, c'est un bon film.

update?

2011-03-30T21:25:00.002-04:00

I'm having trouble deciding on how I want this blog to be, with the header and the whole overall color scheme. I guess when you name your blog "Purple Raindrops", you don't have many options on colors. I want the blog to be pretty, because I read so many blogs and they always are.

And... I think I'll try to start writing my posts in French, too. I really want the practice.

C'est difficile que je décide de faire avec ce blog. Comme comment je le veux être, avec le titre et les couleurs. Je crois quand on décide le nom est <>, on n'a pas beaucoup de choix. Je veux mon blog être beau, parceque je lis trop des blog et toujours les sont. Et... je pense que j'essaierai* écrire mes posts en français, aussi. Je veux bien la practique.

Excusez mon français ;)

*I taught myself this tense over break.

2011-03-26T17:08:00.002-04:00

a little house

2011-03-25T16:47:00.002-04:00

spring is here...

2011-03-19T09:55:00.002-04:00

2011-03-17T09:58:00.002-04:00

The first official day of spring is only 3 days away. The weather has already become nicer- today is going to be in the seventies snd tomorrow in the eighties. This weekend I want to go to the local farmers' market, for the first time this year. I want to start planting things, too. My dad said we might be able to start tomato seeds inside pretty soon, which is exciting (we have a garden full of tomatoes every summer and they are amazing, as long as the deer don't get them).

Urban Outfitters did this thing last year where they made 20-30 songs available for free download. I saw I downloaded them March 13th last year, and I downloaded this year's yesterday. The songs are always very good, with artists I've never heard of. They make me think of spring and summer. Get them here.

And... it's St. Patrick's Day! Whoo! Don't forget to wear green ;D

2011-03-14T18:30:00.001-04:00

"The Mist" by Stephen King

2011-03-12T14:29:00.003-05:00

This is a tale of terror concerning a small town engulfed by a malevolent mist, based on a story originally published in King's 1985 horror anthology -Skeleton Crew. When a thick fog descends upon a rural community and claims the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to be caught outside, a small band of survivors seeks refuge in a local grocery store. Now trapped in a darkened cloud of pure horror, the frightened denizens of the town are forced to fend off an advancing horde of murderous monsters.

[link]

I've read a LOT of Stephen King and I can say without thinking about it that he is one of my favorite authors. I've read Salem's Lot, The Shining, Carrie, On Writing, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon, Pet Sematary, [I think that's it?] but I don't think that this was one of his best. I've noticed so many of his books' protagonists are men who have a boy. In this he and his son get trapped inside of a supermarket while the mysterious mist settles thickly throughout the town. There are seriously disturbing monsters that are out in the mist. His writing is, like always, amazing. I guess I didn't completely like the way the story ended.

*SPOILERS*

I didn't like how all of the monsters had such a random place in the book. There never is an explanation for why giant creatures with tentacles, or giant spiders, etc., came with the mist and wandered around the town, killing off everything living. Usually, to make situations in books more frightening, the author gives at least some explanation to why it's happening; scientific, or realistic to scare people. The only reason I could come up with was that one of the character's ranting about how hell had opened up, was true. King did mention something a few times called The Arrowhead Project, but it never was explained much. If the project was some sort of scientific place where they did testing and mutations on creatures, I would've understood more.

Another thing I didn't like was how it ended. It had no resolution. I hate when books just end in a random place and it's like they're telling you to use your imagination and make your own ending. That sucks. You can't just give us a whole story and then just leave it hanging so we don't know how it ends.

3 out of 5 purple raindrops

"An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

2011-03-06T16:06:00.004-05:00

Summary/plot by me, for once.

Colin Singleton just graduated from high school and was dumped by the nineteenth Katherine he has dated. He has a type of girl that he likes- only Katherines. Not Catherines, Kates, Kathryns, etc. He only dates girls that are named with those nine letters, in that order. And he's always the dumpee, never the dumper. Anyway, after being dumped and graduating, Colin and his best, and only, friend, Hassan decide to go on a road trip. They have no destination in mind, but stop in Gutshot, Tennessee, after seeing a sign for the grave of the archduke Franz Ferdinand.

[That was the plot? Maybe? Or I suck at summaries...] I think this is my favorite John Green novel I've ever read. And that's a lot, considering I adore John Green and have also read Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Looking for Alaska. First of all, the writing is brilliant. And it never becomes boring. Green's books are some of the only teen novels I enjoy because his writing is amazing and not dumbed-down like the rest. All of the characters are interesting, and the whole story- just, AH.

5 out of 5 purple raindrops

2011-03-05T09:31:00.001-05:00

here

Paris, Paris

2011-03-01T21:37:00.001-05:00

Paris, Paris by .Liza. featuring beige wedges

2011-02-20T19:20:00.001-05:00

here

je vais voyager à Paris

2011-02-18T22:54:00.004-05:00

Oui, c'est vrai! Cet été je vais voyager à Paris pour ma première fois. [Ma première fois en France, aussi.] Maintenant, je suis en train d'écouter la musique française. On a pensé, l'été dérnier, j'ai été ici, et j'ai vu tous les films français.

VOYAGER à PARIS

O, j'aime la france.

Pour vous, les photos... françaises... l'inspiration.

oui, oui

2011-02-17T09:30:00.002-05:00

Right now it's a delayed opening, so I'm here. I'm wearing my Liberty of London/ Target shirt and wishing it was spring. It's supposed to get into the seventies today, though, which is good. It just won't come fast enough... I miss London.

We're tentatively planning to go to Paris this summer for a week or so. I want to go to Paris more than any other place in the world. It'll be the first country I'll be in where I can speak another language since Peru in 2005! [And I've forgotten all of the Spanish I once "knew"] But... I actually think I could get around in Paris relatively well with what I know. French is one of my favorite subjects and I definitely want to learn how to speak it fluently. When I'm older I might want to just go to France or Quebec for, like, a year just to have the immersion.

2011-02-14T21:25:00.004-05:00

The past few posts haven't really made that much sense, have they? Lots of inpirational photos and short random written posts.

I'm reading Sarah Dessen now. Unfortunately it's taken me the past week and I'm still not a hundred pages in, because I keep mentally criticizing her writing in my head... The thing with "teen girl" fiction, is that sooo often it sucks. All of the books have basically the same plot lines, and the same main characters and the same boys who are "perfect". They are all written the same, and more than not, I get horribly bored of the female protagonists' whining. So, I'm trying to finish it so I don't have to give it up. Afterwards, though, I'll read something intelligent directed to an older audience... because adult fiction is written better.

Oh, yeah. Happy Valentine's.

my first attempt at a sonnet

2011-02-07T22:01:00.003-05:00

The bright sun that shone through the tinted glass

directed my gaze to the outside world

where I saw the boy upon the dark grass

with his pink cheeks and brilliant bright blue curls

His head that reminded me of the sea

With its tossing waves that moved to and fro

I had felt I never wanted to leave

but stay in the water and sand so low

From this I knew he would be the ocean

as his eyes bore but the same shade of blue.

With him he took the whole of the sea’s motion

Moving exactly as the tides still do.

And there he remains, staring at the sky

Grin plastered on his face, watching clouds fly.

We learned about sonnets possibly a week ago; I wanted to try writing one. It was done kind of fast, and reading it, it doesn't entirely make sense. I don't know where it was going. There is no real blue-headed boy.

Based on Shakespeare's Sonnet 130

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know That music hath a far more pleasing sound; I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.      And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare      As any she belied with false compare.

I think some of my metaphors and similes are similar to Oscar Wilde's... 
[I'm totally wrong; they are not at all?]

Under the rose-tree's dancing shade
    There stands a little ivory girl,
    Pulling the leaves of pink and pearl
With pale green nails of polished jade.
 
The red leaves fall upon the mould,
    The white leaves flutter, one by one,
    Down to a blue bowl where the sun,
Like a great dragon, writhes in gold.
 
Maybe I'm too influenced by outside sources...

on dreaming

2011-02-07T21:05:00.003-05:00

Today in Writer's Association, we had a conversation about dreams, or more specifically- nightmares. We all went around and shared our scariest nightmares. Here's mine, that I had when I was anywhere from 5-9 years old.

We were at our old house, the one we moved from when I was eight. Instead of the cul-de-sac and road that was really there, my street was replaced with a gloomy canal that continued as far as one could see in either direction, with dark steamy water. In the dreamworld, it was known to me that something bad would happen. I, in the dream, knew that once a month (or year or something,) that there was this vampire that would come to any house along the water, sailing up in a little row boat, and he would take the children. I peered out of the lace-curtained windows at the front of the house, watching. I saw a glowing red bead coming nearer, and I knew it was the vampire's robot eye. I screamed and ran from the window and started going upstairs, when I woke up.

At the time, at least, it was pretty terrifying. Even when I was littler I had a bit of a strange fascination with vampires... and movies, watching the PG ones I'd been allowed. For some reason, I remember this dream very well, even if I may have had scarier ones.

I wish I could dream lucidly

ausgezeichnet

2011-02-05T10:14:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning and saw it was pouring and grey. It's cold. Though I like when it rains because it gives me an excuse to stay away in my room. Two weeks ago, or so, I totally re-organized my books again, so now I have a shelf entirely devoted to the books that I have not read, but have been meaning to. The ones I've been collecting for years. I'm going to try to read quite a few of these before I go out and purchase or rent new ones. I finished Son of a Witch yesterday. In school we're reading Romeo & Juliet, and I am enjoying it immensely, surprisingly. I even read as Juliet aloud yesterday. These are the ones I will read:

(so many, no?)

I'm also doing a similar thing with my teas. Since in our library, tea has its own shelf, I'm going to try and finish lots that we've had for awhile, before buying new ones. I have giant jars of loose-leaf that really needs to be drunk. I still have a few from when we visited London two years ago :o

Well, it's the weekend. That makes me happy. I'll review a book sometime. When I read an ausgezeichnet novel.

2011-02-01T21:27:00.001-05:00

I don't even know what to say. [All from weheartit]

2011-01-29T22:25:00.001-05:00

Andrew- a short story

2011-01-28T19:53:00.003-05:00

Andrew hated seeing his relatives more than any other semi-annual ritual his family partook in. He didn't like the way they would always act: commenting cheerfully on how much he'd grown since they'd seen him last, and how close he was coming to adulthood, while pinching the cheeks on his blank face. They all wore bright itchy Christmas sweaters and baked the sweetest desserts he'd ever attempted to eat. One time, while staying at his aunt and uncle's house, he'd awoken to a beeping noise and had haphazardly stumbled out his door and into the hall. There was a light coming from his uncle's study, and stupid with sleep, he followed its brightness. There the beeping had been louder, a steady high-pitched noise that bounced around inside of his skull. The door to the room was open, so he slowly put his head through and looked. At that exact moment, a hand came out and pulled him back. Andrew lost his balance and fell on his back, staring into his mother's eyes. She looked angry and nervous. "We can't have you going in there," she said.

Written January 3, 2011 at a meeting of my high school's Writer's Association.

Unfortunately I think I've been having a seemingly never ending case of writer's block, at least with writing stories, poetry, or fiction in general. I'm not as sure as I was a year ago that I still want to be a writer, and have been more interested in art. I read so much literature compared to that which I write. Maybe I'll blame it on high school. I have no free time, too much homework blah blah blah. Maybe I'll try to post once a week at least some fiction/poetry/story that I've written??? See if that works or lasts...

"The Hunger Games" SERIES by Suzanne Collins

2011-01-23T21:35:00.003-05:00

Yes. You read that right. I will review the entire series without giving too much away.

The plot of the first book is, from the author's website, :

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.

Yeah. I feel like I'm going a little insane. I guess it's because I took no more than two days to read each of these, a feat even for a book-lover like me. If you've heard the hype about these, the hype is right. I knew that this was a very popular series but I just never got around to reading it. [Maybe I thought it would be about birds, from the cover design?] Anyway, this series is one of the best things I've ever read. The best in a long time. It was amazing. I felt the main character, Katniss, was so relate-able and strong and cool. Post-apocalyptic novels always freak me out, and this did. It was scary. Horrible, at some parts. For the things that take place. But also very beautiful and moving. And just amazing. I cried twice during the trilogy : /

Believe me, you should read them.

One billion point five/ 5 purple raindrops.

You know what's a little freaky? Whilst reading these, I listened to The Avett Brothers, and a few minutes ago, I was looking at their album cover and noticed:

DON'T YOU NOTICE THE SIMILARITY?! What's happening? So weird... I'm going insane...

who says we can't live in trees

2011-01-19T21:41:00.003-05:00

I don't think I could ever trade in books for a digital-book-keeper. Is that what they're called? I'm not entirely up to date on this modern technology we have. Books are so nice, even besides the stories they contain. The feel of paper, the book-smell of musty dust [sounds appetizing, no?] I would love to have a library this beautiful.

I got all of these from the first page of this inspiration blog, I couldn't help myself.

Also, I hope I'll review The Hunger Games soon. Hint; it's extremely amazing.

creeper in my house//

2011-01-16T21:51:00.003-05:00

I've clicked the repeat button on this so many times in the last hour. I just found it while looking at Anti-'s videos. [Anti- does Dead Man's Bones :D]

I'm sort-of-watching Whip It right now, imagining that I could "accidentally" dye my hair entirely blue like the main character and my mom wouldn't freak out too much. When I turn eighteen I will dye my entire head some color, just three more years.

I'm in an interesting style mood/phase sort of thing. I really feel like reading The Selby Is In Your Place over and over, and watching movies with Ellen Page and or Michael Cera, and being really colorful and listening to records that other people don't know about. This is a completely different "phase" than my previous of The Victorians. Or The French.

2011-01-13T21:23:00.000-05:00

2011-01-12T21:26:00.002-05:00

In the past week since my last post or two in which I said I wanted it to be summer, I've listened too many times to Free Energy's Stuck On Nothing. Unfortunately, during the same amount of time, it has not gotten any warmer. In fact, it has gotten colder. And there is ice on the ground. This is our second out-of-school day follwing a three hour early release on Monday for the supposed snow. So, yeah. It does suck a tad though because I was supposed to have all these giant tests this week since it's the last week in the semester, and I am highy afraid for my fate tomorrow. *Please everything be canceled and no we don't have to ever make it up, silly* And even though I really really really am looking forward to summer, or at least spring, I know that in July, I will be writing a post entitled "Why summer is the most horrible thing in the world", due to all the bugs (mosquitoes, ticks, ew) and the uber-heat that feels like a stifling death, and the eventual boredom and laziness. But, on the other hand, we have the amazing river festival, traveling, reading, no school, and I might start to learn how to drive (which I've been extremely apprehensive about).

2011-01-03T20:59:00.004-05:00

Untitled by .Liza. featuring wide belts

2011-01-03T07:41:00.002-05:00

It's incredibly hard to get a good night's sleep suited for school after not doing so for two weeks.

I think my season mindset seems to be the same as the fashion seasons. I'm always looking forward to the next season, or something. Because now, after Christmas, there isn't anything to look forward to but summer. Summer... open windows, no school, long days, iced tea, flowers...

SUMMER

joyeux noel

2010-12-25T22:59:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a good day. I had fun and now I'm really full. Though most of the day was spent cleaning. I got nice presents :) I got The Selby Is in Your Place, and am in love with it and have read it nearly twice already. I've also been listening repeatedly to My Chemical Romance's new album.

"Paper Towns" by John Green

2010-12-24T10:00:00.006-05:00

In which I review a book, the original purpose of this blog, for the first time in 45 days. Don't think that I haven't been reading, because I have.

I'm a Nerdfighter, People who instead of being made up of cells and organs and stuff are actually made out of awesome , and I don't think I've ever mentioned that here. John Green is the author of this book and award winning Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Will Grayson, Will Grayson. He and his brother have this Youtube channel called Vlogbrothers. If you have not heard of them then your life is going to be much more incredibly awesome after seeing their videos. Each morning before school I would always check to see if they'd uploaded anything new. They also do this yearly charity/take-over-Youtube thing [Project for Awesome].

ANYWAY, onto the book.

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life–dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge–he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues–and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Can you tell how I inconspicuously changed the font by copying and pasting? Yeah? At the moment I think John Green is my favorite author. I'm sad that I'm nearing the end of his written works. He's brilliant. Every book of his has completely interesting plots all the way through. So creative that you're surprised people haven't thought of what he writes sooner. Paper Towns was hilarious and mysterious and awesome. I love how he always includes information from other literature, be it people's last words, or poetry or etc. One strange things is that so far, I'm seeming to dislike very much the girl opposite characters in these books, because they're never quite nice to our main characters. John Green writes each character like he knows them personally, like he has detailed drawings in his mind and he always know how they'll act.

5 of 5 purple raindrops

Merry Christmas Eve.

2010-12-17T20:55:00.001-05:00

aujourd'hui: ma classe

2010-12-17T20:17:00.003-05:00

Aujourd'hui dans ma classe de français (initialement nous allons regarder un film de comédie, parce que c'est notre dernier jour de l'école pour cette année; demain est le début de notre vacances de l'hiver) nous avons écrit les phrases pour la nouvelle année. J'ai écrit: je veux être organisée, je vais étudier, et je vais envoyer mes amis les lettres. Hier il a neigé, alors j'ai fait du shopping pour Noel.

Yeah.

I haven't written a post in awhile... I really want to speak French to someone. Tomorrow I'm going to Minnesota to visit family. I'll be back on the 22nd. I'm really tired and it's almost Christmas!!

well, it snowed today

2010-12-04T16:59:00.004-05:00

Today has been quite a lovely day. Last night I stayed up well past midnight writing down a list of every book I've read in the past two years, with the dates that they were finished. I have no idea why I did that. It took four sheets of paper. Because of the late night, I slept this morning until ten. That's completely insane for me. My dad and I went and got our Christmas tree. It's very tall and smells amazing. Fraser Fir. Around one in the afternoon, it began to snow. Remarkable, since it's early December and hardly ever snows here anyway. It's still snowing now and it's after five. It looks beautiful outside because most of it stuck. It's in the trees and on the ground and on the roofs of houses. I braved the wind and flakes to take pictures, up my driveway at the top of the hill. I watched some of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, drank tea, made a sparkly banner, and hung string lights over my window. Now outside the sky is grey. It looks amazing. I've really just now gotten into the whole "Christmas Spirit" that people have been developing for weeks. Tonight I hope to read some of the books I've gotten from the library.

A Song About Love

2010-12-02T09:13:00.002-05:00

I'm here right now because it's a delayed opening. On NPR this morning I heard that buildings in Pompeii collapsed last month. For awhile I've been a bit oblivious to everything archaeological, but I am extremely fascinated with it all, along with read and know history.

Another story NPR was doing was about how it's been the hottest year ever recorded in the Middle East. The people had been looking forward to a November rain but it never came.

People: wake up!!! We need to be more earth conscious; we don't have another earth. Nothing in the world is more important than our earth. We need to stop having so many children. The world cannot healthily support us all. I bet eventually there will be a limit on how many kids you can have, like China had (still has?). Ahem, Ahem, Duggars. We need to stop cutting down trees and building shopping centers over forests. We need to plant them.

they danced in technicolor//

2010-11-28T20:38:00.002-05:00

It is necessary to return to reality tomorrow because, unfortunately, the vacation has ended. I only need to endure three weeks (wait... three weeks?!) until Christmas vacation. But, those weeks are without holidays, as in, three whole weeks totalling in fifteen days. I don't know, it seems preposterous to ask any teenager to do that after we've had November- few full weeks- and then Thanksgiving break. Oh well, I do hope I don't go insane with the amount of schoolwork thrust upon me on top of the promise of tests, quizzes, and projects galore.

Yesterday I dyed my cousin's hair, blue, and today I dyed mine. I now have three different shades of blue atop my head. They go nicely with the tone of my bruised-looking stained fingers. Also, I've seemed to've* acquired a sort of head cold. It's too bad, really. Today was fun, though, besides that. I had leftover food from the holiday, finished a book, and am now listening to the Talking Heads (who I'd sworn when I was four that I would never love; after all, nothing could come between me and my beloved Beatles).

So I dunno. The posts, if any, during the week will probably be boring and short.

PS. is to've incorrect? "to have"

2010-11-25T15:45:00.001-05:00

(CLICK)

french songs and idiots

2010-11-25T14:24:00.003-05:00

Les chansons en français!! (Que j'aime tellement)

Et... en anglais:

There are some idiots on facebook who keep posting things about "remembering that being in the kitchen and making a sandwich is a girl's job". !@#$%6 idiots. Way to act like you're from another century. I thought we were past that. The really sad part is that the guys have a lot of friends and girls look up to them and "like" them. I deleted them because it's not even cool or funny. Granted, the ones saying these things say "your so cool", "thats legit", don't know the difference between their, there, and they're. Oh well, there will always be idiots in the world.

I think they're crazy, runnin' everywhere at such a speed

2010-11-24T20:28:00.001-05:00

The Beatles are and have always been my favorite band. When I was 2-3, my parents showed me "The Yellow Submarine" cartoon film and thought that it was the coolest thing ever. I had all of their CDs, pictures of them, figurines, and all of the movies. It used to be, my mom would drive me to pre-school in the morning and my dad would pick me up at night. With one of my parents we would listen to The Beatles, and with the other NPR (though it always changed with who was who). My relationship with The Beatles is really weird. I don't think of them as being from the sixties; when I watch their films without color, I notice no difference. They've been such prominent figures in my life ever since I can remember. I had a crush on Paul during pre-school (young Paul, of course). When I had my surgery when I was 5 or six, and in the hospital, my dad brought rental video tapes [before DVDs] for me to watch. I don't know, I feel like I know them personally, though they were way before my time.

And in modern music news... My Chemical Romance is coming (or came?) out with a new album! I've listened to a few songs on Youtube, and they are totally different from the dark Rock I'm used to. The videos are so much more colorful and feel like comic books a bit. Anyway, I just wanted wanted to opst the pictures because of Gerard Way's hair. From black to bright red!! It's insane but it looks good.

I've also changed some technical [er... visual] stuff with this blog. I'm going to keep editing it until it's perfect.