So last friday, when I had to jump in after that kid? Our Pool had a high bacteria count. I didn't have time to shower because we were so busy so I didn't really shower till the next morning. And I pretty much have a mild allergic reaction all over my entire body.
It's awesome!
I itch aaaall the time, on every single square inch of my skin, I have little red bumps on my arms and legs and my face is both peeling from dryness and breaking out. I love my job. Right? Right.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Iiiiiiidiot
So as I was lifeguarding on Friday I noticed two twin boys of about five or six come prancing out of the mens change room (you know, the I'm not running but I am running prance?). They wiggle thier way across deck and book it for the slide in the deep end (our deep end isn't all that deep by the way, I can touch the whole way). At this point I'm thinking two things: 1)Gee I hope these kids can swim! and 2)Parent? Where is a parent?
As though I called him into existence a man stepped out of the changeroom. He glanced at the prancing boys and in a unconcerned manner and yelled something. One kid turned around and pranced halfway back, then noticed his brother hadn't turned back and went running after him. The man just shrugged and begain walking towards the slide from the other direction in a slow and leisurely manner. He was about 10 meters away when the first twin hit the water.
At this point I am walking towards the slide in a decidedly unleisurely manner and when I get there about 2 seconds later the kid is twitching around in the water (seriously, twitching...not thrashing or drowning...I think he was twitching around like that before he even hit the water...maybe he was prancing underwater!) and the man is standing on the edge (in his bathing suit) watching him. I say "is he alright? can he swim?" (again, the kid shows no signs of drowning...but is also not coming up for air or moving towards the slide) and the man says:
"Yeaaaaaaah.....you should probably jump in and get him...."
!
!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I do....and ruin a very cute pair of underwear by the way...and as I'm standing there in the water holding a still wriggling child I yell "so he can't swim!" and the guy says "weeeeeell.....he's not actually my son so I'm not sure". And I yell "But you're looking after him!" and he nods...still very unconcerned about the whole thing. I put the child on the edge and yell "Then look after them!" And he wanders back to the shallow end with the two kids. No thanks...no...caring about drowning children.
What would have happened if I hadn't come? I think he would have let the kids drown in chest deep water! Who does that? Who stands on the edge IN THIER BATHING SUIT and calmy watches a kid drown? An IDIOT!
I know rescuing people is my job and all...but I have never in my life had a caregiver stand withing two meters of a drowning kid and not help them. I am baffled.
As though I called him into existence a man stepped out of the changeroom. He glanced at the prancing boys and in a unconcerned manner and yelled something. One kid turned around and pranced halfway back, then noticed his brother hadn't turned back and went running after him. The man just shrugged and begain walking towards the slide from the other direction in a slow and leisurely manner. He was about 10 meters away when the first twin hit the water.
At this point I am walking towards the slide in a decidedly unleisurely manner and when I get there about 2 seconds later the kid is twitching around in the water (seriously, twitching...not thrashing or drowning...I think he was twitching around like that before he even hit the water...maybe he was prancing underwater!) and the man is standing on the edge (in his bathing suit) watching him. I say "is he alright? can he swim?" (again, the kid shows no signs of drowning...but is also not coming up for air or moving towards the slide) and the man says:
"Yeaaaaaaah.....you should probably jump in and get him...."
!
!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I do....and ruin a very cute pair of underwear by the way...and as I'm standing there in the water holding a still wriggling child I yell "so he can't swim!" and the guy says "weeeeeell.....he's not actually my son so I'm not sure". And I yell "But you're looking after him!" and he nods...still very unconcerned about the whole thing. I put the child on the edge and yell "Then look after them!" And he wanders back to the shallow end with the two kids. No thanks...no...caring about drowning children.
What would have happened if I hadn't come? I think he would have let the kids drown in chest deep water! Who does that? Who stands on the edge IN THIER BATHING SUIT and calmy watches a kid drown? An IDIOT!
I know rescuing people is my job and all...but I have never in my life had a caregiver stand withing two meters of a drowning kid and not help them. I am baffled.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The Door Within Day 3
Today we will talk about cover art. First off, the cover art for The Door Within books is fantastic. Wonderful. Beautiful. Oh fine I'll just post them up.
Are those not delightful covers? (and they look even better in real life!) They say "I'm a vibrant and exciting fantasy book, don't you want to read me?" Delightful. Also the books are written in coloured ink. And the pages are watermarked. Who does that? Who puts that much money into books in this day and age where the average book cover seems to be a low-res stock photo with a photoshop filter thrown over top. Okay maybe that's not average but it's happening a enough to frighten me as an illustrator. Costs about...5 dollers to make if you use the right stock photo place. , so why pay hundreds of dollers to have someone create a beautiful cover? So how did you rate Wayne? Why are you so lucky? As Mr. Batson is of an artistic nature himself (see his door within wallpapers on his blog here) I'm sure he's very grateful. No one wants to see the covers of their books and think "Gah! I could have just drawn them myself you crazies!"
Okay I'm rambling. Here's my question to you all. How valuable do you think cover art is? Do you think it's a crime for publishers/art directors to cut the budget for covers? Do you honestly think it makes a different to sales, or do I only care because I'm an illustrator? (insert portfolio link: here) I'm not trying to say that illustration is the only way to go, there are some absolutely beautiful photographic and photo-manipulated covers out there, and some great mixed media covers like these ones. I just feel that cover art is so important to creating interest in the book and I'm always disapointed when I see stock art covers with a filter thrown over them(Tayln). Sometimes the combined photos aren't even all of a resolution for print. Makes me crazy. Hug an illustrator today!
Are those not delightful covers? (and they look even better in real life!) They say "I'm a vibrant and exciting fantasy book, don't you want to read me?" Delightful. Also the books are written in coloured ink. And the pages are watermarked. Who does that? Who puts that much money into books in this day and age where the average book cover seems to be a low-res stock photo with a photoshop filter thrown over top. Okay maybe that's not average but it's happening a enough to frighten me as an illustrator. Costs about...5 dollers to make if you use the right stock photo place. , so why pay hundreds of dollers to have someone create a beautiful cover? So how did you rate Wayne? Why are you so lucky? As Mr. Batson is of an artistic nature himself (see his door within wallpapers on his blog here) I'm sure he's very grateful. No one wants to see the covers of their books and think "Gah! I could have just drawn them myself you crazies!"
Okay I'm rambling. Here's my question to you all. How valuable do you think cover art is? Do you think it's a crime for publishers/art directors to cut the budget for covers? Do you honestly think it makes a different to sales, or do I only care because I'm an illustrator? (insert portfolio link: here) I'm not trying to say that illustration is the only way to go, there are some absolutely beautiful photographic and photo-manipulated covers out there, and some great mixed media covers like these ones. I just feel that cover art is so important to creating interest in the book and I'm always disapointed when I see stock art covers with a filter thrown over them(Tayln). Sometimes the combined photos aren't even all of a resolution for print. Makes me crazy. Hug an illustrator today!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The Door Within Day 2
Okay so I did not sign up for the blog tour in time to get a copy of the trilogy (which was quite tragic as they are beeeeautiful, more on that tomorrow) but my ever so delightful mother did some speed reading over christmas so that I could take the first book home with me. Today we're going to talk about two things, the first being the use of allegory in christian fantasy and the second being YA books in general and what the target audience is.
The use of Allegory in Christian Fantasy
First off I'd like to pose a question. Why does every christian fantasy book seem to be an allegory? Is this the only way we can handle we can handle magic and dragons and whatnot? Are there still so many christians that think fantasy is the DEVIL so we need to be able to say "no no, it's not real! It's just a....parable...about Jesus!" Why is there no other way to get a message across and honestly...honestly does it have to have a message to be a christian book? Do we have to be so blatant? Can't we have a book where the story and the characters are the point of a book and not the message? This is why I don't read much christian literature, because you know what? I know the message. Most of the audience knows the message. GAH! Can't you just have characters who grow and evolve and learn things that could be insightful without THE AMAZING ALLEGORY ABOUT JESUS?
Okay sorry, didn't mean to rant so much there. If you must have an allegory (and we must...) then Wayne did a pretty good job. His allegory isn't so much about Jesus and how he died but retold as fantasy story as it is about sharing your faith with others and how people are influenced towards salvation. This is a good allegory for 12 year old christian kids as it's something they are actually faced with. Also, the story is fun and the characters are cute. And people die. Which is a good thing in a book full of battles, it gets a little silly in YA books when no one dies. My only gripe would be that there are a couple situations that I thought were a pretty big deal but the characters pretty much just shook their fists for a second and moved on.
YA Novels and Age Ranges
This is an excellent book if you are twelve. I'm not saying that sarcastically, I enjoyed the book, but if I were twelve I would have looooooved it. So here's my question. What's with christian YA books? My local christian book store doesn't have a YA section, there's a couple YA books in the two rows of adult fiction and then a kids section with picture books. So I really don't know much about it, but most of the christian YA books I've read seem to be for young teens or tweens or whatever we call them. Are there decent YA books for older teens? See when I was 12 or 13 I just stopped reading YA books and skipped straight to adult books and there didn't seem to be much in between. Now recently I've started looking at YA books again and there are a lot of books in the secular market for the 14 or even 16 to 18 range. Especially in the fantasy genre. And they're selling like hotcakes (I always wanted to say that....hotcakes!). Heck I'm buying them too, cause they're great books. Tithe by Holly Black, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer...all written by first time authors and all best sellers. AGATB and Twilight are #1 best sellers. Are there christian books taking advantage of this market? I'm honestly asking, can anyone recommend one to me? Because if we're not writing books at this level then we should be, everyone seems to think that the Harry Potter generation is still 12...and they're not.
Um. You should still buy these books, they're great, and sooooo pretty. I'm tempted to buy the set myself although I know it'll be a while before I have a kid of reading age, but so so pretty.
The use of Allegory in Christian Fantasy
First off I'd like to pose a question. Why does every christian fantasy book seem to be an allegory? Is this the only way we can handle we can handle magic and dragons and whatnot? Are there still so many christians that think fantasy is the DEVIL so we need to be able to say "no no, it's not real! It's just a....parable...about Jesus!" Why is there no other way to get a message across and honestly...honestly does it have to have a message to be a christian book? Do we have to be so blatant? Can't we have a book where the story and the characters are the point of a book and not the message? This is why I don't read much christian literature, because you know what? I know the message. Most of the audience knows the message. GAH! Can't you just have characters who grow and evolve and learn things that could be insightful without THE AMAZING ALLEGORY ABOUT JESUS?
Okay sorry, didn't mean to rant so much there. If you must have an allegory (and we must...) then Wayne did a pretty good job. His allegory isn't so much about Jesus and how he died but retold as fantasy story as it is about sharing your faith with others and how people are influenced towards salvation. This is a good allegory for 12 year old christian kids as it's something they are actually faced with. Also, the story is fun and the characters are cute. And people die. Which is a good thing in a book full of battles, it gets a little silly in YA books when no one dies. My only gripe would be that there are a couple situations that I thought were a pretty big deal but the characters pretty much just shook their fists for a second and moved on.
YA Novels and Age Ranges
This is an excellent book if you are twelve. I'm not saying that sarcastically, I enjoyed the book, but if I were twelve I would have looooooved it. So here's my question. What's with christian YA books? My local christian book store doesn't have a YA section, there's a couple YA books in the two rows of adult fiction and then a kids section with picture books. So I really don't know much about it, but most of the christian YA books I've read seem to be for young teens or tweens or whatever we call them. Are there decent YA books for older teens? See when I was 12 or 13 I just stopped reading YA books and skipped straight to adult books and there didn't seem to be much in between. Now recently I've started looking at YA books again and there are a lot of books in the secular market for the 14 or even 16 to 18 range. Especially in the fantasy genre. And they're selling like hotcakes (I always wanted to say that....hotcakes!). Heck I'm buying them too, cause they're great books. Tithe by Holly Black, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer...all written by first time authors and all best sellers. AGATB and Twilight are #1 best sellers. Are there christian books taking advantage of this market? I'm honestly asking, can anyone recommend one to me? Because if we're not writing books at this level then we should be, everyone seems to think that the Harry Potter generation is still 12...and they're not.
Um. You should still buy these books, they're great, and sooooo pretty. I'm tempted to buy the set myself although I know it'll be a while before I have a kid of reading age, but so so pretty.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Blog Tour: The Door Within
Okay so this month's blog tour is about a YA Fantasy Trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson:
# The Door Within
There is an unseen world of good and evil where nightmares are fought and hope is reborn. Enter The Door Within.
Aidan Thomas is miserable. And it''s much more than the strange nightmares he''s been having. Just when life seemed to be coming together for Aidan, his parents suddenly move the family across the country to take care of his wheelchair-bound grandfather. When strange events begin to occur, Aidan is drawn into his grandfather''s basement where he discovers three ancient scrolls and an invitation to another world.
No longer confined to the realm of his own imagination, Aidan embarks on an adventure where he meets knights, warriors, kings and mysterious Glimpses who can travel between worlds. Aidan joins them in the struggle between good and evil. With the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance, Aidan faces Paragory, the eternal enemy. Will Aidan be willing to risk everything and trust the unseen hand of the one true King? The answer comes from "The Door Within."
# Rise of the Wyrm Lord
The next exciting adventure in "The Door Within" Trilogy.
Separated from his friend by a thousand miles and unable to return to The Realm of Glimpses himself, Aidan Thomas needs a way to reach Robby with the message of King Eliam, the one true King.
Enter Antoinette Lynn Reed, a bright but headstrong young lady who believes in the Scrolls of Alleble and has a passion for full-contact Kendo.
When Aidan discovers that Antoinette has been called to enter The Realm, he solicits her help to find Robby''s Glimpse before it is too late.
When she arrives in Alleble, however, Antoinette finds the kingdom is in turmoil. Alleble''s allies are inexplicably beginning to turn away, renouncing former ties with King Eliam. And there are rumors that the dark Prince of Paragory is seeking an ancient evil to crush Alleble once and for all.
Can Antoinette and a team of Alleble''s finest knights learn the secret of Paragory''s growing power? And will they be able to stop the rise of the Wyrm Lord?
# The Final Storm
Still staggering under Paragor''s relentless attacks, Alleble''s remaining allies flee from the four corners of The Realm to safety within the Kingdom''s walls. Once there they find chaos, the forces of Alleble grieving a fallen hero, and the Kingdom''s citizens clinging to an ancient legend about Three Witnesses who can bring victory. But who are they? Where are they?
There is little time for Alleble to mourn before Paragor, the Wyrm Lord, and the deadly Seven Sleepers unite against the followers of King Eliam.
As Alleble begins to lose hope, Paragor unleashes The Final Storm. Will anyone survive to see the dawn?
Jim Black
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Frank Creed
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
April Erwin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Leathel Grody
Karen Hancock
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Joleen Howell
Kait
Karen
K. D. Kragen
Tina Kulesa
Lost Genre Guild
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell
Eve Nielsen
John Otte
Robin Parrish
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
# The Door Within
There is an unseen world of good and evil where nightmares are fought and hope is reborn. Enter The Door Within.
Aidan Thomas is miserable. And it''s much more than the strange nightmares he''s been having. Just when life seemed to be coming together for Aidan, his parents suddenly move the family across the country to take care of his wheelchair-bound grandfather. When strange events begin to occur, Aidan is drawn into his grandfather''s basement where he discovers three ancient scrolls and an invitation to another world.
No longer confined to the realm of his own imagination, Aidan embarks on an adventure where he meets knights, warriors, kings and mysterious Glimpses who can travel between worlds. Aidan joins them in the struggle between good and evil. With the fate of two worlds hanging in the balance, Aidan faces Paragory, the eternal enemy. Will Aidan be willing to risk everything and trust the unseen hand of the one true King? The answer comes from "The Door Within."
# Rise of the Wyrm Lord
The next exciting adventure in "The Door Within" Trilogy.
Separated from his friend by a thousand miles and unable to return to The Realm of Glimpses himself, Aidan Thomas needs a way to reach Robby with the message of King Eliam, the one true King.
Enter Antoinette Lynn Reed, a bright but headstrong young lady who believes in the Scrolls of Alleble and has a passion for full-contact Kendo.
When Aidan discovers that Antoinette has been called to enter The Realm, he solicits her help to find Robby''s Glimpse before it is too late.
When she arrives in Alleble, however, Antoinette finds the kingdom is in turmoil. Alleble''s allies are inexplicably beginning to turn away, renouncing former ties with King Eliam. And there are rumors that the dark Prince of Paragory is seeking an ancient evil to crush Alleble once and for all.
Can Antoinette and a team of Alleble''s finest knights learn the secret of Paragory''s growing power? And will they be able to stop the rise of the Wyrm Lord?
# The Final Storm
Still staggering under Paragor''s relentless attacks, Alleble''s remaining allies flee from the four corners of The Realm to safety within the Kingdom''s walls. Once there they find chaos, the forces of Alleble grieving a fallen hero, and the Kingdom''s citizens clinging to an ancient legend about Three Witnesses who can bring victory. But who are they? Where are they?
There is little time for Alleble to mourn before Paragor, the Wyrm Lord, and the deadly Seven Sleepers unite against the followers of King Eliam.
As Alleble begins to lose hope, Paragor unleashes The Final Storm. Will anyone survive to see the dawn?
Jim Black
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Frank Creed
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
Chris Deanne
Janey DeMeo
April Erwin
Linda Gilmore
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Todd Michael Greene
Leathel Grody
Karen Hancock
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Sharon Hinck
Joleen Howell
Kait
Karen
K. D. Kragen
Tina Kulesa
Lost Genre Guild
Kevin Lucia and The Bookshelf Reviews 2.0 - The Compendium
Rachel Marks
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell
Eve Nielsen
John Otte
Robin Parrish
Cheryl Russel
Hanna Sandvig
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Stuart Stockton
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Daniel I. Weaver
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Screaming
I have put together the following screaming information throughout 8 years of intense swimming pool research.
Screaming makes things more fun.
Going down a slide is alright, but going down a slide while screaming at the top of your lungs? Way more fun. This is especially fun with 150 people in the pool, every child has to outscream the surrounding children in order to prove that they are in fact having the most fun.
Every seventh scream is the loudest.
This works under the same principle as every seventh wave in the ocean being the biggest. There will be six or so mildly annoying screams and then it hits.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH
And every adult in the pool winces while the lifeguards quickly check each other to make sure that is was in fact a child screaming and not a whistle blast signalling a major emergancy. This is lots of fun. In fact, often when there is a major emergancy no one comes to check for a couple minutes because it is assumed that a child was just screaming.
Two children screaming at just the right pitch can make the same noise as a Nazgul
Do you remember the eeeevil dark riders from Lord of the Rings? Do you remember thinking "What is that unearthly noise? What poor animal did they torture to make that sound?"
Yes, that was two screaming three year olds. I've heard that exact noise twice this week and I was amazed at how creepily evil it sounded.
Maybe the Nazgul also found that riding around killing people was way more fun if you scream a lot.
Screaming makes things more fun.
Going down a slide is alright, but going down a slide while screaming at the top of your lungs? Way more fun. This is especially fun with 150 people in the pool, every child has to outscream the surrounding children in order to prove that they are in fact having the most fun.
Every seventh scream is the loudest.
This works under the same principle as every seventh wave in the ocean being the biggest. There will be six or so mildly annoying screams and then it hits.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH
And every adult in the pool winces while the lifeguards quickly check each other to make sure that is was in fact a child screaming and not a whistle blast signalling a major emergancy. This is lots of fun. In fact, often when there is a major emergancy no one comes to check for a couple minutes because it is assumed that a child was just screaming.
Two children screaming at just the right pitch can make the same noise as a Nazgul
Do you remember the eeeevil dark riders from Lord of the Rings? Do you remember thinking "What is that unearthly noise? What poor animal did they torture to make that sound?"
Yes, that was two screaming three year olds. I've heard that exact noise twice this week and I was amazed at how creepily evil it sounded.
Maybe the Nazgul also found that riding around killing people was way more fun if you scream a lot.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Calendar
So we got...3 caledars this year for christmas. Two made by my delightful mother and one sent up from the inlaws in Chile.
I'm putting my mom's in the office because it is nice for writting on and has all the birthdays and everything on it. Of course I do have two...so maybe I'll just choose which one I like better every month?
The one from Chile has absolutely amazing photography so I wanted to use it but the office is the only place in my house where I have unframed art...um because that's what makes me happy. So I framed the calendar. Nows the point where my mom laughs at me, but I think it looks cool. As does Craig. So there.
Also, I have a wedding ring again! Huzzah I am married!
I'm putting my mom's in the office because it is nice for writting on and has all the birthdays and everything on it. Of course I do have two...so maybe I'll just choose which one I like better every month?
The one from Chile has absolutely amazing photography so I wanted to use it but the office is the only place in my house where I have unframed art...um because that's what makes me happy. So I framed the calendar. Nows the point where my mom laughs at me, but I think it looks cool. As does Craig. So there.
Also, I have a wedding ring again! Huzzah I am married!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Sleeping
I'm awake again. I think I slept for half an hour and then I woke up and here I am. I'm finding this really frustrating. Ever since this summer I've been having trouble sleeping and I honestly don't know why. Why would I sleep perfectly fine almost every night for 7 years and then suddenly have insomnia again. They say that insomnia is usually a by-product of something else, but I honestly don't know what. I'm not sick. I don't feel depressed or stressed out. Most of the time I don't even lie there thinking about things I have to do or worrying, I just lie there. The only anxiety I really have is anxiety that I won't sleep. Which honestly could be enough to do it right there. But how do you snap out of that? How do you convince yourself not to be worried about not sleeping when you're not sleeping?
These are the mysteries.
Anyone got any brilliant ideas for me? I hate taking the over the counter meds because they make me groggy and naseuos the next day. But I'm scared of the real sleeping pills, two of the girls at work are dependant on them but are only allowed them one week a month...so sometimes they only sleep properly one week a month. I'm still doing better than that, I only lose..1-8 nights a month. Still too many though. Warm milk is nasty and baths don't help at all, I can't sleep when I'm too warm. So I take the over the counter meds and feel wierd the next day. Bah on sleep.
These are the mysteries.
Anyone got any brilliant ideas for me? I hate taking the over the counter meds because they make me groggy and naseuos the next day. But I'm scared of the real sleeping pills, two of the girls at work are dependant on them but are only allowed them one week a month...so sometimes they only sleep properly one week a month. I'm still doing better than that, I only lose..1-8 nights a month. Still too many though. Warm milk is nasty and baths don't help at all, I can't sleep when I'm too warm. So I take the over the counter meds and feel wierd the next day. Bah on sleep.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Book Review: Solstice Wood by Patricia A McKillip
Thoughts:
I was very excited when I found this book, Patricia A. Mckillip is one of my all time favourite authors and I love her dreamy imagary filled style. All her previous books have been high fantasy/fairy talish so it was very cool to read a modern fantasy in her style.
The book centers around Lynn Hall, an old country manor in a place where many doors open to Faerie. A group of ladies have a sewing circle where they really stitch closed the doorways to protect our world from Them.
The entire book is written in first person, with the person changing from chapter to chapter. It takes a little bit to get used to but she pulls it off very well and...it works.
Here's an bit so you can see how pretty her writting is (about the Faerie Queen).
"Sometimes she only sends her voice, coiling and purring like a cat into my mind. Or a bolt of lightening, sudden, swift, and white-hot. I've seen enough love in human fashion to know she doesn't. Love. Me, or any of us. But it doesn't stop me. Or any of us. She is our moon. Our tidal pull. She is the rich deep beneath the sea, the buried treasure, the expression in the owls eye, the perfume in the wild rose. She is what the water says when it moves. She is what humans remember when they step into the wood: a glimpse of her, memory receding faster and faster, into sunlight and scent and shadow, of what once they saw, once they knew."
Hanna Stars (out of a possible 5): *****
Firefly Fairy
Huzzah I finished it! I've been having trouble making myself draw lately. But I must keep it up and push through. This is meant to be a children's illustration. Does it work for you?
Friday, January 05, 2007
Hot/Cold
When we came home from shopping today our house was stinking hot. hot. HOT! I went into the bedroom and thought "Oh how delightfully cool this is!" and it was 30 degrees. That is celcius for you crazy american types which is....86? Whatever. So we opened up all the windows and half the doors and now it is almost cold in here. But I'm not closing them till my bedroom is back down to 20 so I can sleep tonight. Why would it do that? There is no reason, the thermostate is in the same spot and the outside temperature is about the same.
Weird.
Although not as wierd as on Monday when we came home from watching Eragon (only watch that movie if you only want to be moderatly entertained...but really, was the book that much better?) and found that the front door was wide open. Eek! The winds were 140km/hr that day and blew our locked front door open. Which then caused our bathroom window to open and aaaaall our bathroom stuff to fall to the ground, sadly breaking my shampoo bottle. Also the shower curtain was strung out the window.
Everyone who hears this story says "are you sure it wasn't burglers?". Ah those fiendish burglers, leaving my ipod, dvds, tv and rather expensive computer all sitting about while hunting the real prize. My shampoo, which slipped through his fingers.
While shopping I(we) bought the following amusing items:
-Dutch Blitz
-Muchkin Fu 2 (Huzzah! We now have double the munkin fu cards!)
-4 ten sided dice (should have bought 6! Stupid Hanna!)
-Overpriced beading wire and ect.
-A BeadStyle Magazine
-A map of the world
-Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
And my tablet pen finally came in! But I don't need it! Ah well.
Craig just went to bed and is a tad vexed with me as the current bedroom is 15. How nice of him to warm it for me.
I am in a rather good mood at the moment, as you might have guessed. However it was not always the case (it being the weekend is a great help I believe). Last night I had a really wierd dream. The kind of dream that screws you up for the whole morning. Also I had one of those nasty panick attack half awake things again, although that might have been the night before, I forgot about it till just now. Anyway, I shall relate my dream to you (because you care. remember? you care?)
It was one of those dreams that seems real while you are dreaming it, and even when you wake up so many details were correct that it's almost possible. See in my dream Craig and I had been on vacation for a week (see, as just happened) and we were somehow very much out of contact with...everything. Then on my first day back to work I found out that they (I don't know who they are) decided to change the entire english language to get rid of any words that might offend people. Anything religious, racial or cultural. Including the names of the months of the year because they are based off roman religious things (is that true, I seem to remember that). And everyone accepted it. Not because they would be killed or something otherwise. Just because they didn't want to be the person that would be willing to possibly offend someone rather than change. Popculture was completly taken over with it, movies and books were being remade, there was even an alternate copy of the bible. I learned all this from conversations with my friends at work. It seemed really really real. I was the only one freaking out. I was all like "they're brainwashing you to be all the same! We'll lost all our culture and everything that makes us special!" But no one cared, they'd rather have a bland off-white world than any possible conflict. Craig agreed with me but was a lot calmer about it (it takes a lot to get Craig to freak out anyway) and was re-learnig the number system anyway because he figured he'd need to learn how to communicate, which I took as an act of betrayel. I had this cold feeling in my gut that said "maybe the world really will end in my lifetime".
It was sooooo creepy. I can remember all the details, some of the new words, even magazine ads for remade movies. At one point in the dream I woke up, and thought "just a dream just a dream" and then it wasn't just a dream, it was real! So when I did actually wake it took me a couple....hours to shake it.
Ah! I'm all creeped out again! Here's a pic of Jen and me in the blankets my mom made us for christmas to cheer you up.
Weird.
Although not as wierd as on Monday when we came home from watching Eragon (only watch that movie if you only want to be moderatly entertained...but really, was the book that much better?) and found that the front door was wide open. Eek! The winds were 140km/hr that day and blew our locked front door open. Which then caused our bathroom window to open and aaaaall our bathroom stuff to fall to the ground, sadly breaking my shampoo bottle. Also the shower curtain was strung out the window.
Everyone who hears this story says "are you sure it wasn't burglers?". Ah those fiendish burglers, leaving my ipod, dvds, tv and rather expensive computer all sitting about while hunting the real prize. My shampoo, which slipped through his fingers.
While shopping I(we) bought the following amusing items:
-Dutch Blitz
-Muchkin Fu 2 (Huzzah! We now have double the munkin fu cards!)
-4 ten sided dice (should have bought 6! Stupid Hanna!)
-Overpriced beading wire and ect.
-A BeadStyle Magazine
-A map of the world
-Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
And my tablet pen finally came in! But I don't need it! Ah well.
Craig just went to bed and is a tad vexed with me as the current bedroom is 15. How nice of him to warm it for me.
I am in a rather good mood at the moment, as you might have guessed. However it was not always the case (it being the weekend is a great help I believe). Last night I had a really wierd dream. The kind of dream that screws you up for the whole morning. Also I had one of those nasty panick attack half awake things again, although that might have been the night before, I forgot about it till just now. Anyway, I shall relate my dream to you (because you care. remember? you care?)
It was one of those dreams that seems real while you are dreaming it, and even when you wake up so many details were correct that it's almost possible. See in my dream Craig and I had been on vacation for a week (see, as just happened) and we were somehow very much out of contact with...everything. Then on my first day back to work I found out that they (I don't know who they are) decided to change the entire english language to get rid of any words that might offend people. Anything religious, racial or cultural. Including the names of the months of the year because they are based off roman religious things (is that true, I seem to remember that). And everyone accepted it. Not because they would be killed or something otherwise. Just because they didn't want to be the person that would be willing to possibly offend someone rather than change. Popculture was completly taken over with it, movies and books were being remade, there was even an alternate copy of the bible. I learned all this from conversations with my friends at work. It seemed really really real. I was the only one freaking out. I was all like "they're brainwashing you to be all the same! We'll lost all our culture and everything that makes us special!" But no one cared, they'd rather have a bland off-white world than any possible conflict. Craig agreed with me but was a lot calmer about it (it takes a lot to get Craig to freak out anyway) and was re-learnig the number system anyway because he figured he'd need to learn how to communicate, which I took as an act of betrayel. I had this cold feeling in my gut that said "maybe the world really will end in my lifetime".
It was sooooo creepy. I can remember all the details, some of the new words, even magazine ads for remade movies. At one point in the dream I woke up, and thought "just a dream just a dream" and then it wasn't just a dream, it was real! So when I did actually wake it took me a couple....hours to shake it.
Ah! I'm all creeped out again! Here's a pic of Jen and me in the blankets my mom made us for christmas to cheer you up.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Best of 2006
Happy New Year to all of you in blogger land! For your entertainment (or perhaps just my own, are you guys still out there?) here are my favourite things from 2006. In no order.
Top Five Movies of 2006
The Illusionist:
Set in Austria at the turn of the century, it's a story about...an illusionist (never would have guessed that, eh?!) who is in love with a noblewomen betrothed to a craaaazy guy. It's very very pretty and has a great story. Very pretty. Also, Edward Norton does the moody/brooding/slightly unbalanced thing very well.
Happy Feet:
Okay, now I'm not much for a lot of the new cg kids movies...actually I hate most of them, and the market is saturated with them. Where are the princess movies? Where? Anyway, all ranting aside, I loved this movie. It may be in part my love of baby penguins, but I think it's mostly that Robin Williams is the funniest mexican penguin I've ever seen. Oh and good enviromental messages...well more like an unexpected enviromental ambush, but if you think that the little penguins are soooooo cute, then you should care that we are slowly killing them.
Inside Man:
Oh Clive Owen, how is it possible to have such a sexy voice? I mean...good plot. Okay no really, it's a good plot, I loved this movie. It's about a bank heist and is mostly about the communications between the Hostage Negotiator (Denzel Washington) and the Criminal Mastermind (Clive Owen). Might not sound like much fun, but it's a great movie, very well written with lots of suprises.
V for Vendetta:
This is the big blockbuster on the list. It's a beautiful near-future movie set in an England that under a fear driven martial law. It's very thought provoking, the dialogue is wonderful and the acting is great. Oh I love it, I need to go buy it...
Stars Natalie Portman (who is beautiful even without hair, which is quite a feat) and Hugo Weaving (whom you may have met as Mr. Smith in the Matrix)
Little Miss Sunshine:
A comedy of the...off beat variety. It centers around a little girl who wants to win a children's beauty pageant, so her whole family gets in a van and drives her there. The brother has taken a vow of silence for philosophical reasons. The uncle is recovering from a suicide attempt, the dad is an inspirational speaker and the grampa is completely inapropriate. The mom just tries to keep it all together. That doesn't sound terribly funny...but it is if you're me! Really, it's hilarious.
Hey, that's a pretty good cross-section! Movies for everyone!
Top Five Books of 2006 (or at least that I read in 2006)
Shadow of the Giant - Orsen Scott Card:
This was the latest (final?) book in the Ender's Shadow series. I'm not gonna lie to you, this book made me cry at the end, and I'm not a crier. But these characters were so real to me that it was really hard to let them go. Not that it's a sad ending....just....okay well I was sad...I actually had trouble sleeping because I was so sad. Now if that doesn't convince you to read a book what will! Um, you should start with the rest of the series though, or it won't make sense.
Valient - Holly Black:
A YA dark urban fantasy. Not for young readers though, I'd say at least 14, maybe 16. It's the second of Holly Black's Faerie books, but you don't need to read Tithe to understand it. It follows a girl who runs away from home when she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with...her mom! (ew!) So understandibly upset she ends up on the streets in New York where she meets some kids that make deliveries for the various faerie folk, including the troll under the bridge.
A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray:
Another YA dark fantasy, this one takes place in a girl's finishing school in victorian england where a girl brought up in india learns she has the power to access magical realms. The book is written in the first person present tense, which is a bit odd at first, but it's a fantastic book.
Talyn - Holly Lisle:
Well, I already wrote about this one, just scroll down a bit. And then go buy it!
The Measure of a Lady - Deanne Gist:
Ha! This is not Sci-fi/fantasy. It is Christian Historical Romance! Oh the horror! This is the only christian book I read this year that fit my criteria for a great book...I read it in one sitting. I literally only took breaks to eat and pee. It follows 20 year old Rachel van Buren who arrives in gold rush San Francisco with her two younger siblings, orphaned buy their fortune seeking father who died on the journey. Rachel struggles with holding to her convictions in a less than perfect setting, and in the end learns how to love instead of judge others. It's Deanne's second book, and A Bride Most Begruding which I also read this year is equally good.
Top Five Albums of 2006
K-Os - Atlantis-Hymns for Disco:
What? Rap? Hip Hoppness? It's true, I normally don't go there, but this is a great CD, it's very uplifting and always leaves me smilling.
Best Song: Vahalla Song you would have heard: The Rain
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open:
Great Depressing Alternative Rock...well some of the songs are happy, but really the depressing ones are better. Beautiful harmonies and interesting song structures.
Best song: Set Fire to the third Bar. Song you would have heard: Chasing Cars
Alexisonfire - Crisis:
Saw them in concert, great show. Good if you like a balance of screaming and pretty singing. No really, they can co-exist.
Best Song: Boiled Frogs Song you would have heard: This could be anywhere in the world
Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong:
Yes this is a christmas cd...but it's sooo pretty I could listen to it all the time. Nice and folky...and a little jazzy.
Best Song: What Child is This? Song you would have heard: River
Lacuna Coil - Karmacode:
Not as good as they're last album, but still goosebump worthy. Beautiful gothy rock. If you think you like Evanescence you should give them a listen, Cristina Scabbia can beat the socks off Amy Leigh.
Best Song: Fragile Song you would have heard: Nothing! At least not on my radio stations.
Phew, anyone read all that? What are your favourite things from last year?
Top Five Movies of 2006
The Illusionist:
Set in Austria at the turn of the century, it's a story about...an illusionist (never would have guessed that, eh?!) who is in love with a noblewomen betrothed to a craaaazy guy. It's very very pretty and has a great story. Very pretty. Also, Edward Norton does the moody/brooding/slightly unbalanced thing very well.
Happy Feet:
Okay, now I'm not much for a lot of the new cg kids movies...actually I hate most of them, and the market is saturated with them. Where are the princess movies? Where? Anyway, all ranting aside, I loved this movie. It may be in part my love of baby penguins, but I think it's mostly that Robin Williams is the funniest mexican penguin I've ever seen. Oh and good enviromental messages...well more like an unexpected enviromental ambush, but if you think that the little penguins are soooooo cute, then you should care that we are slowly killing them.
Inside Man:
Oh Clive Owen, how is it possible to have such a sexy voice? I mean...good plot. Okay no really, it's a good plot, I loved this movie. It's about a bank heist and is mostly about the communications between the Hostage Negotiator (Denzel Washington) and the Criminal Mastermind (Clive Owen). Might not sound like much fun, but it's a great movie, very well written with lots of suprises.
V for Vendetta:
This is the big blockbuster on the list. It's a beautiful near-future movie set in an England that under a fear driven martial law. It's very thought provoking, the dialogue is wonderful and the acting is great. Oh I love it, I need to go buy it...
Stars Natalie Portman (who is beautiful even without hair, which is quite a feat) and Hugo Weaving (whom you may have met as Mr. Smith in the Matrix)
Little Miss Sunshine:
A comedy of the...off beat variety. It centers around a little girl who wants to win a children's beauty pageant, so her whole family gets in a van and drives her there. The brother has taken a vow of silence for philosophical reasons. The uncle is recovering from a suicide attempt, the dad is an inspirational speaker and the grampa is completely inapropriate. The mom just tries to keep it all together. That doesn't sound terribly funny...but it is if you're me! Really, it's hilarious.
Hey, that's a pretty good cross-section! Movies for everyone!
Top Five Books of 2006 (or at least that I read in 2006)
Shadow of the Giant - Orsen Scott Card:
This was the latest (final?) book in the Ender's Shadow series. I'm not gonna lie to you, this book made me cry at the end, and I'm not a crier. But these characters were so real to me that it was really hard to let them go. Not that it's a sad ending....just....okay well I was sad...I actually had trouble sleeping because I was so sad. Now if that doesn't convince you to read a book what will! Um, you should start with the rest of the series though, or it won't make sense.
Valient - Holly Black:
A YA dark urban fantasy. Not for young readers though, I'd say at least 14, maybe 16. It's the second of Holly Black's Faerie books, but you don't need to read Tithe to understand it. It follows a girl who runs away from home when she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with...her mom! (ew!) So understandibly upset she ends up on the streets in New York where she meets some kids that make deliveries for the various faerie folk, including the troll under the bridge.
A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray:
Another YA dark fantasy, this one takes place in a girl's finishing school in victorian england where a girl brought up in india learns she has the power to access magical realms. The book is written in the first person present tense, which is a bit odd at first, but it's a fantastic book.
Talyn - Holly Lisle:
Well, I already wrote about this one, just scroll down a bit. And then go buy it!
The Measure of a Lady - Deanne Gist:
Ha! This is not Sci-fi/fantasy. It is Christian Historical Romance! Oh the horror! This is the only christian book I read this year that fit my criteria for a great book...I read it in one sitting. I literally only took breaks to eat and pee. It follows 20 year old Rachel van Buren who arrives in gold rush San Francisco with her two younger siblings, orphaned buy their fortune seeking father who died on the journey. Rachel struggles with holding to her convictions in a less than perfect setting, and in the end learns how to love instead of judge others. It's Deanne's second book, and A Bride Most Begruding which I also read this year is equally good.
Top Five Albums of 2006
K-Os - Atlantis-Hymns for Disco:
What? Rap? Hip Hoppness? It's true, I normally don't go there, but this is a great CD, it's very uplifting and always leaves me smilling.
Best Song: Vahalla Song you would have heard: The Rain
Snow Patrol - Eyes Open:
Great Depressing Alternative Rock...well some of the songs are happy, but really the depressing ones are better. Beautiful harmonies and interesting song structures.
Best song: Set Fire to the third Bar. Song you would have heard: Chasing Cars
Alexisonfire - Crisis:
Saw them in concert, great show. Good if you like a balance of screaming and pretty singing. No really, they can co-exist.
Best Song: Boiled Frogs Song you would have heard: This could be anywhere in the world
Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong:
Yes this is a christmas cd...but it's sooo pretty I could listen to it all the time. Nice and folky...and a little jazzy.
Best Song: What Child is This? Song you would have heard: River
Lacuna Coil - Karmacode:
Not as good as they're last album, but still goosebump worthy. Beautiful gothy rock. If you think you like Evanescence you should give them a listen, Cristina Scabbia can beat the socks off Amy Leigh.
Best Song: Fragile Song you would have heard: Nothing! At least not on my radio stations.
Phew, anyone read all that? What are your favourite things from last year?
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