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Monday, May 30, 2011

Welcome to My World

It is incredibly hard for an aspiring novelist to write a fantasy book when you have no name for the country, don't know what you want your setting to be, and whether or not you want a contemporary or a historical-type world.


I should know.  I've tried.


I'm about 9800-something words into CR.  Thus far, all the names are pretty normal, there's a slight Victorian feel to the book, and the only language that's named is the one only two of the characters speak.  And I doubt they'll be speaking it any further into the book.  (And no, I don't Tolkienize myself and make up linguistics.)  I put:


(Character name here) said "(something here)" in (whatever language).


I finally took the time to name the country and give it a birth year and stuff.  I defined the social classes.


I'll add more to the world as the story demands, but I've gotten a start.


Now, for my other story, SFKBS, I have a culture made as the story demanded, laws, transportation so horses weren't really necessary, running (sort of) water, security system, hierarchy, economy as the story demanded, history of the Continent with which my characters live, along with some other little tidbits of histories of other places, the way the faery exist in the world...


But I've also been working on that story since 2005.  


But I also always knew it would be medieval-type, and that the technology wouldn't go past the technologies of our 1400s (my characters have a printing press).   Plus, there's a few other things because I'm American and I value hygiene and my characters needed a running water system without having to haul buckets.  The Romans had a system and they were before the Dark Ages.


For CR, at first I thought about setting it in Contemporary America.  Or I thought about setting it in Victorian England (origin of the Tinkerbell-esque fairy).  I decided to build my own world around the story.  I love historicals about as much as I love fantasy, but I am not about to try writing it at this point in my writing journey.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Deletion

When I would do Vent Pieces, I would get an idea, start writing, and then realize that I didn't have enough to make it full-length.  I would then delete said Vent Piece and go on.


I've been doing that a lot lately with my blog.  I'd start on the post, and then realize it's either not enough, or perhaps I didn't want that particular post to mar my blog.  Every now and then, I delete posts here and there for that reason.  So that post that says it's my hundredth post, it may not be anymore.  But not like you're counting.


When I moved my stories to Google Docs, I shared one of them with my two best friends, Amanda and Lacey.  Like most writers, I want someone to read my work and tell me it's good and fluff my ego up.


However, when I'm not working on said story, and Lacey (the one that's a writer) texts me pretty often (but not everyday) asking me if I worked on 'fairy,' I wonder if it was the best idea to share it.


ESPECIALLY since it's a rough draft.  Also, I deleted an entire exchange and rewrote another exchange in its place.  There was another exchange that should've happened before the first exchange that I wrote, and anyway...


I know people say that if you put stuff on the Internet, it never goes away, but I wonder if that's true.  I mean, it'll show up in Google Search, but if you deleted the file, the computer will tell you so when you click.


But whatever.  Some things should've never been written (or posted publicly).  Oh well.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Welcome to de Bayou

Today was my family reunion.


When you think of family reunions, you usually think of seeing family members you rarely see, and catching up with the ones you're friends with on Facebook.


There was a bunch of food (CRAWFISH!!!), and drinks, and lots of people who I had no idea who they were.  ;-P


After my cousin Connie arrived, I stayed on the blow-up waterslides that my uncle owns.  I got wet and it was fun and I was tired.


My little brother, from the time we arrived, till the time my parents decided to leave, stayed on the slides.  He was so tired and so cranky on the way home.


Once we'd been there for a few hours, Connie was ready to leave, so we went to her house--this was before my parents left.  We played a few rounds of pool to country music, watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and watched some Tim Hawkins videos.


Oh, and then New Moon came on, and then we watched that until my immediate family and I headed home.  I pointed out to Connie the part where Bella, Jake, and Mike are at the movies.  It's implied that the movie they're watching is rated-R, but you can hear someone in the film say, "I'm gonna blow your fricken head off."


If the film was R-rated, why did they say 'fricken'?  Something a little bit stronger should've been used.  We had a laugh at it.  I go into giggle-spasms every time I hear it, personally.


I had fun, got to push my sister into the little pool at the end of the slide, got pushed down the slides, and got to go down the slides with my little brother and my older nephew.  My younger nephew insisted on going by himself every time.  Little booger.


All in all, it was a good day.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Dancing the Entwine

EntwinedI found Entwined by Heather Dixon in the Goodreads giveaways sections.  No, I didn't win.  I bought it when it came out, though.  {It's a conspiracy, I'm telling you.  They let you enter the giveaway for a book you think looks interesting.  When you lose, you buy the book anyway and the bookstore gets their money (after the royalty from the publishers/producers/author, etc).  It's business.}


Goodreads Synopsis:  Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.


The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. 

And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

I love characters that have a creative passion.  You know, the writers, the scrapbookers, or even dancing, as in this one.

All twelve of the princesses are avid dancers.  Azalea is the oldest and the Princess Royale:  next in line to be queen.  Parliament will choose the next king, however.  Hopefully, they'll choose someone she likes.

Meanwhile, they're in mourning for their dead mother. They're not supposed to be dancing. But the Keeper's invitation is just too tempting to resist. So we have the crux of the plot.

But Keeper would like to be freed in return for allowing them to dance.

I gave it 4 stars. 

It kept my attention.  I'd recommend it to patient readers.  


I didn't give it a 5-star for two reasons:  

1 - the book ended 30-something pages after Mr. Bad Guy died.  I wasn't disappointed in the way Dixon ended the book at all.  I just wished she could've moved the scene up sooner.  The time that passes in the book between Mr. Bad Guy's demise and the end of the book is even a few months. 

2 - It was slow moving.  It's not that it wasn't interesting, because it was VERY interesting, but the girls don't meet Keeper until 60-70 pages into the book.

 I wish I had known the fairytale of the twelve dancing princesses before I read it, but I didn't.  Darn.  I'll read it soon.  There's another name for it, and I'll check my Grimms' Collection again.  If not, there's always Google. ;-P

The Entwine sounds like a cool dance, though.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

The Hype

Between yesterday and today, I got 10 new books. Four of them, I didn't have to pay for. Gotta love that trade-in thing at the used bookstore.



One of them was The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss—but I did have to pay for this one. Since I have a Books-a-Million discount card, I didn't pay full price. You should be proud of me. It's really popular, and now I'm going to find out why it's such a big deal.


After I've finished two of the other books I started. A Teresa Medeiros—of course!—and, I think, a newcomer. Entwined by Heather Dixon.


REALLY GOOD NEWS: I found The Foundling by Lloyd Alexander. It's the unofficial 6th book of the Prydain Chronicles. It's a collection of short stories that take place before the Prydain Chronicles begin.


Good Monday-Tuesday.   Oh yeah, and I spent some time with my buddy in GPort.  ;-P

Sunday, May 22, 2011

If You're Still Here, Raise Your Hand

I was able to praise God in church today.


GASP!!!


Yes, I made it to church and nobody was missing.  I'm 2 for 2, man.


Praise God.


I have a confession, though, when I read the Comedy Newsletter on Wednesday, and saw the supposed expiration date, I thought to myself that I needed to finish my book.  ;-P


And a snippet of the "About This Newsletter" if you don't want to click:


When the end of the world arrives, how will the media report it?
USA Today: WE'RE DEAD 
The Wall Street Journal: DOW JONES PLUMMETS AS WORLD ENDS
Playboy: GIRLS OF THE APOCALYPSE 
Victoria's Secret Catalog: OUR FINAL SALE 
Sports Illustrated: GAME OVER 
Rolling Stone: THE GRATEFUL DEAD REUNION TOUR 
Readers Digest: BYE 
Lady's Home Journal: LOSE 10 LBS. BY JUDGEMENT DAY WITH OUR NEW "ARMAGEDDON" DIET! 
America Online: SYSTEM TEMPORARILY DOWN. TRY CALLING BACK IN 15 MINUTES. 
Microsoft's Web Site: IF YOU DIDN'T EXPERIENCE THE RAPTURE, DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE PATCH RAPT777.EXE.





Saturday, May 21, 2011

Rapture?

Wasn't today supposed to be the Rapture?


Well, of course you don't know:


Matthew 24:35-36 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 
 36 "Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son except the Father only.


Take that, you people who thought the world may end today!
"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." — G.K. Chesterton


I remember back in Apologetics we learned that we don't have to defend the Bible.  

The Bible defends itself.  

I'm glad I have a little brother.  I know that even if my mom and me were left behind because of our failures, Vin would be taken.  He's 5.  He's still here.  I haven't seen a bunch of "People Missing" reports either.

One of the things that gets me is that even if the Rapture would've been yesterday or tomorrow, the predictors would've said, "Well, we were close."

But they were still wrong!

I'm a Christian.  I believe the Bible.  I try to follow the Bible as best as I can--when I'm paying attention to my actions.  And yes, I'm one of those people if you ask me about gay marriage or  abortion, I'll say I'm against it, and then say, "It's not my rule!"  To be honest, I wouldn't care if I wasn't a Christian.  But since I am, I'm way more afraid of God, than you.

Friday, May 20, 2011

A Woman Named Damaris by Janette Oke

A Woman Named Damaris (Women of the West)I mentioned back in my 111 Things About Me that Janette Oke was my second favorite author.  I still have 4 of her books that I own that I haven't read.  The Drums of Change, Roses for Mama, Love's Abiding Joy, and Beyond the Gathering Storm.


Well, I started A Woman Named Damaris yesterday--or the day before.  Something like that.  I finished it tonight.  See the Goodreads challenge updated?  See see see.  I'm on track now!


Goodreads Description:  She was almost fifteen on the night she dared for the first time to think of what life might be like away from home. Pa again had come home drunk and mean; the trauma of the subsequent scene had been repeated as long as Damaris could remember. The idea that she no longer needs to tolerate this, that maybe she's old enough to manage on her own, is planted in her mind and begins to grow. She must plan her escape carefully, but she must get away from him.


 Two treasures hidden for years from her father her grandmother's lacy golden brooch and her grandfather's lovely watch are Damaris' only legacy from her past. That and her name. Her mother said it came from the Bible and had a special meaning that she can't remember anymore. What difference might it make?

But Damaris can't escape the "aloneness" that haunts her life or the bitterness she feels when she sees others suffering, particularly children. Ultimately, she must come to terms with her past, learn to live in her present circumstances, and trust her future to another Father. 

I liked it, gave it 5-stars.  I now remember why I like Janette Oke books so much.  While they are slow to start, they're only a little over 200 pages/book.

Also, she's preachy to the point of understanding, but not over preachy, if that makes any sense at all.

You know when you're little and you have a best friend and then you grow apart.  You're still friends, just not as close as you once were.

But then, you get a chance to catch up.  Things may never get to the way they were before, but there's always going to be a fondness for each other.  That's how I feel right now.

And, when I get rid of some more books at the used bookstore, if I see some of her books that I don't have, I may start getting them again.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Why Not Just Do That Indeed?

I have to rework SFKBS again.  Naren and his men were talking about what they were going to do.  The worst-case-scenario idea is starting to sound like a good idea.  Or a smart idea, at least, no matter how immoral.  It would work and it nullifies the rest of the book.


Random person in Naren's company:  Why don't we just do that?


Naren:  (insert long drawn out speech about how it's wrong and it's better to do things the legal way here)


Naren ain't that kind of person, folks.


Cuh-rap.


Well, let's start cutting stuff...

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Cars

I can't drive.  Yes, I can get behind the wheel and get from Point A to Point B.  I just can't get there "correctly."  I want to say that it's my mom's fault.  Nobody can drive with their mom in the car.  But I also think that there could be something wrong with me.  I drove just fine with my sister in our truck.


But I really don't belong in the car, but I think that if I was supposed to die in a car accident, it would've happened by now.  


It started when I was really young.  When I was about four or five years old, I locked myself in the trunk of my mom's car.  Obviously, that didn't kill me.


Several years later, in 2008, I was in two car accidents.  I've mentioned them before.  The first time, Amanda swerved and hit a power pole.  The second time, her VW Beetle flipped a few times.  A Beetle, people.  A bee-bee.  We shouldn't have walked away with just a few scratches (and maybe a concussion on Amanda's part).  That poor car.


In 2010, my sister, my nephew, and I hydroplaned off the road.  No damage to the truck or anything.  My sister was really shaken by it, but Corban (he was 2 at the time) and I handled it really well.  Puh-leez, I had been in a rollover wreck.


Now, in 2011, I've made several should've-wrecked mistakes--had there been another car there.  By hand of Providence, there was never a situation where I could've killed us with a mistake while driving.  If I was going to go in a car accident, it would've happened by now.


Meanwhile, I've been looking up cities to live where you don't need to know how to drive.  The most votes went to (in no particular order):


New York City, NY


Boston, MA


Chicago, IL


Philadelphia, PA


San Francisco, CA


Washington D.C.


Richmond, VA


Seattle, WA


Denver, CO


Princeton, NJ


Portland, OR


Miami, FL


For the record, I've only taken the driving test once.  The lady there told me I needed a week of practice.  That was weeks ago.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Relating To Books

Our favorite book is always the book that speaks most directly to us at a particular stage in our lives. And our lives change. We have other favorites that give us what we most need at that particular time. -Lloyd Alexander


Yeah, I've used part of that quote before.  I have something else to say about favorites speaking to us at important times of our lives.


I complain about Christian fiction a lot (and someone should, how else can they improve?), but one of my exceptions is Cathy Marie Hake.  I love her work.  She's pretty humorous in some of her Bethany House books, which is something I always look for in fiction.


Last year, I read one of of her Heartsong Presents, The Restoration.  Right around that time, I was in spiritual-breakdown mode.


I knew what the character was going through.  I was just as rebellious about my faith--among other things--as this character was.  That book became one of my favorites as soon as I was done with it.


That is one of those rare times when I can relate to it and like it.


I also can't relate to many romance books though, having little (okay, no) dating history.  But I still like them.  ::shrugg::


Also, I used to hate reading children's/YA when I was younger.  I find I read it more now in college than I did when it was actually considered age-appropriate for me.  Even though I'm only 18, slowly approaching 19, since I'm in college, I feel like I'm reading underneath my reading level when reading "teen" books.  Not that I let that stop me, because I've read a lot of teen books this year.


A lot of the books I looked at back when "teen books" were okay were about outcasts and geeky kids like I was--still am.  If it hit too close to home since I'm for the most part an escapist, I didn't want to read it.  I would read a lot of fantasy and go off into la la land where anything was possible.   


I couldn't relate to them in many ways, and it didn't bug me to read it.  


Defeating the Ultimate Evil Overlord was much more appealing than a girl getting the boy of her dreams then.  It was less painful for me.  Even when my favorite character died--and my favorite always died if it was a Stephen R. Lawhead book.  Durwin, Taliesin, Angharad, Nettles....  ::sniffle sniffle::


And to think, that's my favorite author.  ;-P


I love when I read books that I relate to the characters without the intention of relating to them.  It always makes for a good feeling about the book after the end.  It's a pleasant surprise.


But I still avoid books/music/movies that look like they'll hit close to home with me.  Ironically.

Laughter is the Best Medicine--Cajun Style

I found out about this blogfest over at The Word is My Oyster.

My jokes?  I'll poke fun at my Cajun heritage. Ever hear of Boudreaux?

Quibodeaux, Thibodeaux and Boudreaux were sitting in a boat on a very cloudy day fishing. They had been fishing a good while when the sky suddenly opened up just above them and a ray of light shined down directly on the front of the boat. It spooked them and they started to get nervous. 

All of a sudden, they heard a voice from up above. "This is the Lord." 

They all looked at one another and begin saying, "I didn't do nothing, I didn't do nothing, I didn't do nothing." 

The Lord said, "Don't get nervous. I'm not here to pass judgment on you, I only want to grant each of you one healing wish." 

They all calmed down and Quibodeaux stood up in the boat. "As you already know Lord, I've been having this crick in the back of my neck for the past ten years and if you were to grant me a healing wish, that would be it." 

The Lord waved his hand and Quibodeaux started moving his neck freely. "Mais, that feels good. Thank you Lord, thank you," and he sat down.

 Thibodeaux stood up next. "You know Lord, that bum leg I've been having for the past fifteen years, you know how bad I limp, if you were to grant me one wish, that would be it." 

The Lord waved his hand and Thibodeaux immediately felt the limp leave his leg. "Oh thank you Lord, oh thank you, thank you." 

Before Thibodeaux could sit down, there was a big splash behind the boat. Both Quibodeaux and Thibodeaux looked behind themselves and see Boudreaux swimming away from the boat as fast as he could. 

Thibodeaux shouted, "Boudreaux, where you going? The Lord is not here to pass judgment on you, he's here to grant you a healing wish. You know that bad back of yours, he can heal it for you right here and now." 

Boudreaux hollered back, not missing a swim stride, "No, no, I don't want the Lord to heal me, I'll lose my disability check."

~~~

"I've got some bad news. There will be no more Boudreaux & Thibodeaux jokes. Boudreaux passed away and left a will. He wanted to be buried at sea. Thibodeaux drowned trying to dig his grave."

~~~

Thibodeaux, Boudreaux, and a priest were in the middle of a lake fishin.  Dey run outta dere beer.  Thibodeaux stands up and says, "I'll go get us some more beer."  He gets outta de boat, walks to shore, and goes to de store, and comes back wit another six-pack.  

Dey run out again.  Boudreaux stands up, gets outta de boat, walks to store, goes to de store, and comes back wit another six-pack.

Dey run out again!  Dis time, doe, the priest says he'll go get it.  If dose Cajuns could walk on water, he certainly could!  He gets out of the boat, neck deep in the water, on his way to de shore.

Boudreaux says, "Hey, Thib, you tink we should should show him where the stones are?"

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Sit Down, Shut Up, and Write

I've been a little off when it's come to my writing lately.  I hadn't written anything really productive.  Planning what I wanted to write isn't writing.  Writing is writing.


I've been questioning this writing thing lately more than usual.  I've been slacking off the reading and writing a lot.  It could be that it's summer and I have more work to do around the farm than usual.  It could be that I didn't like the story I was working on and didn't like where I was going with it, and just didn't want to look at it.


I opened Changeling Rehabilitation(CR) on Google Docs yesterday.  It hadn't been changed in 14 days.  2 weeks.  DANG.


Also, last night, I scrapped the four chapters I had of Story Formerly Known as Black Sight(SFKBS) and just started over.  All the planning I did be darned.  I didn't even look at it while I was writing.


It feels good to be at the computer again and not just blogging everyday.  ;-P

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Infernal Book

This is probably the only time I'll post an actual review of a romance book this year, and not just mention it in passing.  I actually read this book this year, and not 2-5 years ago.  
;-p.


Book:  Morning Song by Kimberly Cates
Morning SongRating:  4 out of 5 stars


It was a pretty decent book.


Hannah Gray has fled Ireland with her nephew, Pip.  After leaving several false trails, they decide on England as their desination.  After going weeks without food, they happen upon Ravenscar House.  The Master's assistant can't handle the demanding hours, or the madness, and leaves.


Hannah agrees to be Austen Dante's new assistant, to transcribe his music, even though she can't read--let alone transcribe--a single note.


Meanwhile, Pip's father is tracking them down, and Austen Dante has his own demons to face.


I certainly admired Hannah for doing all she could for Pip.  She thought she was just going to spend the night at Ravenscar, get some provisions for her and Pip, and be gone the next day.  Nope.  In the meantime, she becomes very comfortable--and very uncomfortable!--at Ravenscar.


I honestly thought Hannah would pick up a music book or two and learn on the job how to transcribe music.  Nope.  She just writes stuff down the entire time like she knows what she's doing.


One thing I really didn't like about the book was the fact the word "infernal" was on every single page--or it seemed like it.  In dialogue, in the narrative, in the backstory....every single page!  Sometimes multiple times on a page.


In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Nectar from a Stone though, since our heroine was running away from a psycho.  He was an abusive husband to her sister and just as bad to Pip.  Also, the hero is willing to kill the psycho.


(I still get excited every time I read Gwydion chopping off Maelgwyn's head.)


Although, Nectar from a Stone didn't tick me off nearly as much when the book reached its climax.  I mean, this book's twist really ticked me off.  But at the same time, I saw something coming.  I totally knew William Atticus was a crook.  But I didn't think he was that wicked.


It wasn't a 5-star, but it was pretty good.  I'll remember it.  Of course, when it reminds me of my favorite book, you better believe it.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

On Social Networks I'm On

I have enough social networks (Writing.Com, Blogger, Twitter, and Goodreads) without needing Facebook.  That, and those do a lot more for me than FB ever could.  Granted, I'm not spending that much time on WdC, anymore, but...whatever.  I'm trying.  I actually reviewed someone yesterday--or the day before?

As for the blogs: I love following them.  I read mostly other aspiring authors who are, usually, a little bit ahead of me.  But I'm not the only one struggling with different things.

Twitter:  I like reading my Twitter updates WAY more than my Facebook updates--probably because I don't follow that many people and only like 2 of them post every single thing they're doing. And then I only get certain ones to my phone and the rest I read from my computer.

Goodreads:  I talk about it all the time.  Granted, I don't socialize on there much, but I still like being on there knowing that there are other people who love books as much as I do and are willing to talk about them and not feel any shame.  I don't feel alone on Goodreads.  I actually have stuff in common with those people--even if it is just books.

Facebook:  I get on, update my status, and check my notifications.  If I'm in the mood for it, I'll scroll and look at what everybody else is doing, but mostly after I've updated, I wait around a little to see if anyone wants to IM me.  If no one does, I get off, end of story.  Although, I like TeresaMederiosFans on there.  If I could delete most of my friends and just keep the ones where I liked what they put on Facebook, I so would.  But I don't wanna offend anybody.  Maybe I need to do a filter ;-P

The urge to delete Facebook has come on again, and I'm thinking I may go where it leads me. Yes, it is an important network to have as a writer, but it's not like I'm discovered or anything.  I can do without for now.

But nothing's decided yet.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Re-Plotting

I haven't touch my stories in days.  I use the excuse that I am re-plotting and stuff, but really it's because I don't want to put all that effort out only to rewrite it.


It could be that, for one story, I'm tired of rewriting and rewriting constantly.  The other one is just because it's a first draft.  Since I deviated from my original planning, I had to go back and fix the planning stuff so it would all work.


I'm not done with any re-plotting.


But on the bright side, I got all summer to redo this.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Cleaning to LOTR

I always seem to clean my room on Sundays.  In failing to clean up my spiritual side, I make up for it by cleaning up my living quarters. ;-P


I've mentioned it before, and I'll recap now:  I always pop in Lord of the Rings:  Fellowship of the Ring, extended edition, to "watch" while I'm cleaning.  I want to see if I can finish before the movie ends.  Usually, with the extended version, I get an extra hour's worth of time to clean my room.


My DVD player has no more remote.  I couldn't switch it to the extended and had to watch theatrical.


Chorus:  DISRESPECT TO THE DEFINER OF THE FANTASY GENRE!!


Anyway, I didn't finish before the movie was over.


So I popped in The Two Towers.


I hit "Stop" a few times during the movie to do some odd job for my mom or sister or whoever.  Well, during the part where Elrond was telling Arwen to get on the boat to the West before it was too late, I hit "Stop."


When I hit "Play" again, the movie wanted to start over.  Recap:  I don't have a working remote.


DANG IT!!!!


I gave up.  Some other time, I'll finish the second movie.


Right around the time I finish the book.  ;-)

Friday, May 6, 2011

Final Grades!

Recap from Last Semester (Fall 2010)


Art Appreciation - A
English Comp. I - A
World Civilizations I - A
General Psychology - B
College Algebra - C


GPA:  3.4


This Semester (Spring 2011)


General Biology Lec/Lab - A
English Comp. II - A
World Civilizations II - A
Intro to Sociology - B


GPA:  3.76


Overall GPA:  3.57

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Country Videos...and then some

I think it's time I talked about country music again.  Having nothing to say, here's a bunch of performances and videos:


"These are the days I will remember, when my name's called on the roll.  He'll meet me with two long stemmed glasses and make a toast to me coming home."





I like both this song and the video to go with it.





I LOVE this video.  Oh, and the song's pretty great too.





"I oughta kill you right now and do the whole wide world a service!"





The cutest video ever:





No, Keith Urban isn't my favorite country singer.  He just made the list twice is all. ;-P





Darius Rucker has made a splash in almost every genre of music.  Country music is being good to him.



I had never even seen The Hangover but I still recognized the spoof.  I love me some Rascal Flatts, y'all.





Stalker, anyone?





And our education about different dance and dress styles through the decades.





Jim Henson said your children remember what you are, not what you teach them.





This song is slowly growing to be one of my favorite love songs.





Okay, despite the name "Best Song Ever" it's not, but it's pretty dang good.  I like watching all the people dancing in the car.



And so we have our country music education for the week.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Lessons From Children's Movies

Most of them are real tongue-in-cheek.  I actually like these clips.  ;-P

Tangled:  It is okay to be indecisive.


Hercules:  Denial is just as okay as indecision.


Megamind:  Sometimes, a bad guy wins.


The Muppets:  Even children's songs can be terrible.


Snow White:  There is nothing wrong with a woman living not one man, but seven men...(ummm, really Masters Wilhelm and Jacob?  You really can't blame Disney for following the fairy tale.)





What I've Learned in College So Far

My last final was at 8 o'clock this morning.  It took me about 30 minutes to take.  No, I don't know what my grades were, but I'll post them when they're in.


1.  Don't worry about fitting in.  Nobody does, really.


2.  It won't be just your biology teachers that are evolutionists.


3.  It is okay for a teacher to have a picture of the Last Supper with the attendees as skeletons and no one think anything of it--my last final was in that classroom today.


4.  Your craziest teachers will wind up being your best teachers.


5.  Yes, these professors have spent years and years in school, but they can still get information wrong.


6.  Just because your Christian textbook didn't like Freud, doesn't mean you have to too.  I happen to think he was right on some things.


7.  There is a major difference between Psychology and Sociology, but they are both freaking awesome.


8.  It's just like high school.  No cell phones out in class, or you will be asked to leave.


9.  If you miss one class, you miss a lot.


10.  Teachers are just as bad about starting class on time as students are on getting to class on time.

Monday, May 2, 2011

NOTICE THESE NOTICES

#1.  I'm on a roll with lying to myself.  I'm going to make an effort to enter the Daily Flash Fiction challenge on Writing.Com.  After my membership expires, I probably won't pay the money to renew, but I might.  You never know.  So I need to get active on there.  If not, I'm going out with a bang.  (I'm liying to myself.  I repeat, I'm lying to myself.)

So, I cleaned out my portfolio.  The only things on there now are my poetry, short stories, 2 polls, and my Velveteen rabbit graphic that goes in my signature.  The Vent Pieces, the Brennie novel from 2 years ago, and some other stuff are all gone.

#2.  I'm changing the Blog's name and the Blog will go under some minor reconstruction--as soon as I figure out the new name.  But it's got to go.  Any suggestions?

#3.  I do have another blog: http://vinsbarnyard.blogspot.com.  I've talked about the farm a lot on here, but I've set it up it's own blog, so if you want to see the stuff we have--or don't have anymore in this case, go there.

Finally Finals, Part 2


Okay, so they got Osama last night.  YAY.  God blessed America.  Could it be He's trying to get this nation back under Him and gave us a gift instead of allowed a disaster?

Just speculating, dear reader, just speculating.  Just seems that every time a national disaster hits, we fill up the churches and people shout "God bless America."  Wonder if they really know what it means or even care at some point.  God's already heaped blessings on this country.  For all the dirt we're in--censorship for my earlier post about this country--this is still the greatest country in the world.  As Madea would say, "No matter who's running it."

As interesting as the news report was, I had an 8 o'clock final this morning.  In Sociology.  I doubt I made a 100, but I know I passed.

Following Sociology, I have my World Civ II final and my Biology I final tonight.  I have an 89 in Bio, but because I want an A, I'm taking my final.  I could opt-out, but I decided to take it anyway.  I want an A.  Especially now since I doubt I'll have an A in Sociology.  But I want to get into Honors for next semester.