Life Got Busy

Just, you know, all of a sudden.
I have Leviathan and Forest Born to review, but I haven't had time to do so.
This is a failrific thing, I know.
Eventually these will be reviewed.

Guysguysguys!

I just got Going Bovine in the mail.
I'm so excited.
Even the acknowledgments are funny and awesome.

So, expect a review in the near future.

No.

My college bookstore has a deplorable YA selection.
My college is in the middle of nowhere.

Argh.

Some Things

Thing One: I had become rather sick of having my sidebar blocked by those silly widescreen videos.

Thing Two: I had an epiphany recently. You see, I was watching a film and eating some Smarties. The dark in the theater and the quiet in my brain and the fact that I was eating the Smarties slowly for once combined in such a way that I discovered something amazing: Smarties have flavors! Specific flavors, I mean... rather than just sweet/sour. The yellow ones taste like pineapple. They are totally my new favorite.

Thing Three: Masterpiece Theatre Mystery is the bomb. Seriously. Last night I watched one of Agatha Christie's Poirot stories, and it rocked. But even if the story itself does not so much rock... it's still introduced by Alan Cumming. Who rocks.

Thing Four: When the hell is the next Abarat book going to come out? I've been thinking about this lately. I mean, that series is--in my humble estimation--absolutely brilliant. But the last book came out in 2004. We know that the series will supposedly have five books in it, when all is said and done, so it en't dead... but this is my "Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa NOW" moment. *Sad face.* But then, I suppose I can wait for what wikipedia tells me will be over 1800 pages of dark and delicious (wikipedia didn't actually say that part... delicious, I mean) prose.

Er... those are all of the things. I think.

Strange Days, Indeed

Just now, this car that had some brightly-colored shirts hanging up inside of it pulled up directly in front of my house. A woman in a striped, electric-pink shirt got out and galumphed over to her trunk. From the trunk she pulled a honeydew melon. Then she got back into her car and drove away.

I don't know why this happened.
Confusion abounds.
Maybe it was a prophecy about... my future... with honeydew melons. Yeah...

WOOHOO

Having got my first college acceptance, I am marginally more confident that I shall not perish in a box in the gutters of the world. At least, not before I get a college education.

Cool.

Oh, childhood.

Oh man. Gargoyles.
Way better than Street Sharks, Eli. I don't care if they're sharks with pants.
I mean, you guys decide.



or


Clearly the first, no?

Angry Letter, Happy Letter

This post is flying at you through the tubes in two parts. Well. Three. Ish.

Part the First:
Dear Anna Klejnowski,
I've just received your SUPER DUPER CLASSY letter and would like to thank you for your kindness in recognizing me as a "possible candidate" for your Miss Teen San Francisco pageant. Much appreciated, to be sure. I do sincerely regret to inform you that I will not be dropping by for you to judge me on "personality, casual wear and formal wear modeling," as I have just discovered that your most cordial invitation is a big fat scam.* So I will not be bringing myself, my family or "any additional interested young ladies" to any hotel room within a five mile radius of you and your minions. It interests me that you happen to be the "local coordinator" for pageants in San Fransisco, Las Vegas, Akron, South Jersey, Seattle and Chicago. Especially since you mailed your letter from Hermitage, Pennsylvania.

In conclusion, you are an evil wench who sucks the souls of the young and hopeful, and I am not in the slightest bit interested in paying you in order to "accomplish [my goals] on stage." Scamming young girls and their families is stupid. Maybe you should try robbing banks or something.

Best Wishes and many thanks for the great laughs,
Rae

PS: The pink sparkly tiara watermark on your stationary is not so very classy. Thought you might want to know.

Part the Second:
Dear Paolo DiFabio,
You pretty much rocked my socks when I auditioned for BU this past weekend. You articulated perfectly how I feel about theatre, and it was almost as though you were describing me to myself. The whole thing about success--that it isn't about a seven-figure income, but about living where you please and doing what you love--is so fundamentally true for me that hearing it worded so well from another person was pretty much magical.

One thing you said that really resonated was: "As an actor, you are your only constant. It's great to be supported by loved ones, but in the end, you have to support yourself."** This stuck with me because a) it's true and b) I hadn't really thought of it in that way before. Acting as a profession is gonna be hard and full of rejection and I'll likely be scraping change from the sidewalk a lot of the time. But it'll be okay, as long as I remember to be constant for myself, and not rely on the praise or criticism of others.

Also, before I auditioned with you, BU wasn't at the top of my list. It is now.

I really, really hope that I get to work with you in the future.

Sincerely,
Rae

So yeah. It's so interesting... People, I mean. On the one hand, you've got those who prey on the wishes and wallets of the innocent. And then on the other you have those wonderful strangers who understand that what you want isn't a "back-up plan" that'll leave you rolling in the dough when you "fail" at your dreams, but to do what you love for as long as you can.
Interesting.

Contemplating things that may or may not be pointless to contemplate, laughing at "Pageantry with Purpose"*** to, you know, scam people... and as always most humbly and other-things-ly yours,

*Not that I would want to participate in the first place. Though it would be quite singularly and especially hilarious.
**That's not verbatim, guys. Sorry.
***Seriously.

Something's Wrong

I don't understand.
The mob screams BUYBUYBUY and of course, we do. We heed that call.
They chanted "push the doors in" and trampled a man to death. To death.
But I can't really feel okay saying "they". It places the blame on the one group, rather than all of us. And it is all of us.
That one Long Island Wal-Mart was not the only place where violence broke out. All across the the country, people were--are--willing to hurt others for something so trivial as a holiday sale.
It could have happened anywhere.
Which is frightening and sickening and wrong.
And then it's sensationalized: "Check out pictures of the chaotic scene," the photo gallery blurb reads. Like it's something we should ogle. Or check out.
What I want to know is: Why?
Whywhywhy.

I can't really express all this. I feel tangled.

Forget Twighlight.

Watch this movie instead. Because it's awesome.

Hogwarts Hogwarts Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

Oh man, guys. I forgot. I truly forgot how much I love the Harry Potter series.
I guess I'd become jaded about it. Prolly around the fifth book.
But last night,when I was supposed to be sleeping, I picked up The Sorcerer's Stone. And read half of it before I decided that maybe it was time to turn the light out. Since it was the first time in years that I'd read it, it was like experiencing the adventure all over again. I had to suppress laughter when Hagrid gave Dudley a tail. By the time Harry got to Ollivander's, I was grinning like an idiot. And I really wanted to punch Malfoy for harassing Ron on the train to Hogwarts.
I've gotta give it to Rowling. She did create a great world, and a great adventure (even if she annihilated it all in the epilogue of the seventh).



Once more a believer, and yours...

Don't you just love it when your life explodes?

I'm not going to get into college. You want to know why?
Because I spelled "theoretical" wrong on a certain document.
Which I photocopied.
And handed to a certain fiery cat.
You want to know what this document is?
IT'S MY FREAKIN' SECONDARY SCHOOL REPORT!!!
THAT'S GOING TO BE SENT TO EVERY PRIVATE SCHOOL I'M APPLYING TO!!!
They're going to think I'm stupid and none of them will let me in and my life will be one great big stinking hole of misery and despair.
All because I didn't check my darn spelling.
RAWRGhlkdfnvfk,zgnos;izdflvkmlkndsfvmnsdzlkf

It's Like Hating Rainbows

Let's talk about Proposition 8 for a moment, shall we?
First off, the fact that it was up for discussion at all is ludicrous. But that it passed... I feel there must be something seriously wrong with us.

Please read the arguments for and against Prop 8 here before proceeding. Because having a grasp on both sides of the story is important, regardless of what you may believe. Also, here's a link the official title and summary of Prop 8.

Now for the show.
Some (paraphrased) arguments I'd heard in favor of Prop 8, and my responses (in green):

• "I don't have a problem with gay people. In fact, my [insert relation here] is gay. I respect gay rights, but I feel that nobody should have the right to marry. Marriage is unhealthy, which I say as a married (wo)man. Getting married was the biggest mistake I ever made. That's why I'm voting yes on Prop 8."

You know what, though Example Statement #1? That's bullshit. It doesn't matter that you think that marriage is unhealthy (because your marriage is unhealthy). As it stands, Prop 8 closed the door on the right to marriage for gay people only. And that isn't right. If there was a proposition to eliminate straight marriage or even all marriage, how do you think the community--as a whole--would respond? Eliminating people's rights will not fix your broken life. Get a divorce if you hate marriage.

• "Being gay is bad."

No it isn't. Don't hurt people because of who they love.

• "Gay people don't need to get married. They have domestic partnerships."

Actually, domestic partnership and marriage are not the same thing at all and they do not hold all the same legal benefits in common. But ignoring all that, there is a certain romantic something about marriage that everybody should be able to have--if they so choose. Domestic partnerships--though quite arguably better than nothing--perpetuate the idea of "separate but equal" that was socially acceptable during the time of racial segregation.

• "My religion says that marriage should be between a man and a woman."

Whatever happened to the separation of church and state? Anyhow, your God is not everybody's God. What if my religion (if I were religious) said that marriage should be between people of the same sex only?

• "Marriage should be between a man and a woman only. It has nothing to do with religion. I just don't want gay marriage to be forced on me."

Um... what does it have to do with, though? The status quo? Does the idea of "gay" make you uncomfortable? Fearing what is not familiar to you simply because it is different from what you know or are used to is really stupid. And nothing would have been forced on you, had 8 failed. But not being able to be married was forced on countless gay and lesbian couples.

• This one's a doozy. It comes straight out of the argument in favor of 8 from the California Voter's Guide that I linked to: "It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and human history has understood marriage to be."

The vast majority of California voters? What about the minority that doesn't understand marriage to be something exclusively for hetero people? As for human history... Human History hangs, draws, quarters, and puts heads/babies on pikes. It slaughters people in concentration camps because of their religion/sexual orientation/ethnicity/etc. It denies women the right to vote. It segregates and enslaves and wars and rapes and bombs and pillages and plunders. Don't base a damn thing on the way Human History has understood things. A lot of the time, Human History is a douchebag.

Oh how I wish I could have voted in this election, if it meant just one more vote against Proposition 8.

The world is filled with isms and phobias. Racism. Sexism. Xenophobia. Homophobia. Anti-Semitism. It's all bad. And with the passage of Prop 8, it got worse. Let's do something about it. Sign a petition. Protest (peacefully). Pray. Join a facebook group. Whatever. Get your voice heard.

Because nobody should fuck with love.

Angrily, arguing-ly, ally-ly yours...

Also, talk to me about this in comments. Especially those of you who did/would have voted in favor of prop 8 (if any of you would have, though I sincerely hope not). I want to hear everybody's point of view. Be respectful, though. Any hateful comments will be deleted.

Tired.

Why?
Well, for some reason I decided that it would be a really great idea to stay up until midnight to see my SAT scores. Come midnight (and some minutes), THEY WEREN'T UP YET. The College Board was all "Your November SAT scores will be available on November 2oth" and I was all "It IS November 20th!"
And then I went to bed. But instead of sleeping, like I should have, I finished reading The Bell Jar. Which is amazing. But still. Sleep is also amazing.

Zzzzz-ly yours...

A Cold Cup Of Tea

Sigh.
I always let my tea go cold.
That is not a metaphor. I've been sitting here with a huge mug of delicious tea. And I let it go cold. Merely that.
On Tuesday, I am auditioning for The Vagina Monologues. I am nervous as all hell (supposing hell gets nervous).
There is a hole in the middle-upper-inner left thigh of my once-upon-a-time jeans (they are now cut-off shorts and very thin and worn).
My dog is staring at me through the doorway to my mum's office. She looks a little bit sad.
My left foot is asleep.
Davy Jones is staring at me from the side of the refrigerator. As is The Mayor from The Powerpuff Girls.
Yesterday the wind was mighty strange and powerful. It woke me up. Sounded like adventure.
Freddie Mercury wants me to find him somebody to love. Freddy Mercury is dead.
I pass time in school by furtively scribbling poetry in the margins of notebooks.
I want to be/do/create something fantastic.
But I don't feel like walking like an Egyptian.
I just quoted the Spice Girls in an academic forum for my AP Literature class. Is that bad?
I leave my computer now, in favor of frozen yogurt.

Ramblingly yours...

YES WE CAN

I can't stop laughing. I can't stop crying.
Barack Obama is my president. And I am so. Happy.
I have been one of the cynical ones. The ones who say "Screw America let's move to France."
But tonight I have faith. I believe in this country. And it feels so wonderful.

Happily...

Hold On--Sarah McLachlan

So I stole this from a friend. And modified it. And now here it is... A new Meme! HUZZAH!

1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp, etc on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Put the artist after a dash following the song name.
5. Put any comments in brackets.
6. Tag some lucky people to spread the disease.

How would you describe yourself?
Elephant-- Damien Rice
[Such a sad song...]

How do you feel today?
Wait Up--Matt Nathanson

What is your life’s purpose?
Battleflag--Pigeonhed
[Apparently, I've got a revolution behind my eyes...]

What is your motto?
Je Suis Alle--David Hopkins

What do you think about very often?
Corner Of Your Heart--Ingrid Michaelson

What is your life story?
Kiss--Prince
[Not even remotely.]

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Start the Commotion--The Wiseguys
[Though I suppose that's more a matter of doing than being.]

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Wake Me Up When Septmber Ends--Green Day
[Huh. Okay.]

What will they play at your funeral?
Gimme Stitches--Foo Fighters
[Well, that's a little bit creepy]

What is your hobby/interest?
I Got You--Split Enz
[See, the problem with this is that sometimes the song titles make NO SENSE in the context of my life.]

If you could do anything right now, what would it be?
I'm Like A Bird--Nelly Furtado

What do you want most of all?
Little Toy Gun--Honey Honey
[Dear Buddha, I want a pony and a plastic rocket and a little toy gun...?]

What is your greatest fear?
Ring of Fire--Johnny Cash

What is your darkest secret?
Sunday Morning--Maroon 5
[Does that mean every Sunday? Or is there a particular one? I suppose the secret is so dark that my unconcious has suppressed it really well.]

What is your favorite thing in the world?
Peace On Earth--U2

If you could have one wish, what would you wish for?
Lover I Don't Have To Love--Bright Eyes
[Eesh. I hope not...]

What is your theme song?
People Get Ready--The Frames

The next time you hear this song (aside from now, that is), you must dance.
Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64-Allegretto non troppo - Allegro molto vivace--Henryk Szeryng, Bernard Haitink; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

What will you post this as?
Hold On--Sarah McLachlan

And now I shall tag... Twyla Lee, Eli, Aella and Medeia, Steph, B, and Quarantinedfire

Musically...

Hallowe'en!

Today is the day.
I am a marionette.
All is right with the world.

And you are?

Masquerading-ly yours...

So much...

... homework.
So many rehearsals.
So many college essays to write.
So very much to do.

On the bright side, I get to go see Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band live! REALLY soon!
I would marry Conor Oberst, I think. Cause he's brilliant. But then I would also marry Neil Patrick Harris (Dr. Horrible), who is gay. And Harold (from Harold and Maude), who is a fictional character. And Gene Kelly, who is dead.

It seems that all of the people whom I would quite happily marry are in some way or another quite unavailable.

So, you know.

That is all.

Busy, contemplating marriage and yours...

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow...

Did you know that the English word "essay" stems from the French verb "essayer", which means "to try"?
Yep.
The "most brilliant essay of [my] high school career thus far" is due at midnight.
But no pressure.

Right?

Oh wait. Wrong.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Full of sound and fury, but still yours...