Posts
Normally I am not one to blog twice in a day so close together, but really. [Also, this was supposed to be posted in October, I just missed my mark due to preparations for my sister's wedding that was November 1.] Isn't it disturbing to walk into a store (before Halloween mind you) to see skeletons, goblins, frankensteins, fake blood, creepy decorations directly across from the Christmas decorations? I mean, lets have angels, nativities, pretty decorations, fake snow, cuddly winter critters next to a holiday that celebrates the dead, the harvest and was a day when animals were slaughtered for winter storage.
When I was younger, probably in the early years of middle school/high school I thought that it was ridiculous about how early stores hocked Christmas wares. I always said that sooner or later stores would have their Christmas junk out before Halloween and this year that prediction rang true. Honestly. Why October? Why that freaking early? This is getting out of hand and ridiculous. I am a firm believer in nothing to do with that holiday until AFTER Thanksgiving. Heck, in my house we never decorated immediately after Thanksgiving, it was usually the first or second weekend of December.
I guess this goes to show the over-commercialization of this holiday. Truthfully, it means so much more than we give it credit for. I am abhorred by all the people who practically through their Christmas stuff up almost immediately following Halloween. The holiday spirit is fine, it's ok to love Christmas, but this is seriously just wrong.
Another disturbing tidbit, one of my favorite soft rock stations is now playing Christmas music. In fact, they basically started they day after Halloween. To me, November 1 is even still too early. Why can't stores, or people wait until mid-November at the earliest? Thinking about Christmas while trying to celebrate Halloween is just wrong - it will never be right. If this trend continues, why bother taking down Christmas stuff at all? Just leave it up all year round. Then again, if that happened I would have to stay away from any form of physical store. But internet shopping is getting much better and shipping definitely more reliable.
Patience is a virtue. Stay away from Christmas until it is actually November-December. Is that too much to ask?
Monday, November 17, 2008
New Online Lit Mag Premiers
SIR! a new journal of poetry and prose has its first issue online. This new online magazine boasts some well-known names in the online and print literary scene, such as Blake Butler, Ryan Walsh, and Mike Young.
It is a nice, new online magazine with a good collection of poetry and prose. I don't know why, but I am usually a bigger fan of poetry than short prose - maybe because I can't write short prose to save my life. It takes quite a bit of talent to make short prose work, to tell a story so concisely. Anyways, I digress.
This new magazine is definitely worth checking out. I thoroughly enjoyed the poems by Chad Reynolds and I loved Brooklyn Copeland's "How Many in Their Daring." Spencer Troxell's poems add some well-crafted humor into the mix. His poem about fruit flies was amusing and definitely rang true this year. At least in Michigan where fruit flies seemed to appear in abundance and one had to wonder where all those little buggers were coming from.
Charles Lennox's piece "What the Other is Thinking" is an interesting look at the connection between lovers and how they realize that they aren't as connected as they thought. Another favorite among the collection is Elisa Gabbert's "Blogpoem the Second." It really hits home with writing and the internet today.
All in all, this is a great new online magazine. Definitely a must for people starving for great writing who can't necessarily afford subscriptions for print journals. Besides the poetry and prose, there is also a page of links to other magazines that are great sources for more good writing. Take a gander at the site and enjoy a few chuckles.
[http://sir-magazine.org/]
It is a nice, new online magazine with a good collection of poetry and prose. I don't know why, but I am usually a bigger fan of poetry than short prose - maybe because I can't write short prose to save my life. It takes quite a bit of talent to make short prose work, to tell a story so concisely. Anyways, I digress.
This new magazine is definitely worth checking out. I thoroughly enjoyed the poems by Chad Reynolds and I loved Brooklyn Copeland's "How Many in Their Daring." Spencer Troxell's poems add some well-crafted humor into the mix. His poem about fruit flies was amusing and definitely rang true this year. At least in Michigan where fruit flies seemed to appear in abundance and one had to wonder where all those little buggers were coming from.
Charles Lennox's piece "What the Other is Thinking" is an interesting look at the connection between lovers and how they realize that they aren't as connected as they thought. Another favorite among the collection is Elisa Gabbert's "Blogpoem the Second." It really hits home with writing and the internet today.
All in all, this is a great new online magazine. Definitely a must for people starving for great writing who can't necessarily afford subscriptions for print journals. Besides the poetry and prose, there is also a page of links to other magazines that are great sources for more good writing. Take a gander at the site and enjoy a few chuckles.
[http://sir-magazine.org/]
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Seeker
Books based on movies. Movies based on books. Two things that in general don't work well at all. Books based on movies seem to lack the basic essentials that make good books. In a lot of movies there isn't a whole lot of information, or narration as with books. There is a chance to take a movie and expand it into a well-written novel, however, that rarely seems to be the case.
The biggest problem, though, is books being turned into movies. Queen of the Damned was a good movie if you completely divorced it from the book which was full of subplots and cool vampire history. It is sad that they chose not to follow those plots and tell the whole story behind the King and Queen of vampires and Maharet, her twin and Khaymen.
Many movies can do tolerably well because if they don't really follow the book they are based upon, they can at least be well-made and interesting. Unfortunately for fans of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, The Seeker was a total bomb. It didn't follow the first book well at all. It changed some of my favorite characters and combined and added characters. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it just didn't work.
They made the Will's family Americans living in Britain, they put a special focus on Max and Will getting a girlfriend (which didn't happen in the book, but I guess you have to have some romance). Besides that, the plot of the movie was bad. It didn't follow true to the book, which may have helped it more. Instead it became a silly movie, full of special effects, bad acting, and bad storytelling. I couldn't even make it through the movie. It was sad. I was such a fan and excited to hear that one of my favorite series would become a movie.
But, books made into movies do have a high risk rate. A high risk of failure if there is deviation far enough from the plot to upset purists without enough originality and genius to make up for the lack of accuracy.
The biggest problem, though, is books being turned into movies. Queen of the Damned was a good movie if you completely divorced it from the book which was full of subplots and cool vampire history. It is sad that they chose not to follow those plots and tell the whole story behind the King and Queen of vampires and Maharet, her twin and Khaymen.
Many movies can do tolerably well because if they don't really follow the book they are based upon, they can at least be well-made and interesting. Unfortunately for fans of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, The Seeker was a total bomb. It didn't follow the first book well at all. It changed some of my favorite characters and combined and added characters. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it just didn't work.
They made the Will's family Americans living in Britain, they put a special focus on Max and Will getting a girlfriend (which didn't happen in the book, but I guess you have to have some romance). Besides that, the plot of the movie was bad. It didn't follow true to the book, which may have helped it more. Instead it became a silly movie, full of special effects, bad acting, and bad storytelling. I couldn't even make it through the movie. It was sad. I was such a fan and excited to hear that one of my favorite series would become a movie.
But, books made into movies do have a high risk rate. A high risk of failure if there is deviation far enough from the plot to upset purists without enough originality and genius to make up for the lack of accuracy.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Just Because
How do we choose who runs our country, who represents the American people to the world? Do we vote based on intelligence, voting record . . . or something else? Do we vote for the minority to create history?
Um, no?
Why vote for John McCain? Because he chose a female running mate? What kind of answer is that? Why vote for someone based on sex, race, ethnicity? If that is the criterion being used for this election, why not make the presidency a beauty contest? Seriously. It is sad when that is what some people's mindsets are coming down to.
Let actions speak louder than words. Let what they have accomplished and what they stand for influence the decision. I suppose if you don't like either candidate, you could use the minority reason, but shouldn't you really be looking at what other options you have? There are other parties running, not that they'll garner enough votes to win, but still, support what you believe. Or, I guess, go with the popular which is the lesser of the two "evils?"
I am not sure how I feel about Senator McCain, but I do know that I won't vote for him this coming November just because he chose a female running mate. And no offense, I am less likely to vote for him because of his running mate. She doesn't seem like she has enough experience. If the worse should happen, or if she should be in a position where she must take over the reigns for a little while, she seems horribly ill-equipped to handle situations like we've had in the past. She is still green, still wet behind the ears. Sure, she can learn, but do we want it at our country's, our people's, expense?
Just some food for thought.
Um, no?
Why vote for John McCain? Because he chose a female running mate? What kind of answer is that? Why vote for someone based on sex, race, ethnicity? If that is the criterion being used for this election, why not make the presidency a beauty contest? Seriously. It is sad when that is what some people's mindsets are coming down to.
Let actions speak louder than words. Let what they have accomplished and what they stand for influence the decision. I suppose if you don't like either candidate, you could use the minority reason, but shouldn't you really be looking at what other options you have? There are other parties running, not that they'll garner enough votes to win, but still, support what you believe. Or, I guess, go with the popular which is the lesser of the two "evils?"
I am not sure how I feel about Senator McCain, but I do know that I won't vote for him this coming November just because he chose a female running mate. And no offense, I am less likely to vote for him because of his running mate. She doesn't seem like she has enough experience. If the worse should happen, or if she should be in a position where she must take over the reigns for a little while, she seems horribly ill-equipped to handle situations like we've had in the past. She is still green, still wet behind the ears. Sure, she can learn, but do we want it at our country's, our people's, expense?
Just some food for thought.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Health Care
America. Land of the the free, home of the brave - where the elderly and poor cannot afford health care. Due to the rising costs, many employers are also cutting down health care/insurance packages. Who can afford to go to regular doctors appointments, let alone pay for all of the medications or treatments that may be needed?
In an age where people are drowning in students loans, the health care quagmire makes things infinitely worse. Doctor and hospital bills quickly escalate to the amount of a full four years or more of college - in only a matter of months. How tragic. Even worse is the fact that many insurances won't cover as much as they once did.
My grandmother was recently in the hospital, both visits lasted a little over a week. She is on social security. She is supposed to be covered by Medicare but they won't pay a dime to help because she also has Humana (apparently good for prescriptions). Her first stay resulted in over $30,000 in medical bills owed to the hospital. For a week and a half stay! We have not received the results of her second visit, but hopefully, since she was there a little less, the bill won't be as bad. But now we hit a quandary. She has to have this heart medication. She just does or her heart will have a greater chance on giving out. Well, fine and dandy. Thing is, we can't afford the medication. She is rapidly approaching the donought hole in her insurance with Medicare probably not stepping in at all.
What a great age for Americans to live in. Health care seems to be in decline (as most cannot afford it) and the elderly especially are having to make the choice to either put all of their money towards the prescriptions they need to live or to buy food. Yet there are so many Americans afraid of allowing a law to pass that would get better health care for those who need and can't afford it. How is it that Canada can basically cover its people's expenses and help them out and we cannot do so?
America is a great country, so can't we do a little more to keep its people healthy? Or do we leave them with the choice of needed medication but no food or food but not the medicine they need to survive?
In an age where people are drowning in students loans, the health care quagmire makes things infinitely worse. Doctor and hospital bills quickly escalate to the amount of a full four years or more of college - in only a matter of months. How tragic. Even worse is the fact that many insurances won't cover as much as they once did.
My grandmother was recently in the hospital, both visits lasted a little over a week. She is on social security. She is supposed to be covered by Medicare but they won't pay a dime to help because she also has Humana (apparently good for prescriptions). Her first stay resulted in over $30,000 in medical bills owed to the hospital. For a week and a half stay! We have not received the results of her second visit, but hopefully, since she was there a little less, the bill won't be as bad. But now we hit a quandary. She has to have this heart medication. She just does or her heart will have a greater chance on giving out. Well, fine and dandy. Thing is, we can't afford the medication. She is rapidly approaching the donought hole in her insurance with Medicare probably not stepping in at all.
What a great age for Americans to live in. Health care seems to be in decline (as most cannot afford it) and the elderly especially are having to make the choice to either put all of their money towards the prescriptions they need to live or to buy food. Yet there are so many Americans afraid of allowing a law to pass that would get better health care for those who need and can't afford it. How is it that Canada can basically cover its people's expenses and help them out and we cannot do so?
America is a great country, so can't we do a little more to keep its people healthy? Or do we leave them with the choice of needed medication but no food or food but not the medicine they need to survive?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Speak Up, Get Out
It is always interesting to hear when speaking up and encouraging others to speak up as well gets you in trouble. Heaven forbid a professor actually encourages her students to open their mouths about what is going on around them. What is even more interesting is that AC was always complaining about the high level of student apathy on campus. Out of the 1000 students, only a few were actually involved with campus activities. Many of the student organizations were comprised of the same groups of people.
Now, students are starting to speak out, trying to be heard. They want to get involved in the goings on at AC, of what the administration is planning. Since the college wants to keep the students (they finally managed to grow enrollment), the administration sticks to getting rid of faculty who oppose their ideas. The people who are being fired or are leaving due to differences of opinion are general favorites of students.
Yes, let's get rid of the people who care about the students, who want to make sure that their opinions are heard so they can have a happy college experience - it makes perfect sense. NOT.
Another fun fact. Forums were started so students could voice their concerns to the administration. Sure there was discussion, a voicing of complaints - but many things didn't change (like proper care of sewage in a dorm's basement, which finally got cleared up by parents calling and threatening the school). Change takes time. Very true, but not if the problems and concerns are ignored. Especially not if the faculty and other workers at the college who wish to help better the students are sent packing.
Now, students are starting to speak out, trying to be heard. They want to get involved in the goings on at AC, of what the administration is planning. Since the college wants to keep the students (they finally managed to grow enrollment), the administration sticks to getting rid of faculty who oppose their ideas. The people who are being fired or are leaving due to differences of opinion are general favorites of students.
Yes, let's get rid of the people who care about the students, who want to make sure that their opinions are heard so they can have a happy college experience - it makes perfect sense. NOT.
Another fun fact. Forums were started so students could voice their concerns to the administration. Sure there was discussion, a voicing of complaints - but many things didn't change (like proper care of sewage in a dorm's basement, which finally got cleared up by parents calling and threatening the school). Change takes time. Very true, but not if the problems and concerns are ignored. Especially not if the faculty and other workers at the college who wish to help better the students are sent packing.
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