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wApr 4, 2010 | |
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Easter Easter Vigil at any Abbey is pretty sweet. Not only was the homily superb (the abilities of a priest as a homilist will pretty much make/break him, in my esteem of him), BUT THERE WAS A GIANT TORCH TO LIGHT THE EASTER CANDLE. Seriously, that pole had to be 20 feet long, and there were GIANT FLAMES that made me fearful most especially when the dude tried to get the thing through the doorway. Easter Vigil: arguably the most bad-ass mass of the year (except for that one time at Pentecost when we purposely lit the baptismal font on fire). On a more serious note, I really appreciated the homily. Easter is not just about butterflies and cute bunnies and candy. It means a lot because of the suffering that comes before it, because of the seriousness required by Lent. It's kind of the time of year to screw your head on straight, and then Easter comes and floods your heart with light, and you realize that Spring is here. A discussion on whether 'The Hunger Games' was cribbed from the Japanese novel/movie 'Battle Royale.' People have pointed out the similarities in general premise to me before, but the argument made here lays out a series of incredibly specific things that happen in both. An interesting read, even if it doesn't convince you. The Onion's AV Club had a nice article about A Room of One's Own, on its 35th anniversary. I think that fan-made crafts like these are really cool. In addition to creations focused on by the OTW (fanfiction, fanart, fanvids), I think that crafts are really neat, too. I've been collecting lots of paper cut-outs of various fandoms, along with a few extra Buffy comics. I'd like to make my own, even though I'm not totally skilled in the realm of craft-making. With everyone lying about what's actually in the Health Care bill, I found this Washington Post link useful: Answer 4 questions and find out what the Health Care bill means for you. Also, really liked this Buffy Season 8 vid. DO NOT CLICK UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE TWO MOST RECENT ISSUES OF S8. For serious. Help Out Your Fellow Fan! --were_duck seeks recommendations for the WisCon Vid Show. Specifically, she'd like some AMV recs, as she's generally unfamiliar. --meganbmoore seeks old school shoujo anime. Bonus if you can tell her how to get a hold of it, :D --littlebutfierce both recommends and seeks more baseball anime. Labels: a: collins suzanne, anime, catholicism, comics: buffy, easter, fandom, the internet knows all, vids, work scribbled mystickeeper at 11:21 AM 
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wJan 1, 2010 | |
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Question for the Audience Has anybody read any of the Buffyverse novels? I see used copies of the Buffy/Angel spinoffs in bookstores all the time, and I am always tempted to buy them. When I was in middle school, I used to love the Star Wars expanded universe novels, and I still pick some up from time to time, like cheap candy. I'm wondering if anyone has favorite ones? Are there good ones about Wesley? Any good ones in general? I like most of the characters, except probably not one focusing on Xander, and not focusing on Cordelia post S3 Buffy. ~~ I don't need any recommendations on the comics, thanks. ...Unless you have recs outside of Season 8, Fray, Tales of the Slayer, or Slayer; Interrupted. I also don't need recs on collected meta essays of Buffy....I've been devouring those from the library lately as well. Labels: books, the internet knows all, tv: angel, tv: buffy scribbled mystickeeper at 10:16 PM
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wFeb 28, 2009 | |
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The Life of John Paul II....IN So, as you might recall, one of my Lenten promises is to read something that helps me think about faith every day. The point isn't to read a certain number of pages per day, or books per Lenten season, but just to think about things I don't think about as often as I should. Last evening, my boyfriend and I went to a branch of the library we don't normally go to, and I found a manga-sized graphic novel called The Life of John Paul II....IN COMICS! I found this hilarious, and checked it out, expecting to chuckle my way through. ....BUT I DIDN'T. Pope John Paul II (often referred to as "JP II" by Catholics my age) was pope for a long time, and I'm sure I don't agree with everything he did. Still, so far as popes go, he was pretty cool. My favorite part of the graphic novel was a cute list at the end, of awesome things he did. Among the items listed: He was the first Polish Pope. Most of the 90-page graphic novel focuses on his life before becoming Pope, especially living under Nazi control in World War II Poland. Still, I liked the collection of small pictures at the end, which provided images of things he did while Pope. Over pictures of him in places that are not Italy, the text bubble reads, Why does the Pope travel? The Pope travels because Jesus said, 'Go to the entire world.' I like that JP II put such an emphasis on being a visible member of the world, giving respect where it was due to people of other faiths and cultures. It also addressed why he canonized/beatified so many people as saints: "Because the world needs examples." Non-Catholics are sometimes confused by the existence of saints in the Catholic Church, but I think it's pretty awesome to have thousands of people from throughout to history to look to as proof of being able to be so devoted to God while being human. The book does a good job of not being very political. Most people assume that the Catholic Church is a place of lots of rules, and everyone in it agrees on everything, which is laughably quite far from the truth. Decisions made on every level are discussed and resisted and questioned. So a book on any Catholic figure has the potential to be really controversial in its representation of decisions and reactions. I think the only "bias" the book has is being anti-Nazi, but I don't really consider that to be a bias. The artwork was quite beautiful, and the coloring rich. I ended up liking this a lot more than I expected to. I'll admit that I don't really know a lot about historical Catholic figures, and I probably should. Does anybody know any good books about Joan of Arc, fictional or non-fictional? Labels: books, books: non-fiction, catholicism, the internet knows all scribbled mystickeeper at 10:24 AM
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wOct 24, 2008 | |
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TeeVee So, no, I'm not done with Veronica Mars yet, nor Arrested Development. Shows on the air right now that I watch are Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Fringe (I'm behind), The Office, and Grey's Anatomy (I missed most of season three and am also behind, but still like it enough to have a goal of catching episodes on ABC.com when I can). I also haven't seen any of season three of Heroes, but the promos I've seen in commercials all look really....bad. Please advise if I should try again, otherwise I'll mainline it later in life, :D But I come to you, Internet, for information. I've grown a pretty big list of TV shows I'd like to see, but there are a lot that I don't know that much about. Which shows are your favorites? Why? Do you have recommendations that aren't on my list? [Please don't use this post for anime or j-dramas/etc. ....I try to keep my media consumption ridiculously organized!] Here's what I have so far on my list: Alias Pushing Daisies Bones Psych Scrubs Doctor Who Torchwood Ugly Betty Twin Peaks Due South How I Met Your Mother Deadwood Carnivale Homicide: Life on the Streets Venture Brothers Samurai Jack (I actually watched 1.5 or 2 seasons of this already) Roswell (I started watching this when it was on the air, but didn't have time to keep up with it. LOL high school.) Wonderfalls Tru Calling Dark Angel Freaks and Geeks Also, what about Xena or X-Files? People in fandom talk about these shows all the time, but I've only seen a few random episodes. Are they shows that everybody talks about just because everybody watched them while they were on? Or is it more like they're actually good, and I should watch them? Labels: the internet knows all scribbled mystickeeper at 11:24 AM
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wSep 14, 2008 | |
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Plants I haven't had much luck with plants. I made some type of succulent plant last for about a year, from Trader Joe's, before it died. I have a lucky bamboo plant, but that's slowly dying as well, and I'm not sure how to spruce it up. Undaunted, though, I went to the UW plant sale yesterday and purchased an English Ivy plant and a Pink Polka Dot Plant. None of those pictures really do the pink polka dot plant justice. Mine has green leaves and brilliant red spots, almost neon. Anyway, so I'm looking for advice. Both plants came in plastic planter thingies....Am I supposed to take them out of the plastic and put them in a pot? Or keep them in the planter and just rest it inside of a pot? The planters have holes in the bottom.....is that enough, to just set a planter with holes in it into a pot? Is there some way to get water to drain better? The pink polka dot is supposed to get "bright indirect light." What the hell does that mean? Set it on top of my bookshelf near the window? Or elsewhere in my apartment where light sort of reaches eventually? Am I supposed to use fertilizer, in addition to watering them? I'm already planning on getting a spray bottle so that I can "mist" the red polka dot. Oh yeah, and what does "pinch back to prevent legginess" mean? Is a plant leggy if it grows to tall? Does pinching it mean snapping a stem with my fingers instead of cutting it with a scissors? Any other advice is cool. Labels: plants, the internet knows all scribbled mystickeeper at 9:19 AM
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wAug 26, 2008 | |
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Question for the audience Okay, so on the road to getting my life in order includes sorting out financial things. Today, I bought a book for $1 called Get a Financial Life by Beth Kobliner. It explains things so nicely! Things that I once had only a vague idea about are much more clear to me now. The first thing I have to do is to get organized. This book recommends keeping bank statements for three years, in case a person were to get audited (I might switch to receiving these via e-mail if possible, though; I'm all about not wasting paper). It doesn't say anything, though, about how long to keep pay stubs. I'm sure it's okay to throw away my old pay stubs from ShopKo (I haven't worked there for nearly a year, and even then, I think I only worked a total of 5 days in 2007), but I really have no idea how long I should hold on to pay stubs from my current job. The only book advises only that I keep them, but surely not forever...? Labels: finances, goals, the internet knows all scribbled mystickeeper at 11:16 PM
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wJul 18, 2008 | |
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This has nothing to do with the post, but I'm still really excited about Avatar. I have some thoughts on the first few episodes of the second season of Code Geass. Thus far, I'm pretty underwhelmed. The first episode especially was almost an exact repeat, scene for scene, of the first episode of the first season. Which is kind of cute in a call-back way, but also annoying for the viewer in an "I already know this about Lelouch!" sort of way. The thing I find most irritating about this series is the rampant fanservice, so watching Kallen in a bunny suit, and then piloting a mecha from an unnecessarily hentai-esque posture made me roll my eyes a lot. This show has so much going for it, and I wish they wouldn't ruin it with gratuitous fanservice like that. Especially with Kallen, I find her an interesting character with a lot of potential. Same for Shirley. It's a cool plot device that Lelouch erased her memory, but wasn't she starting to figure things out at the end of last season? I find her much more interesting when she's fearful of Lelouch and figuring shit out, than when she's a vapid, excitable schoolgirl. I'm sure Rolo will become interesting as time goes on, but I find it weird that the show is trying to make us care about a brand new character right off the bat. This show has an enormous cast, and I think it would have been a better choice to start with characters to whom we already have an emotional attachment, while having Rolo in the background, for the audience to wonder about. We'll see. This is an intelligent campaign, but it bothers me when people misspell Battlestar Galactica's swear word. It is frak, not frack. Come on, people. Let's say that I've always loved the old Batman movie where Jack Nicholson played the Joker (and yeah, I'm excited for the Dark Knight, liked Batman Begins, etc.). I read lots of manga and have dabbled into American comics, but don't know a ton about them. Let's say I'd like to read Batman comics. In what order should I read them? Just doing a search of the local library's stuff under "Batman" brings up 350 results, which is quite overwhelming! Also, can any of the librarians on my list explain to me why graphic novels and comics are always shelved in the non-fiction section? It just seems so....counterintuitive to me. Labels: anime, anime: code geass, comics, comics: batman, politics, the internet knows all scribbled mystickeeper at 3:53 PM
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wJul 17, 2008 | |
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Help me make important life decisions, Internet! Okay, so Shopko still has all of the seasons of Buffy and Angel on sale for $20. At first, I thought I should avoid it entirely and not purchase any of them, BUT IT IS KILLING ME, INTERNET. I already own seasons 1-3 of Buffy, and I don't care to own seasons 1-4 of Angel at all. And while I like certain parts of Buffy season 4, it will be the last season that I buy, I think. THUS, your choices are: Buffy, Season 5 (I remember loving this one) Buffy, Season 6 (Although I loved this one as well. ANGST.) Buffy, Season 7 (I loved certain episodes, and hey, it's the end of the series) Angel, Season 5 (We all know that I loved this seaon) If you'd like to avoid spoilers, avoid reading other people's comments on this entry too closely! ETA: OMG ACT II OF DR HORRIBLE WAS SO GOOD! I mean, the first act was all right; I liked the Laundry Song. BUT THEN I WATCHED ACT II AND IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER. I loved Dr. Horrible in the first song. And then I fell in love with Penny when she sang her nice song! AND THEN THERE WAS THE LAST SONG. I love Dr Horrible! I feel so bad for him! The birds are singing 'cause you're gonna DIE! Labels: dr horrible, the internet knows all, tv: angel, tv: buffy scribbled mystickeeper at 8:13 AM
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wJun 25, 2008 | |
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This is how I roll. Purchasing As expected, one of my best friends, Steph, left the most detailed analysis about which Mokona bag to purchase. I think I'm going to go with the orange one. Now I need to decide whether or not to buy this hat, as well. To shamelessly copy Bridget, here's what I'm reading and planning at the moment: Reading Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? True Adventures in Cult Fandom by Allyson Beatrice Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susannah Clarke Baby & Me manga, by Marimo Ragawa Planning To go to Concerts on the Square with both co-workers and LJ friends. I need to come up with names for my groups of friends, so people know WTF I'm talking about. Like, some of you could be "blue group" or "Wiscon people" or something. I need to watch more Angel. The next episode for me is "Smile Time," so I'm eager to watch it as soon as possible. I'm trying to catch up on Battlestar Galactica. I had notes on 3 episodes, but I think I might have lost them. Regardless, I need to keep watching more. I must watch another episode of Arrested Development so that I can finally get a new Netflix DVD. Labels: books, friends, the internet knows all scribbled mystickeeper at 1:05 PM
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wJun 24, 2008 | |
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A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION So. Rightstuf.com is having a sale on anime-related accessories. While perusing the merchandise, I noticed some handbags with Mokona on them, AND THEY ARE SO ADORABLE. I really want one. Thus, Internet, you must help me decide which one to get. This one is ridiculously cute. Enough said. This one is more subtle. The Mokona is still there, but is not as joyful as it is in the first bag. Still, the color scheme of this bag is darker, and probably goes with my wardrobe better. WHICH ONE SHOULD I GET?! (Just be glad that I don't want this heinous one!) Also, for my own reference, other things that I think look neat: FLCL t-shirt Adorable Fruits Basket t-shirt! ETA: So, my friends at work think I should get this hat, too. Labels: fashion, the internet knows all scribbled mystickeeper at 11:04 PM
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wMay 8, 2008 | |
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Questions that plague me as I begin to write my take-home finals It is always my inclination to add the letters "ue" to words like dialog, catalog, etc. so that they are "dialogue," "catalogue," and so forth. And while we're at it, I always add an "e" to the word "blond." Are these British spellings that I picked up in my youth? How come the spell check systems (which I tend to LOATHE) in both Microsoft Word and Mozilla Firefox always underline them as being incorrect? Labels: grammar whore, the internet knows all scribbled mystickeeper at 1:27 PM
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