School’s Starting Back
I’m back at school now and classes start back tomorrow. I won’t be able to write on the blog as often. I will get to review movies that I watch in my Asian film class (I’m excited about that one). I’ll be working more on my club blog too, writing about comics and stuff. I have a lot more to do in general now that I’m at school. It’s my last year so I plan to make it fun. I am taking five classes: the film class, Japanese pop culture, Japanese, Middle East Political Systems, and senior seminar political psychology. I think they sound interesting. Government classes are good at giving things to rant about. They’re so depressing sometimes.
Kagehime
Twilight vs. Harry Potter
I don’t see why the critics keep comparing Twilight to Harry Potter. Its on the cover of New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. The authors are totally different and their books target different audiences. Maybe what they’re really trying to compare is popularity. Harry Potter was a huge huge hit that has gotten and is continuing to get a lot of young people to read in a time when people are afraid children aren’t reading as much as they used to. It also showed that children are willing to read bigger books than were previously thought. I read the first Harry Potter book when it came out when I in 5th grade I think. I’ve now read all seven of the books.
I’ve also read the entire Twilight series. Stephenie Meyer’s books target the people most interested in a love story, teenage girls. It has vampires which are always interesting if written about well. It is about the decisions a girl is then forced to make. While Harry Potter has magic and is about a boy growing up in the shadow of his own name and legends.
I think that Meyer develops the emotions of her characters better (she is writing romance), while Rowling has a really amazing grasp on storytelling, in that she knows myths and legends very well and is able to portray them as she wants. Also she has a good understanding of what people would do in desperate times. Both are excellent authors in their own right and have an excellent sense of humor. I’ve laughed outloud from reading both. I’ve also gasped outloud too at the terrible things that happen to the characters at times. I’m glad the authors could lighten things up at times.
The last book in both series upset fans although they were both good books in my opinion. The epilogue was terrible for Harry Potter (Why was that even there? It was like she had written that when she was 7. Everyone stayed together even though I think that would have been highly unlikely and it unfortuately hinted at the small size of the magic community in England which made me think Ewww. I think it would have been perfection without it, but I guess Rowling wanted people to know the afterward. As for Breaking Dawn the book was written a bit different than the other ones and was rather graphic in parts.
A test of skill and popularity is whether they write something popular outside of the series that made them popular. Meyer wrote The Host. I didn’t get a chance to read that yet and I didn’t hear any reviews about it just that it was hyped up. Rowling has written the fairytales mentioned in the seventh book that sold for millons, but that’s not outside of the HP universe, which may be so big that she may never have to leave. And money not exactly a good test, because Rowling has gotten over a billion dollars from HP from its wide audience (me included) and the fact that its so transferable to material goods and movies. Ever tried Bertie Bott bag of jellybeans? Well I guess I ended up comparing the two more than the critics… Maybe American critics want an American author to have such acclaim.
Kagehime
Flashback Connection: Layla
Layla by Derek and the Dominos featuring Eric Clapton and Duane Allman on guitar in 1970 is one of my favorite songs. It was recently ranked number 13 on Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest guitar songs. It’s a sad love song based on a Persian story by Nezami about the unrequited love between Layla and Majnun. Clapton had seen himself as Majnun who had gone crazy because the girl he loved married another. He had an unrequited love (at the time) to George Harrison’s wife. The song itself is so beautiful and sad. The guitars seem to be crying which ironically Clapton had befriended Harrison while working on While My Guitar Gently Weeps which is number 7 on the rolling stones list.
It’s good to be well rounded. It can help write or understand songs among other things.
So here are the lyrics:
What’ll you do when you get lonely
And nobody’s waiting by your side?
You’ve been running and hiding much too long.
You know it’s just your foolish pride.
Layla, you’ve got me on my knees.
Layla, I’m begging, darling please.
Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind.
I tried to give you consolation
When your old man had let you down.
Like a fool, I fell in love with you,
Turned my whole world upside down.
Chorus
Let’s make the best of the situation
Before I finally go insane.
Please don’t say we’ll never find a way
And tell me all my love’s in vain.
Chorus
Chorus
Kagehime
Spider in the corner
spider
This spider spun the strangest web I’ve ever seen and its hanging on my house of all places. I don’t known what kind of spider it is or anything. Just that it looks right out of charlotte’s web. I don’t think its words, but it looks really strange. What do you think?
Kagehime
Flashback Connection: Call on Me
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Like the dance song Call on me by the DJ Eric Prydz in 2004? Well he got it from Valerie sang by Steve Winwood in 1982. Winwood liked Prydz’s version and re-recorded vocals for him. Well this is just a little tidbit I was interested in. Both versions are great. Call on me came from the chorus in Valerie so its a remix on a small section of the song.
Kagehime
Breaking Dawn
It took me three days to read when it really should have taken two, but I got through it finally. When I wasn’t reading it was like the TV was telling me to go read. We just got HD tv so I was flipping to look at the channels and I see that a documentary of Vampires in America was on two channels…it was seriously saying that Vampires were in America… Then I flipped and a show called Jake 2.0 was on whatever that’s about but that only reminded me of Jacob. Later all these previews for True Blood, a vampire movie, kept playing. It was rather annoying and odd. Now that I’m finished I haven’t seen any of that.
The Twilight series is definitely the best and most interesting book series I’ve read this year or the best several years and Breaking Dawn sums it up well. It has everything Twilight fans were looking for or at least I was. It’s longer than the other three books in the series and most of the story is given in Bella’s perspective, but not all of it as with the other books. I have to say this book was a shocker. Throughout much of the book I was thinking “Oh my God!”, ”What!”, “This can’t be!” etc. and I’m not given to thinking these thoughts much less yelling them out while reading. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that except with this book while New Moon too I have to say.
I was sort of reminded of Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour and Vampire Chronicles in this one unlike the other ones. Not because of the writing style or anything. Just that it was dark, extreme, and sensual. Also there’s a surprising shocker (that I will not give away) that were in common in The Witching Hour (which is not about Vampires) and Breaking Dawn. It is actually something that a lot of Vampire novelist attempt to write about and fail, but Meyer succeeded in having. She continues to have life go on as normal, well show that beyond the vampires its going on as normal.
As for the characters: Edward and Jacob great as always. I was feeling really sorry for Bella for a while who was not annoying in the least and actually got to be really cool (hmm… 
There’s a lot of surprises from the Cullens and werewolves. There are a lot of surprise throughout the novel so read it if you haven’t!
As awesome as I think it is I think its lacking some of the relationship development of the earlier books which was really the thing that got me hooked to them in the first place. There was a lot more action and a reliance on shockers that weren’t in the previous books. Endings are really hard to write. It’s the part that’s most likely to upset fans, but this ending was priceless. Now I’m looking foward to Midnight Sun. In the mean time I guess I’ll just find The Host.
Kagehime
PS. I love the cover. All the covers were great, but this one is awesome. The red pawn looks rather threatening doesn’t it? And the Queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess.
Cost of a strat
I was walking around best buy looking at the electric keyboards and turned around to see guitars. Really cheap ones that say that they are made by Gibson and Fender. They were under 200 bucks along with the amp. I look at the box, well only the fender because that’s the kind I bought, in order to compare the cost and see what’s different about it. So my strat was 399 because it was made in Mexico and that one was around 100 or so, because it came with the amp. And considering the price of the American made guitars to my Mexican made one… I only hope the quality is more. Is the difference that is more assembly line style made and that the workers are paid less, because I noticed that where the workers are paid less and less so is the price.
I’m all for cheap stuff. Especially now with the economy and the low weight of the dollar, but I’m for quality and getting the bang for the buck. Also I don’t like to think that people are being ripped off so badly (workers and consumers both). What are we doing in are search for cheaper and cheaper goods? And is it even worth it?
The best guitars were said to be made in the late 50s and early 60s before they became mass produced. I’m sure they were more expensive comparatively and I wonder how much the workers were paid in comparison, but I wonder how much quality is lost. It is not only the guitar that has become like this. So many other things have been made cheap so that people can afford them, but as they are made cheap they are outsourced. Businesses try to rip off their workers to make profits and keep costs down.
Kagehime
Reading on the Road
A lot of people can’t read while riding in the car, but I’m glad I can because the trip to and back from Texas was long. It was 11 hours one day and 10 the next to and the same back. I only took two books with me, knowing that I read slower in the car, because of all that bouncing so I was afraid of running out. I couldn’t read at night or anything in the hotel. I read Son of a Witch by Greg Maguire going down and First Truth by Dawn Cook coming back.
Son of a Witch, the sequel to Wicked, followed the story of Elphaba’s son, Lir. Throughout the whole novel no one is completely certain of his heritage, but for the most part Lir accepts this. Lir is in search of his own identity and self-identitifying skill that he believes he lacks. There is also the question of the use of religion and what is honor more so than the question of good and evil in Wicked although it touched on that as well.
First Truth is the first of four books in the Truth series. I had found out about it on one of those lists that people make on Amazon. It sounded good to me so I just checked it out the library to see and I was right. It proved to be an interesting and quick read. The only problem I had with the book was the ending, because it seemed abrupt, but I found out that the first two books in the series had once been one. In the book Alissa, lives in a world with magic only she and most of the people don’t know magic even exists. She is sent away by her mother on a journey to the hold where is she turn learn magic from a master and become a keeper. Only problem is the masters are all gone and there remains an insane keeper. The book is good and like one of the commenters said its for fans of Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley which I am fans of both. It kind of reminds me of Patricia Wrede’s Lyra books for some reason too.
I am going to try to finish Hidden Truth, the second in the truth series, at least by sometime tomorrow because Breaking Dawn just came into the library and once I start reading that I don’t plan on stopping.
Kagehime
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Awesome, awesome movie and an awesome experience to go along with it. It was like the most awesome chic flick I’ve ever seen. It was even better than the first. The girls are a little older and their problems are threatening their friendship and love is a harsh teacher.
I saw the movie in Texas with two of my cousins and a friend of theirs. One of my cousins told my uncle we were going and he thought she said that we were going to the traveling pants show like the pants were going to move by themselves. At the theater the guy selling tickets accidently tried charging 49.99 for four or five tickets to the girls (going to see Traveling Pants of course) instead of 29.99. I was like woo that’s way too much. If he hadn’t got corrected I was about to turn around. Those would have been some expensive tickets.
Inside the ticket collecter said that he heard that the pants could move around and shoot lasers. I told him yes. He wasn’t the only male who wanted to know why girls wanted to see the movie and the only answer I can give to that is that we’re girls.
Then preview time. They all targeted girls and women with previews for Twilight and The women. There was also a preview for a really cute mouse movie. And I heard clapping for the Twilight preview. So excited. I’m worried the movies going to be messed up. Not all good books are turned into good books (Eragon). That was a messed up movie. It was hillarious and it wasn’t supposed to be. If they do that to Twilight….Well I hope they don’t, but I’m not happy with their choice for Edward. He looks really strange. At least Jacob looks good, but I had imagined someone better for Edward…oh well. So what do you think about the choices?
Edward
Jacob
During the movie, the audience which filled the theater, were all female except for two or three guys. Hearing everyone aww and yell in sync was awesome. So girls go see this movie. It’s really good and try not to cry, because you just might tear up without meaning to.
Kagehime
Going down to Texas
Well I’ll be going to start my journey down to Texas tomorrow. I’ll be gone about a week so no blog for a little while. It’s going to be a road trip in a time of high gas. How smart is that?
For the trip I downloaded some new songs from i tunes. I had a little problem with downloaded because of some confusion between the old and new versions, but once it was completely updated there were no problems. Here’s my list:
Viva la vida Coldplay
Violet Hills Coldplay
All along the Watchtower Jimi Hendrix
Purple Haze Jimi Hendrix
California Dreamin’ Mamas and Papas
A Hazy Shade of Winter Bangles
Eternal Flame Bangles
Falling Down Duran Duran
Jumper Third Eye Blind
Four Minutes Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Timberland
American Boy Estelle and Kanye
Island in the Sun Weezer
No Rain Blind Melon
Jealousy Gin Blossoms
White Room Cream
Dirty Little Secret All American Rejects
What I noticed from my list is a lot of 90s music sounds like it came from either the late 60s or 70s while music now kind of sounds like 80s. Like these are the children of those generations playing music now.
I am also hoping to be lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of Breaking Dawn from the library today since it just came out today so I could read it on my trip, but I’m starting to have doubts that my hold on it will let me get it today. Oh well… I have other books to read.
Kagehime
