As the Semester Winds Down

I am finally almost done with this semester.

All that stands between me and freedom are two 4-5 page papers due tomorrow (which, at this page in my academic career, doesn't phase me . . . I haven't started either) and an Anth final on Wednesday.

Then I plan to relax . . . which for me involves books, coffee, and crocheting. Not generally all at the same time. Cannot wait.

I am also excited about the new movie Avatar coming out this week. Not only do the graphics look amazing, I was just at B&N flipping through one of those companion books and it looks like the alien species the humans are fighting against were actually thought out and given a realistic culture!

(Please excuse the giddy anthropology student.)

It also seems like it will have a good message--one that could be applied to issues like indigenous rights--so I will have to let y'all know what I think about it in a few days.

Current read? I haven't had a lot of time to read recently (those pesky exams!), so I've been plodding my way through Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. You may be familiar with Neil Gaiman--he wrote the book Stardust, which was turned into a movie of the same name.

I'm only about a third the way through the book, so it's a little early to discuss impressions, but I will hopefully be able to catch up on my reading soon. There is quite a pile beginning to form.

Anyway, I suppose I should do something productive with the rest of my afternoon/evening. Off to tackle Indian history in 8 to 10 pages!

Fanboys

Saw this a little while ago, but I haven't had enough time to blog about it.

(Note: The night before two final exams is the perfect time to do anything and everything not school related.)

This movie gets a pretty solid B. While the plot is lacking and it can be crude at times, this is compensated for by enough legit (fan) humor to come out okay.

Highlights? An epic battle against some Trekkies, calling "Chewie" instead of "shotgun," and cameos by Billy Dee Williams (Lando) and Carrie Fisher (Leia).

(Possibly a few more people I didn't notice.)

If you are a fan and know a decent bit about Star Wars, it is worth subjecting yourself to this movie. If not, you can skip it and still sleep quite well at night.

All Over the Place

I have been busier this past week than I think I have been in years.

But seriously.

You may or may not remember my fiasco about a year ago with the Study Abroad Office. Well, there's a class being offered next semester on francophone culture that includes a Spring Break trip to Paris (you know, the center of the universe . . . francophile Mecca) and Brussels. In applying for this trip, I have been forced to interact with them again. And, while they haven't really been any more pleasant this time around, at least I knew what to expect.

In addition to working on the 17 page application for that all week, I also finally gave up on finding my lost passport and went to apply for a new one. That involved two long and confusing forms, a birth certificate, another form of ID, and two separate fees.

Yay, government.

Furthermore, the clock is ticking on a million and a half papers due in the next week.

And my sinuses are trying to kill me.

Also, I've been doing some more thinking on post-undergraduate plans. However, as I have class in a few minutes, that will probably make it into a different post.

Busy, busy, busy.

Sock it to the Man

Two of my most recent crocheting projects:

Socks!

I've made one big one and one small one, now I just have to try to make a second one to match each.

We'll see how that goes.

At least the first one can become a stocking if I can't make a duplicate.

And if I can make a bunch of the smaller ones, I won't have to feel bad about the little Jamaican women sewing socks for Hanes in a Free Trade Zone.

Hippie power!

Phooones

Meet Batman, the new phone I got last week:


So named because of the black "armor" I purchased for him to prevent such incidents as the one that brought my previous phone, Barry, to his demise:


Poor, poor Barry.

He decided to go on a walk down the stairs.

. . . Without me.

Here's hoping that Batman has no such suicidal tendencies.

The Rest of the Twilight Saga

I actually finished the series a little while back, I've just been lazy with updating the blog.

(Good thing I didn't hop on the blogging-all-November bandwagon. I'd have fallen off long ago. And been trampled. Repeatedly.)

Anyway, I'll organize this book-by-book and give the best review I can of each given my memory.

First up . . . New Moon.


This one was better than the first--I felt--though it still left a lot to be desired. Meyer still likes to use repetitive dialogue and take her time with plot developments, but this one at least had a bit of cohesive plot to hold it together (unlike the first book).

Biggest problem? She needs to work on why things happen. Edward leaves at the beginning of the book for next to no reason at all, and while this is necessary to introduce the Jacob plot, it doesn't really make sense. After everything he put her through in the first book, he really thinks he can just walk out of her life?

To Meyer's credit, though, the Volturi are pretty cool.

Next . . . Eclipse.


Easily the best book of the series. Less time is wasted in useless dialogue as the competition between Edward and Jacob heats up. The plot--culmination of the previous two books--flows well and the characters almost become round.

A big battle always makes things more interesting, too. Though Meyer did keep the bulk of the fighting part out of the book . . . which I guess can be justified considering the book is marketed towards girls (I'm reminded of a certain conversation on gender plot preferences we once had after seeing Master and Commander in the theatre, Amy P-Shaw).

And finally . . . Breaking Dawn.


I think this book could have not existed without harming the series at all.

Meyer resolves the Jacob plot in a perfectly ridiculous way (that was utterly predictable . . . you knew what would happen the second she made up that imprinting trash). She also reveals that Bella (up to this point the most annoying and obnoxious heroine on record) actually has a cool power and then resolves the big battle before they actually begin to fight and she gets a chance to use it.

All in all, a completely melancholy ending that undoes everything Eclipse does for the series. This book should have been condensed into an epilogue instead of lengthened into a capitalistic bid for more royalties.

For shame, Stephenie Meyer.

So . . . the Twilight Saga in sum . . .

Better than I expected, though by the time the writing actually improves to a decent standard most readers have probably been lost.

In my opinion, most of the popularity of the series is a result of the concept of the books more than from any intrinsic value the story has itself. The familiar "forbidden love" theme is the only justification I can come up with for how a series of four mediocre books without adequate plot can become so popular.

I'm also a little concerned about the possible cultural trends either caused or highlighted by the popularity of Edward Cullen . . . the angsty, controlling vampire who everyone seems to feel is perfect.

Maybe they were reading a different edition than I picked up.

In Brian's Gradebook the Twilight books receive a grade of C-. Not quite good, but decent enough not to fail.

And now for something completely different . . .


I could easily spend lots of time in this room. Greenhouse living could be fun.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Pretty much every year since V for Vendetta came out, I have attended some sort of observance on the fifth of November--usually just a movie night with eggs-in-a-basket.


I love that movie.

Most of all, I love the quotes from that movie.

"More than 400 years ago, a great citizen tried to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives." -V