Help, I'm Stuck!!

Yet another video, which is code for Jhaniel-is-being-too-lazy-to-actually-write-anything.

Well actually, that's only half true. I'm writing a lot at the moment. Just not on the blog. More in the creative writing field. But that will go on the blog, eventually. So it all balances out in the end.

Anyway, what's wrong with videos, right? 

So here's one of my favorite comedy pieces ever. Have you ever heard of Knox's Korner? It's very simplistic claymation, by a guy with a very sarcastic, stupid, and morbid/violent sense of humor. Which might not sound awesome but somehow it is. I first found this video in 2004, and it's been something I keep coming back to ever since . . . I still sing the pen song when I'm walking down the street. In fact, I frequently quote a lot of this particular video . . . He's got some other good vids too--pretty much all of them involving violent clayman deaths. But he also gave me my second favorite joke in the world in one of his videos. These videos only work, I think, if you like random things and things that just don't make sense.

Either you will love this, or you will hate it, or you will not understand it. Heh heh. Enjoy if you can.

Battery Bill's!

Hawaii's best television commercial. Seriously.

Weekend Update

For the lack of a more ingenious title.

Ahem, yes. On Saturday I  . . . stayed in the apartment and did homework. This was my first full homework load of the year, and it wasn't pleasant, but I have got it done. Well, almost. Only 13 more weeks. That's definitely do-able, no?

I also cleaned my room, and finally emptied one of my suitcases which had still be lounging in the corner of my room trying (and failing) to look inconspicuous. The big hard-case is still there though, I'll tackle that this weekend. 

I meant to get a lot of art done, but one way or another I procrastinated and computered and homeworked my way out of it. Bother. I did spend about three hours making a birthday card for my mother, though, which is currently winging its way across the ocean to reach her in time (hopefully!). I forgot to get a picture of it, but it was waaaaay too intricate for my own good.

I also did a lot of speed-reading. Some homework related, others not. Firstly, I'm reading 'The Broken Spears' for history class, and strongly recommend it to anyone who likes reading history which may in turn inspire creative writing. It's the account of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs--from the Aztecs' viewpoint. Basically it is a collection of eyewitness Aztec accounts, talking about the whole thing. Absurdly short--I want to find the full version of these accounts now, as in this book there are just 'excerpts'--still, a very enjoyable and interesting read. I've always liked Montezuma. It wasn't his fault that he grew up in a human-sacrificing kingdom and was attacked by Cortez, poor chap. He did his best.

As far as pleasure reading goes I am reading 'Gone with the Wind'. I am 400 pages into the novel, and I still have this fierce desire to smack Scarlett. She's unbearable. Rhett is just so/so, though I do like his sense of humor, it somehow agrees with mine. Anyway, I'm plowing ahead, and hoping character development starts happening sometime soon . . . so far, War and Peace is a definite win.

It's been colder than usual for Hawaii. As a result, I haven't seen many geckos lately, though the myna birds are strutting about as usual. They are so impudent and merry, you cannot help but like them. They obviously have high opinions of themselves, and look so classy.

Sunday after church I . . . um, did more homework. And yes, I did take a time-out to watch Iron Chef. I'm a closet Iron Chef fan. Whoo-hoo!

Still haven't seen Inkheart. But I will! And I have tentatively begun to sketch out ideas for my fairy tale, but we'll see how the finished product actually is.

Book Feast Pt. 1: Watercress Soup

And here 'tis at last, the long-anticipated Watercress Soup recipe!

First you need a little background information. Last year, when I was away at college, I planned to have a huge feast with my family when I returned home for Christmas break. Moreover, I determined that I would have the feast on January 3, which is JRR Tolkien's birthday.

Out of respect for the master of words, I further decided that my feast would be based on literature itself. That is, I would take recipes based on foods mentioned in books that all my family could recognize, and then serve them in one enormous meal fit for a bookworm!

Ultimately, this is what I did. I cooked all the courses on my own--which was exhausting but one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, absolute madness--and searched books for mentions of food.

First course, naturally, was a delectable soup. I absolutely adore soup. And the soup to end all soups is, of course, the beautiful 'chicken and garlic and watercress soup' which plays such an important part in the beautiful story "The Tale of Despereaux".

This is the soup that Chiaroscuro pined for in the darkness of the dungeon, the soup that was so good it healed his broken heart (sort of). The soup that the Queen loved so much, the King outlawed it when she died. The soup that gave Despereaux courage and that Cook broke the law to brew. And it was the soup that everyone enjoyed when the story at last found its happy ending.

Now, it is also a soup that you can enjoy. Quite simple, and every bit as delicious as the soup you've dreamed about ever since reading Kate DiCamillo's novel. It has the chicken stock, it has the garlic, it has the watercress. This recipe is based upon one which I found on the internet, but I modified it a lot, and am very pleased with the result.

Watercress Soup

‘“Yes,” said Cook. “That is soup that you are smelling. The princess, not that you would know or care, is missing, bless her goodhearted self. And times are terrible. And when times are terrible, soup is the answer. Don’t it smell like the answer?”'

-The Tale of Despereaux

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter

4 cups sliced onions

4 cups sliced potatoes

8 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 bunches of watercress, thoroughly washed and coarsely chopped

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced (NOTE: I think this is how much I used. I improvised at the time of cooking once I realized the recipe had no garlic in it! Anyway, just put in how much you think would be good.)

Procedure:

In a large saucepan with a lid, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in onions, cover, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft but not brown. Stir in potatoes, stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover pan, and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes. Add watercress for last 5 minutes of simmering. Serve while hot!

. . . And that's it! Easy! The original recipe called for you to add milk, cream everything in a blender, and then chill. Pah! Keep it with all the ingredients whole, don't add milk, and serve hot. Seriously.

To further whet your appetites, here's a (fuzzy) photo of the

 finished soup. And please realize the above recipe serves A LOT of people. It fed my family of . . . nine. Nine who were old enough to eat the soup, anyway. So just adjust the recipe to fit your needs.

Happy chefing!

Next Recipe: Pasta Puttanesca

National 'Tell a Fairy Tale Day': Challenge!

So a few days ago Kat and I were being generally silly and scouring the internet for strange and weird holidays which are 'unofficial' here in the US of A but official enough to be listed on numerous holiday websites. There were some pretty awesome ones, but the best by far (merit-wise) in my opinion is 'Tell a Fairy Tale Day', February 26.

That's a noble holiday, isn't it? 

Anyway, seeing as how many of my friends are writers, and I thought we could turn this into an activity. Of course we're all very busy, so if you are too busy to work on this, I completely understand. But fairy tales don't necessarily have to be long . . . and you have a month!

Basically, the rules are these: Write a fairy tale of your own by the 26th of February! It can be about anything at all, just be creative . . . I thought it would be interesting to see how our different ideas of fairy tales form our stories, and the world can always use more fairy tales. If you are part of the Pre-Paolinist group, you should probably post your story there . . . if not, post it on your blog, WW, or wherever you like . . . preferably where other participants in this activity can read it when it is completed. All stories should be posted on the 26th of February.

Go for it and have fun!

A Million Mrs. Pendragon-Wannabes?

"Now the Howl books are being sought for all over the world, so that’s nice. And the procession of people, which was enormous already, has increased—doubled and tripled—of all the people who want to marry Howl. Now it seems to me that Howl would be one of the most dreadful husbands one could possibly imagine. But there are these thousands of girls who write and say “Is Howl real? I want to marry him.” All around the world. About the only place where they don’t seem to be wanting to marry him is India, I think. But everywhere else—Thailand, Taiwan, New Zealand, Spain, massive amounts from England and huge amounts from America too. It’s extraordinary."

-Diana Wynne Jones

Ha ha, this made me laugh so much. That's awesome. Sophie must be a very lucky girl, no? Or do you agree with all those young women in India? *dies laughing*

This quote's taken from quite a good interview with DWJ, regarding one of her newer--if not her newest--books. I especially enjoyed where she says that she is against plot-writing and prefers to work from images that appear in her head. I am entirely in agreement with that! Finally, an author who endorses my style!

One of My Dreams Come True

I've often thought about how brilliant it would be if I could get some friends together and we could all do a spontaneous musical . . . Sadly, my friends don't think much of the idea. But these people have done it, so now I can enjoy the idea anyways!

Even better, I think I've been to this mall . . . *sigh* Why wasn't I there when this happened? I woulda joined in!

(ImprovEverywhere, btw, in case you don't know the group, they're pretty funny . . .)

Inkheart (film)

Coming January 23. And I fully expect it to be far short of the brilliance of the book, especially where villains and emotional impact are concerned, and yet I'm going. Why? Erm . . . because Paul Bettany was always Dustfinger in my mind, even before I knew his name. I saw him in a commercial for a film, and instantly thought of Dustfinger . . . and then when I found out who they cast in the role in 'Inkheart' . . . heh, yeah.

He's perfect. Wow. And Dustfinger is my favorite character in the book. So huzzah for Hollywood getting at least one thing perfectly right in a film!!!!

Four Day Weekend, lalala

Due to 60 mph winds, torrential rain, and other nasty weather today, school was cancelled. Which means I now am smack in the middle of a four day weekend. What a glorious place to be.

Of course, my teachers will probably retaliate with crushing loads of homework next week. As any fairytale reader knows, all joys must be paid for. Still, I don't mind right now. I'm relishing the tropical rain-smell coming through my window slats, and am writing. As usual.

My imagination is like a maze, or an onion. I bury myself so deeply inside it that I have to peel away layers in order to find myself again, and oftentimes I have so much fun that I really don't want to come back out. But necessity always dictates that I do. I'll be in a character's head . . . and then I have to retreat to watching the character from the outside . . . then retreat until I'm looking at the scene from the outside . . . and then I have to step outside of the fictional world I was exploring . . . and then I find I'm in Hawaii, surrounded by misty green mountains where the rainfall makes a hundred waterfalls. My grandmother says that when a really big storm comes and the air is clear enough you can see all the waterfalls and it looks as though the mountains are crying. I walked around in a happy poetical daze for hours after hearing that!

So--after a long and involved time storycrafting I emerge from the Fairyland inside my head to this place, where the brooding sky is like silver, and the mountains weep. Fantasy and magic and stories of elves and enchanted places aren't escapist at all. Because if you look at the world you live in correctly--well, sometimes you can't even tell the difference.

A Video, and Plenty of Randomness

"Have you ever realized just how many creatures in this world have wings? And I don't. It doesn't seem fair."

The above is a bit of dialogue I wrote yesterday while on a writing rampage, then decided didn't really fit with any of the stories I'm working on, and so got the ax. But I still thought it was slightly amusing, so why not post it here, right? It's better when you imagine a slightly insane person saying it while swatting flies . . .

Yesterday I bought 'Gone With the Wind'--the novel, you silly people, not the film--and so perhaps I'll actually be able to finish it now! There was a sale at Barnes & Noble: Buy 2 B&N Classics and get the third free. Well, I needed some classics for school, so I picked up 'Jane Eyre' and 'The Odyssey', no problem. But then I needed a third book. Which had me perplexed for a long while because all the books they had: 'The Brothers Karamazov', 'A Tale of Two Citites', 'The Aeneid', 'Madame Bovary', 'The Count of Monte Cristo', 'Origin of Species', 'Les Miserables'-- I'd already read and purchased, or didn't want to read. It took forever to find a book I wanted . . . but I finally found 'Peter Pan' hiding in the corner of a fantasy bookshelf, and so bought that.

It was all with gift cards, Laura. And your letter's in the mail, by the way.

Only one more day of school (not counting today, of course) until the weekend arrives! Huzzah for weekends. I hope to sleep in--probably won't, but I can try my very hardest--and read and write a lot. And knit. Boy is knitting ever addictive; I was listening to music and knitting and typing a story and Skyping last night all at once, and if that isn't multitasking, I don't know what is. My fingers started getting pretty confused.

And now--back to homework! But first here's a video to cheer myself up from the fact that I have to go back to homework. I mean, it's sad . . . but one of my favorite films paired with one of my favorite songs . . . Though the songs by America are amazing, I keep intending to post them and then forgetting . . .

(I do apologize. I should never have posted anything today. Today is a Thursday. Thursdays are RANDOM days for me . . . Almost the end of the week but not quite. It's like a limbo day. My mind starts going o.O)

She Hath Returned

Yes, I am alive and well and back in Hawaii!

It was much more humid than I remembered when I first arrived, but over the past couple of days I've adjusted, and now it's okay again. Definitely warmer than it was back home, though.

It'll take time learning my new class schedule, and I'm certainly worried about my new professors, but it'll all be a good experience five years from now, so that's keeping me positive.

I also bought a new journal after accidentally leaving my first one at home . . . but that's okay, I had just about filled the pages of the other one anyway.

There were tears at the airport, but not as many as last semester, which was a relief, and when the plane was taking off, Tolkien's 'Walking Song' began playing on my iPod, which made me feel a lot better!

Anything else? Erm . . . They showed 'Eagle Eye' on the plane, which seemed like an okay film apart from the occasional bad language . . . The sort of action film where you need to zone out and not try to make things make sense, and then it's crazy fun. You know? I missed the beginning, and the ending seemed a bit rushed, but other than that, it wasn't a waste of time.

I nearly finished your story, Laura, but then I fell asleep. Whoops.

Hope you're all ready for another semester of college in Hawaii, because I know I'm not! ;)

Here We Go Again

Yes, today is the day I return to Hawaii.

I really am sorry to be leaving home. Three weeks have never passed by so quickly before! But as Nikolai said in his comment on my last post, at least I have things to also look forward to in HI this time, rather than it just being a great blank unknown.

This time round I will probably be reading Le Morte d'Arthur on my plane . . . last time it was The Last Unicorn. But I mostly intend to type. I have a few short stories I need to finish, after all, and if I'm strapped into my seat in a flying vehicle with nothing else to do for over 5 hours . . . well, why not!

I am very tired, as I stayed up very late last night . . . and no, my packing is not yet finished. Eep!

. . . This also means I will be severely lacking internet access again, just like last semester. But that problem will hopefully be rectified in a few days. Until then, please bear with me.

Love you all,
Jhaniel

The Three Sons of Cwendor--Cover Art

A teaser for the story I'm writing for Laura's birthday. Which, by the way, is almost done.
The working title is 'The Three Sons of Cwendor'.

The Voice

Ever heard this song before? . . . If not, give a listen. If you have, you'll probably be wanting to listen to it again. It's fantastic; I heard it for the first time a few months ago and only just thought of posting it now.

Do the lyrics make anyone else think of Aslan, or is that just me?

Note: I know this is not the original version. And it's funny, but I don't like most of Celtic Woman's covers, because I find the originals to be far better. But I really did like this version of the song.

A Farewell to 2008

. . . Which was a good year in many ways. Here's my summary of what new books, films, and television I found outstanding in year 2008. Of course I did many other things in 2008 besides stare at pages and a screen, but that would get too personal. Anyway, I like making lists ;)

(Note: My 'top-5's' are certainly my favorite five of the year, but not in any particular order. That'd be too hard.)

Books: 

1) The Last Unicorn: I adore this book, in case none of you had guessed already, and I've already made sure to try to pass along that love to numerous acquaintances and family members. I have loved the film since I was a child of three years old, but the book is even better. The closest thing to real magic, I think, that I have discovered this year.

2) War and Peace/Les Miserables: W&P doesn't really belong in the list, I suppose, because I started it a couple of years ago, but I finally finished it this summer. So I believe it deserves a mention. When my favorite character died and there was still a couple of hundred pages left, I wasn't sure I would be able to finish the story. It is a great credit to Tolstoy's writing powers that I was able to finish, and not only finish, but enjoy the remainder of the novel. And Les Miserables is a beautiful read. I've probably got more dog-eared pages on that book than any other in my collection besides The Lays of Beleriand. If everyone could develop characters on the page like Hugo can, the world would be a happier place.

3) The King of Elfland's Daughter: Like a bright, clear wind, invigorating and wondrous. This year has been a fantastic year for me regarding he discovering of authors I never read before, and Lord Dunsany is one of the jewels of the collection. Whenever I get discouraged by too much browsing in the fantasy section of the library, somebody always comes along to restore my faith in imaginative powers. Dunsany did the job for me this year.

4) Howl's Moving Castle/Fire and Hemlock: Okay, so these tie. Both kept me up past my bedtime reading and lost in a refreshing fantasy world. Both also worked together to make a Diana Wynne Jones fan of me, and isn't Andromanche pleased? Though I still don't understand the swimming horse at the end of F&H. Meh.

5) The Once and Future King: I think I read this for my seventeenth birthday, not my sixteenth . . . oh, whatever. I get my book timeline confused. But this book is incredible, just . . . incredible. It's got some of everything, and though in turn hilarious, biting, heart-breaking, and epic-ly glorious, it's always thought-provoking, and always just right.

HM: That Hideous Strength, The Deerslayer, The Pathfinder, Emily's Quest

Biggest Letdown: Inkdeath (Dustfinger just isn't Dustfinger!) and Mutiny on the Bounty (When there's 'mutiny' in the title, there should be a mutiny in the book. Sheesh).

Films: Ah, 2008, otherwise known as The-Year-Of-Disappointing-Films-In-Theatre. Yeah, I wasn't really impressed by many new releases this year. In fact, I think I went to the movies only . . . thrice, for Wall-E, Prince Caspian, and then when I was compelled by a friend to see The Dark Knight with her. Which, for the record, I feel is nowhere near as good as everyone says it is, and does NOT make my top-5 film list here. Ha!

1. Prince Caspian: I know this one will be controversial with Tolkien fans--I expect Laura has bones to pick with it--and I know it was different from the book. But I still really enjoyed the film, and though Barnes isn't blonde, he makes for a good Caspian. The story was well-told and the acting excellent (with the possible exception of Susan?). I am eagerly awaiting VotDT, which I have very high hopes for, considering Reepicheep, Caspian, Edmund and Lucy will be the stars.

2. Master and Commander: Far Side of the World: A surprise favorite. Of course I hated this film fiercely when it was in theatre, because it had 10 Oscar nommies when Return of the King had 11. But now that RotK is safely basking in the glory of its record sweep, I finally felt curious about the film and bought it when I saw it on sale at Target. And boy am I glad I did. It is breathtaking. Crowe's acting is excellent, but Paul Bettany really carried the film for me, as did the wondrous cinematography and music (when the music shows up, that is, which is rare).

3. Edward Scissorhands: Okay, I expected to enjoy this one. And I did. I also nearly cried, which I am embarrassed about, but oh well. It's an enchanting fairy tale, with more heart than I've observed in other Burton movies, and Depp's performance is heartbreaking. This is a film I took to HI with me :)

4. Peter Pan (2003): Another surprise. I never thought much of the theatrical poster for this film in 2003, and so I never watched it. Again, I bought it on a whim. And again, I was blown away by the film. Much truer in tone to the source material than the Disney classic is, I also loved Sumpter and Hurd-Wood's portrayals of their characters--teetering between play and seriousness. Jason Isaacs' Hook, however, was a definite highlight of the film. My only quibble is that I didn't much like the woman who played Tink.

5. Howl's Moving Castle: Yet another surprise (good grief!)! I am so not an anime person, and I had not yet read the book . . . but I really loved the film. And even after reading and liking the book, which is very different, I like the film. The animation is beautiful, but the storytelling even more so. And that soundtrack doesn't hurt, either!

Biggest Letdown: Gah, where to begin? There were so many films this year that I thought had potential when I heard about them, and which I never went to see because the trailers and reviews for the end product were so horrid. Tale of Despereaux ranks very highly here. I mean, I adore the book. Millions of people adore this book. So why change it for screen? *mutters nasty things about Hollywood people*

Television: So I don't watch much television, and therefore won't really have much of a list for you. Mostly this is television on DVD, which . . . I guess counts. But it also means that I don't watch it regularly.

1. Doctor Who (Amazing)

2. 1 Litre of Tears (Inspiring)

3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (Russian)

Heh, and that sums up my media absorption of 2008. As to my activities of 2009--I'm keen on reading more of Beagle and Dunsany, am terrified of the Sherlock Holmes film which is being released, and am dreading Tennant's departure from DW. Oh, and I'm taking up knitting again. I haven't knitted anything in many years, though I've sewed a good deal, but the habit is appealing to me, so I've decided to try my hand at it once more. My New Year's Resolution is to receive my first official rejection letter by a publication agency. Might as well start my collection now, eh?

Also, tomorrow I will bake lembas. I'll try to get photos for you.

And this is absolutely the longest post I've ever inflicted upon you poor readers! Well, I hope that's not a bad sign for the upcoming year . . .