"Tangled"!

First of all, I am soooooo excited for this movie, it's almost absurd. As a "Beauty and the Beast" devotee I have the bar raised incredibly high for "Tangled", but I honestly think it'll clear that bar just fine. Everything I know about it just makes me fall in love with it more. Have you seen the clips Disney has released?



Only three words really to say about this clip: ALAN MENKEN MUSIC. Oh, and Rapunzel is adorable.



And the animation is beautiful too!



As for the characters? I LOVE them.

And the songs?



I can't wait to hear them in full! I'm going to be like a little kid at the theater.

If anyone else out there is as excited about this film as I am, here's a few giveaway contests you might be interested in; follow the links for the details: http://tanisharenee.blogspot.com/2010/11/disneys-tangled-giveaway.html and http://thedirtytshirt.com/walt-disney-pictures-tangled-giveaway

Before I can watch "Tangled", however, I have to get through Oireachtas, which is next weekend! I'm extremely nervous, and I'm not sure if it's more terrifying or reassuring to know that this time next week it will all be over. Today was a five-hour dance practice, and I'm still exhausted from that.

So, this will be a very busy week for me. I might not even post again until after the Oireachtas is finished! If that is the case, wish me luck everyone, and see you again on the other side!

The New Widget. . .

Comes courtesy of Combom's fabulous Doctor Who blog, which is a veritable treasure chest for any Who fans. The episode finally has a release-date! I'm looking forward to it, as I always welcome more Doctor Who, especially Tenth Doctor, but I'm also dreading it, because it's the beginning of the end. Tennant's Doctor dies on New Years--what a way to start a New Year, huh? But "Waters of Mars" looks like it'll be a lot of fun, so yeah, it kind of does merit a countdown.

Not Ice Warriors, but still looks great! Definitely gonna miss you, Ten.

*IMPORTANT* Writing Blog NOW Open *IMPORTANT*

Basically, what the title says. After airing the idea with various friends (all of whom were gratifyingly enthusiastic--thanks for the support, girls!) I've decided to go ahead with my perhaps-crazy scheme and open a new blog. This will be a PRIVATE, LOCKED blog, available to view and comment on only to co-authors. This is to ensure that the blog will be a safe, secure, and comfortable place for us to post our bits of writing for writers we know and trust to comment on.

As a result, if you want in on this blog, I will need your email address. I entirely respect other people's privacy, as well as safety concerns on the web, so if you do not feel comfortable with sending me your email address, then I respect that, but unfortunately I do not think the blog will be accessible to you. If you do send me your email address, I will use it to send you an invite to be a collaborator on the blog, and then will promptly erase it from my address book, unless you give instructions to the contrary. Fear no spam from me! If you do decide that you want to send me your email so that I can invite you to join the writers blog, here's my address: cpsk@hawaii.edu. Just put 'The Radish Room' as your subject line and make sure you mention who you are in your email, so I know who I'm inviting ^_^

I'm really excited about this new blog and the opportunity it is for us to cooperate, work, and grow together as writers. It's currently called 'The Radish Room', as a little nod to the Inklings' 'Rabbit Room' at the Eagle and Child pub, and the web address is http://www.theroomwithnoview.blogspot.com. You will not, however, be able to view the site until you accept an invite.

I hope to see you all there soon!

Lo and Behold . . .

. . . I've finally finished with a long-overdue blog revamping! Whee! 

Guide to the new look:

Header: A photograph I took in Tennessee . . . I love this gate ^_^

And the quote is from J.R.R. Tolkien's marvelous poem 'Mythopoeia', where I got my screen name from (No, my name is not really Mythopoeia. Sadly. And I'm not really a fae, either . . . though I also took the picture of the statue that I use as my profile pic.)

Sidebar:

1. In addition to my 'Book of the Month' shelf, I've added a little archive list which will show the titles that were featured in past months (the past three months, to be precise).

2. Yes, I have added a few quotations! It's a bit funny, really, that it took me so long, considering how quote-centric I am . . . 

3. Instead of scattering my book reviews helter-skelter, I have decided to assign a certain day towards the end of each month on which I shall post summaries and reviews for all the books I read that month. The 'Books to be Reviewed' section gives you heads-up on what books I will be talking about (that is, books I have already finished), and I've also added a 'Books I am Currently Reading' section as a taste and forewarning of what is to come. As I finish books here, I will transfer their titles to the 'To be Reviewed' section.

4. A few banners to sites for fan films I am anticipating have also been added, check them out!

5. I found a virtual fish pond, which I thought rather cute . . . you click on the water and feed the fish . . . it's a nice stress-reliever, something I tend to need a lot. And it's decorative. But I haven't fallen so far that I've started naming the virtual fishes . . . not yet, anyway ;)

6. A bit of blurb for Linden and my Facebook group. 

7. Blogs worth checking out and websites worth checking out are now listed also.

8. Aaaaand, as before, I have a music player at the very bottom of the page.

I am also quite pleased with the new background, so this will probably be the look of the blog for quite some time to come. Any comments or observations or critiques or suggestions are welcome! 

ALSO

I will be posting at greater detail about an idea I've had for starting up a private, co-owned blog for all us writers to gather at and share our writings on in security, something like an online version of the Bird and the Baby for our Inkling-esque storytelling. Let me know if you're interested! I will be posting soon with more details and such, so more information will be forthcoming, but I figured I'd just throw the idea out there already, for you to ruminate on until I can whip up a proper post.

Explore and enjoy, peeps!

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! ;)

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 . . .

Laptop!

Yess, precious, at last I have my own laptop computer, complete with webcam. I'm typing on it right now, and it's marvelous. Many of you probably know I've been waiting for it for months, so it's almost incredible to hold it in my hands at last!

Last night I was working feverishly on a short story until the wee hours of the morning--well, more like four A.M. I am very proud of it. Which is something, since my writing has been so dissatisfying to me as of late. And yes, I know I need to post the next part of 'Nighthawk'; it's completed, so I'll do that ASAP. Also, Andromanche, I have not yet finished your birthday gift. Yes, I'm horrible. I'm sorry. It's inching forward . . . I've been writing a lot of good beginnings and endings to stories, recently, but then the middles refuse to cooperate, and it's maddening.

Anyway, I was then roughly awakened by my frantic mother this morning after sleeping in and nearly missing my appointment with the doctor. Nothing like a couple of immunization shots to start the day off well, hm? Well, anyway, both my arms are now sore, but at least there's a few less diseases in this world to worry about.

And afterwards, of course, my father finally took me out to get my computer. Yay, I'm so excited! So you'll excuse me if I cut this post short so as to acquaint myself with my new computer, won't you?

(Linden, I'm currently debating about his name. After the Gawain debacle, I'm a little wary . . . 'Merlin' might be interesting, but if Nimue comes along, I'd be sunk. What do you think?)

Oh, and another thing: a belated Christmas gift for me arrived in the mail today. To be more specific: I am now a proud owner of one of the 'Tolkien Ensemble's CDs. Thanks, Mum and Dad!

PS-I will post a little about my Christmas soon, as well as a little surprise and a challenge for my reader friends, and a question or two about literary foods. All will be made clear.

How Time Flies!

There I was intending to post something last week, and suddenly it's the end of this week. Wow.

I have been very busy with school recently. Finals are swiftly and cruelly approaching, and while I am not stressed yet, I will be soon. I have also had to start looking up spring classes to register for, and that's been agonizing as well because many classes I want to take--like the honors creative writing class and Russian 102--are in the same time slots. It's not fair :(

Supposedly tomorrow we'll be having thunderstorms here in HI. In some ways I'm looking forward to it, because I love rain, and a thunderstorm sounds quite exciting, but in other ways I'm not--namely, tomorrow is my library day, and I don't relish the idea of walking to the library down the usual dirt road, trying to shield the books I'm returning from lashing rain.

I'll probably bring my umbrella and stick the books in a plastic shopping bag; that should work. Oh, and Kat, I'll probably call you on my way to the library. Depends on how loud the weather is.

My family back home are currently driving to Arizona for the Oireachtas. I'm rather despondent about not going too, but I hope my little sister does well, anyway.

I'm starting to get excited jitters about going home for Christmas! I've begun my Christmas shopping already, which is an adventure in itself, and my siblings have all told me that they want to help me cook up a Christmas feast when I get home. We're planning to do a Redwall-style feast, with breakfast scones, shrimp soup, mushroom pasties--the works. Hopefully it'll turn out well.

One last note: Lone Wolf, I told you I accepted your challenge to draw the 'Oath of Feanor' scene, remember? Well, I did it! But my broken camera is having issues with getting the picture in focus, so I might not be able to upload the artwork until I get home and can use my parents' scanner. But it was fun, thanks for the challenge :)

That's Better!

Aaah, here we go, this looks nice. I'll keep it like this.

I did finish 'Anne of Ingleside', and it was rather sweet. I somehow skipped it when I read the Anne series, I don't know how! So it was also sad, since I knew already what happens later in 'Rilla of Ingleside' . . . I do dearly love Walter. Oh well.

Yesterday I wrote much more of the 'Nighthawk' story, which I hope you enjoy when I post. I'm planning to post one new part every week, so sometime this week you'll get the next one . . . and I believe it's illustrated . . .

Also yesterday I watched 'Doctor Who', which was brilliant. I've seen some of the old episodes before (top-right Doctor. Very cool guy, not the least because he likes jelly babies. Ever had a jelly baby before? They're delish), but not the current ones; apparently it was my good fortune to start watching just as a new season started up. Anyway, it was really good, and quite funny. My dad has always liked 'Doctor Who', so I guess this is just another personality trait I inherit from him--along with my liking of writing, reading, drawing, telling stories, Great Britain, the Muppets, frisbee, British humor, and spicy foods.

Pic

Fire and Hemlock

Yes, I stayed up until midnight last night reading 'Fire and Hemlock' by Diana Wynne Jones. It was a very engrossing read, and the part towards the end where Polly was trying to find her true memories was actually chilling. So I really enjoyed it, especially the make-believe parts and the book choices of Tom Lynn. The story was very cleverly done, and I could definitely see why Andromache likes it so much.

To my own surprise, though, I actually prefer Andromache's own retelling of the Tam Lin story. It isn't anywhere near as long and convoluted as Jones', but for some reason it is more gripping, I think . . . hm. Well, I hope that is heartening, anyway.

Oh, and I had issues with 'Fire and Hemlock's ending. I didn't really understand it all that well . . . perhaps because it was so late at night! But the horse bit really didn't make sense to me. Sorry.

And this may be the beginning of infrequent posting for the next two weeks. Mid-term exams *cue scary music* are being held, and I really should study. Studying does take priority over blogging, y'know.

The Significence of the Number 33, and the Happy Cockroach

I recently realized that my last post was my 33rd. My blog is now of age. We need to have a happy hobbit party to celebrate ^_^

Oh, and Kasiopea has new art posted on her website--more of her fabulous paintings telling Maeglin's story as recounted in The Silmarillion/Book of Lost Tales/Children of Hurin. Do go check them out. Now.

In my philosophy class today I did some practice problems in preparation for the upcoming mid-term test; I didn't get everything right, but these were (according to the professor) harder than those which will be on the mid-term, and I got most right, so I am very pleased and have renewed confidence now. I had been feeling a bit wilty concerning philosophy for the past week or so.

It rained today, but I missed it . . . Oh, but I did see two baby geckos this week. Tiny, adorable little things, about half the length of my little finger. Which I know is an imprecise measurement for you . . . Um, let's estimate about an inch long? And they had big round black eyes, and when I got excited at seeing them they got scared and scurried away up the wall. So cute.

And I also saw a baby mongoose . . . it was eating something, I'm not sure I want to know what, but it kept looking up from its dinner and licking its lips with a little pink tongue, so it was adorable too.

Cockroaches aren't so adorable. No, wait, I take that back; one cockroach I've espied was very cute. A young father was carrying his baby girl through a restaurant I was eating at, and she was wiggling and laughing and generally gleeful, and I was watching a little wistfully. Because she was about the same age as my youngest sister at home, and my dad carries her around like that.

But my dad does definitely not pretend his children are loathsome bugs. Whereas this father:

*lifting the laughing baby above his head* "Yay, it's the happy cockroach! Yay, happy cockroach!"

I could barely finish my pasta, I was laughing so hard. I guess when 'happy cockroach' is a term of endearment, you know you're in Hawaii.

*Is (virtually) happy*

Well, since I left my big, beautiful library at home, at least now I can enjoy it virtually. On my blog.

Yay for my new bookshelf feature! My goal is to stick every book that I have on my shelf back home on this shelf, but I don't know if that's possible . . . my memory isn't THAT good ;)