| New Moon |
[Nov. 26th, 2009|11:20 pm] |
So as anyone who has met me knows, I think beating up on Twilight for being terrible is like beating up a cripple, its just too easy but I do it anyway. (OMG not literally please don't hurt me)
It seems I got my comeuppance, to an extent. I saw New Moon.
*Buries face in hands*
And I actually enjoyed it. I enjoyed the love triangle, I got Bella's fixation on Edward and friendship/flirty thing with Jacob, I drooled over Jacob's inability to keep his shirt on, I adored ADORED the action scenes (btw, Jane was apparently played by Dakota Fanning and I think she must now play a Gothic Red Riding Hood or else).
I mean, yeah, there were a lot of silly and lame parts. But the thing is, I think I wouldn't have even noticed those if I hadn't gone in DELIBERATELY INTENDING to tear it apart. That's right, I went in planning to tear that movie limb from limb MST3K style and I got sucked in.
I hate myself for liking that movie. That doesn't mean I like the series, but I still feel like I need help. Psychiatric help.
There's a hotline or something, right? |
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| Iklaina Day 7 |
[Jun. 5th, 2009|09:28 pm] |
Sorry this is a bit late! Day 8 will follow shortly.
( Day 7 ) |
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| Two quick Iklaina entries |
[Jun. 2nd, 2009|10:00 pm] |
Days 4&5 in quick and brief succession. I've been too tired for lenghthy descriptions but hopefully this well serve as at least some small reminder for the future. No pictures because my camera is busted. Hopefully I can fix it, but its not too much of a worry until we go to Mycenae this weekend. For the moment we'll be at the same site for at least a couple weeks.
( Days 4 & 5 ) |
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| Naruto |
[May. 29th, 2009|10:43 am] |
Internet's about to crap out, since I only get 45 minutes. Quick update, I'm currently in Greece about to embark on my archaeological dig. More on that later.
In other news, this week's Naruto? LAAAAAAAAME!!!!! (but I'm glad they're all ok...even if it is cheap) |
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| Story Post - Someone please help me edit this by noon Sunday! |
[May. 3rd, 2009|02:13 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sleepy | ] |
I know no one's going to have time to give me feedback on this before noon on Sunday, but I might as well make the hail Mary effort and see what happens. This is a 14 page story for the fiction portion of my thesis. Its more of a character sketch than a chapter but it establishes two of the main characters and their interaction. I'm trying to evoke a time 1200 years BC while still creating identifiable characters.
Summary: It is 15 years after the fall of Troy and back in Mycenae a curse seems to have fallen on the people, they feel an impending dread. Little do they know that within the next year their entire civilization will begin to fall into ruins. The main characters are Augeas, a veteran of Troy, and his wife Nephele. They're the center of the emotional story, which is their own trouble with children and relating to one another. Its set in a larger political backdrop. The King Orestes is to be wed, and Nephele is summoned to be a lady in waiting (for her rank) for Princess Hermione (daughter of Menelaus and Helen). However, her husband will not be attending the wedding with her because of bad blood between him and Orestes. Anyway, if it was an actual novel that part would be understood, this is just an excerpt.
Warning: this story has barely been edited at all. I plan to get a night's sleep before I edit it myself so I'm fresh. If anyone feels up to the task of helping me out it would be much appreciated.
Oh, title suggestions if nothing else are also useful.
( The Story )
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| Writing Challenge for Everyone |
[Apr. 15th, 2009|06:28 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  proud | ] |
Hey there friends list:
I was musing to myself as I am wont to do, and I thought up this little journal entry writing challenge.
Write something nice about yourself, panegyric even. You can put it behind an LJ cut if you like. It can be a couple bullets or an entire essay dedicated to the glory that is you. No modesty, no holding back, what is awesome about you? What are you most proud of?
Nobody wants to look like a jerk or come off as arrogant. But sometimes in the grand race to see who can be the most modest and unassuming, we forget to realize that we have many good qualities as well. We get so bogged down in our shortcomings and so afraid to voice our good qualities that we sometimes forget we have them.
Be proud of yourself and your unique talents. Go for it!
( Magical Me )
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| To the fiction writer's on my friends list |
[Apr. 13th, 2009|02:30 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  stressed | ] |
I have a problem.
So last semester I signed up to create a interdisciplinary major that would essentially be the background research of a novel on the collapse of the Bronze Age that I want to write some day. However, part of the process was that I needed to write a 15-20 page prose excerpt and write an outline.
The outline is completed.
The excerpt rough draft was due today if I wanted edited.
Problem: Its the worst piece of crap I've ever written. And its only 5 pages.
I wanted the novel to begin with an ambush scene to show case the main characters military ability, skill at organizing people, and also some of his PTSD from having fought at Troy. But like I said, its the worst fight scene or just opening period I think I've ever written. It was written late at night so a lot of it has an "And then and then and then" feel to it.
I'm absolutely miserable. This woman, my advisor who I'm going to meet with, hasn't afforded me a break all semester. Keep in mind not two weeks ago I passed in 50 page thesis that sucked my time (and my soul) out my nose for over four months. I've spent the last two weeks trying to pull the rest of my academic career together so I can, y'know, graduate. Compound that with trying to find a job and what I hope isn't a too selfish need to actually have a life from time to time and you have my excuse for why I haven't written my excerpt yet, and my outline was a day late (even though it was 5 pages OVER the requirement, which I'm hoping will count for something).
The fear has me totally blocked and I'm just angry because I've had no help, no advice on this project and this woman is telling me that I shouldn't have hit any snags or something because I haven't met with with her yet. Am I crazy for thinking that an advisor should occasionally check in on their advisee, especially when they have a project of this magnitude? Perhaps remind them, oh I don't know, at a time that they didn't set up themselves that they need to work but not just that but how to go about it? This woman makes me want to write LESS, not more. I love this novel, its my brain child but she's making me not want to write it ever.
The problem is also that I honestly can't tell how much of me is being whiny and irresponsible and to what extent I actually have a point. I'm terrified. I have to go in and meet with her soon and I'm scared she's going to chew me out because I couldn't churn out 20 pages of finely written prose in the middle of the 3 most stressful and busy months of my life. I'm sorry, but am I wrong for saying it would be hard for anyone to write under those circumstances?
I just don't know. I'm freaking out. I need help and advice. How do you write good historical fiction and start a novel? More importantly, how do you do it when severely overworked? Am I whining, am I being lazy? I just don't know.
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Edit:
Ok, so I met with her. I now have a lot more breathing room and she didn't turn out to be as much of a witch as I expected. She also gave me some good guidance on a better place to start the book.
I guess I recant a lot of the things I said above. Still, very stressful.
Its hard hearing critiques, but for all I know this woman may be helping me more with my writing career than anyone else. |
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| Um |
[Mar. 31st, 2009|01:05 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  awake | ] |
I just slept for 19 hours.
I don't know if that's the worst celebration ever or the best. ^^;; |
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| OMFG MY THESIS IS DONE!!! |
[Mar. 30th, 2009|05:43 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | thesis | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  exhausted | ] |
Text pages (with page breaks) - 50 solid.
Total pages (with title page, table of contents, pictures, works cited and glossary) - 78
I. RULE.
Now to celebrate XD |
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| It's Editing Time! Help Please! |
[Mar. 28th, 2009|12:51 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  productive | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the music blasting from the room next door | ] |
Hey everyone!
Ok, so the thesis isn't done yet but I do have chapter 1, Mycenae, done and I even ran spell check (though I haven't reread it myself yet. Sorry, too tired and I have to make sure the other chapters are in somewhat completed form).
Its 12 pages long and I'm enclosing a link here to anyone who loves me enough to edit. If you do so, if you can just e-mail it to me afterward that would be awesome.
Thank you in advance!
Chapter 1 - Mycenae Archaeological Analysis
(p.s. I will be taking down all of my thesis text on Monday once its been turned in)
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| A little help? |
[Mar. 25th, 2009|12:35 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | thesis | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  busy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Hollowman (Trapt) | ] |
Hey there friends list:
I'm currently in the process of finishing up my thesis and I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to review it once its done for spelling, grammar, failures in logic, etc.
Its about the collapse of the Bronze Age in the Aegean, looking at 3 archeological sites (Mycenae, Pylos, and the infamous Troy), basically trying to determine what happened to destroy these sites and whether or not there was a Trojan War that in any way resembled the one in The Iliad. At the moment I'm just about done with the main arguments, and then I'll move onto the introduction and conclusion. However, even if you were only available to read one of the chapters (they average about 9-15 pages each) I would be immensely grateful.
Leave a comment if you're interested and I'll send it along.
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