Catching Up on the Blog

I haven't updated about my reading, but I have been keeping up with it.  I have but 2 books yet to read in my reading challenge, and am on pace to finish well before the end of the year.  I sure hope so!

Little Women was fantastic.
Gone With the Wind was also amazing.
Fahrenheit 451 has been one of the best I've read during this challenge.  That's saying a lot.
Orientalism was about what I expected: very boring.
Notes from Underground, The Double and Other Stories was good.  Notes from Underground was my least favorite of the stories, and Dreams of a Ridiculous Man was probably my favorite.

Now I'm reading Twenty Years After, the first sequel to The Three Musketeers.  So far it is really good!  Dare I say... fantastic??

Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)

Currently Reading
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (on page 87 of 845 pages)

To-Read
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

This Weekend

I Voted!
And I'm not going to harp on about it or tell who I voted for.  I just feel like voting is one of our duties as an American citizen.  I have fulfilled that duty during each presidential election.  Now that I'm settled in one place (more or less), I need to pay a bit more attention to local politics, and vote in local elections too.  I haven't previously because I have been largely ignorant of local issues, something that needs to change.

Reading
I started Little Women on Friday, reading 69 pages that day.  On Saturday I read only 42 pages in the book, and yesterday I read 192 pages.  Can you tell when and where the book truly hooked me??  Now I'm 303 pages into it, and it's really good so far.

Little Women is definitely written for a much younger audience than As I Lay Dying, something evident in the writing style, the way the characters speak, and the overall plot of Little Women.  I'm not surprised by this discovery, as Little Women is intended as a children's book, and As I Lay Dying is intended as a book to make you think.

Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)

Currently Reading
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (on page 303 of 528, 57%)

To-Read
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading

Day before yesterday I read 66 pages, and yesterday I read 29 pages, finishing off As I Lay Dying.  As I Lay Dying was a really good book, but I couldn't help but feel that Faulkner was more dense than he had any right to be.  As I Lay Dying could have been a fantastic short story with the proper character introduction and development, though it would lose a lot of the first person internal dialect and length.

I understand why people like it, I just don't really understand why people love it.  Though a lot of that could be that I'm reading it at 23 rather than in high school.

Spoiler alerts below...

I think that the latter 30-40 pages of the book were done really well, but that the rest of the book could have been written better.  As far as characters go, there was no introduction to any of them, and the first person differed per chapter, so it was difficult to get to know the characters very quickly.  Even if it was all from the same first person (as the last few chapters prove would be a mistake), it would have been easier to follow at the beginning.

Reading Faulkner is rewarding and good, but it does take a decent amount of work from the reader.  I think that's what I'm not as fond of.  It takes work on the part of the reader to actually read at the beginning, rather than to understand the implications of the plot/characters/ending like some of the other books I've read during this challenge (a la The Casual Vacancy, Brave New World).  Neither is difficult to read, but to understand takes a little bit of work.

Faulkner is more difficult to read.  I understood the book, and it really was great, I just feel that exposition could have been done in a much better way.


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)

Currently Reading
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)

To-Read
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Yesterday I read 72 pages in As I Lay Dying, putting me at 56.37 pages to read for today.

As I Lay Dying is a good book, but it's a little more difficult to get through than most I've been reading.  Well, I guess I could be reading it quicker, but then my comprehension would drop.  That and it's a bit more of a chore to wade through this one, so I'm taking it slower to be nice to me.  I'm allowed to do that, you know.

Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)

Currently Reading
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (on page 94 of 261, 36%)

To-Read
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading on 2012/10/21 and 22

Sinus Infection
Even though I have medicine for it, my sinus infection hasn't gone away yet.  I am impatient with things like that.

Reading
Day before yesterday I read 64 pages, finishing Brave New World and starting As I Lay Dying.  Yesterday I read 59 pages, still topping my quota.  Today I must read 56.6 pages.


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)

Currently Reading
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (on page 94 of 261, 36%)

To-Read
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Brave New World

Fantastic bit of science fiction dealing with the moral implications of modernization.  It's hard to believe that this came out in 1932!  Definitely ahead of its time.

I feel like the ending was a little anti-climactic, but it was also probably the best ending that it could have been.  8.5/10, would read again.


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)

Currently Reading
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (on page 1 of 261)

To-Read
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Sinus Infection and Reading

Sinus Infection
I've not felt 100% for a little while now, and when my neck started hurting as well, Allison and I decided that I needed to go to the doctor.  Turns out that I have a sinus infection.  I've not had a sinus infection in living memory (though my mother declares that I had them often when I was a little child, who knew?).

So I was prescribed some pills to make it go away, but there was no pharmacy open yesterday... I get to fill the prescription today, then make the infection go away.  Not fun stuff, but it should all be wrapped up soon.

Reading Progress
I read 90 pages yesterday.  What with watching the football game and the not feeling well, I didn't get to read quite as much as I'd have liked.  Still, I'm only 29 pages away from finishing Brave New World, and it's been a really great book!  Not an altogether happy book, but apocalyptic books like this rarely are.

My 90 pages read puts me at 2314 pages read, 4085 pages yet to read, and an average of 56.74 pages to read for the duration of the year.  Unless I continue reading more than the quota (probable).

Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)

Currently Reading
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (on page 230 of 259 pages, 89%)

To-Read
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading on October 19th

While reading Brave New World, it's hard to imagine Aldous Huxley as anything short of a prophet.  Many of the things that he described Brave New World have come to fruition in one way or another.  it's really scary how close we are to some of these things.

It's a really good book so far.  I really like how he replaced "God" with "Ford" in the characters' minds.  Where they would say "oh, God!" now they say "oh, Ford!" or "cleanliness is next to Fordliness."  Good stuff.

And when talking about psychological matters, they reference Freud, but they think that Ford and Freud are the same person, but that they are both the same name for different aspects of Ford.

Good stuff.

I read 83 pages yesterday, leaving me with 4175 pages yet to read, and an average of 57.19 pages per day to read to be done with everything by the end of the year.

Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)

Currently Reading
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (on page 140 of 259 pages, 54%)

To-Read
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading 2012-10-19

Yesterday I read 87 pages, finishing Traditions and Spirit, really just a light snack, and started on Brave New World.  Traditions and Spirit was good, full of information I was unaware of about my Alma Mater.  Brave New World so far is really interesting.  I'll have a more informed opinion when I get farther in!

Brave New World

Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)

Currently Reading
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (on page 57 of 259 pages, 22%)

To-Read
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading Log 2012-10-18

Yesterday I read 194 pages.  I finished The Traitor Queen, and oh my gosh was it good!

I'm either way too easily impressed by books, or I've just been reading some great books. I think the latter, but you're free to disagree.

Trudi Canavan is one of my all-time favorite authors, and this book was a fantastic example as to why. If you're looking for a large fantasy series, The Black Magician trilogy and The Traitor Spy trilogy are enough to keep you entertained. The Traitor Spy trilogy is a sequel trilogy to The Black Magician trilogy. They're both fantastic.

I can't wait for her next series... Millennium's Rule... It's going to be steampunk fantasy! What's not to love??!?

Well, now I've started Traditions and Spirit, and I imagine that it will be done by the end of the day.  Maybe even before I leave for work.  It's only 80 pages, and I'm 50 pages in.

It's about the different traditions and what-not at Texas A&M University.  Fun stuff!

So, with my 194 pages read yesterday, I've read 2054 pages!  Broke 2000!  I've got 4345 pages left to read, and my quota for today is 57.93 (rounded up to 58)!  Down below 60 pages!  


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)

Currently Reading
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (on page 50 of 80, 63%)

To-Read
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading 2012-10-16

Yesterday I read 175 pages in The Traitor Queen, putting me on page 365.  Only 144 pages left in the book!  And it is getting good!

I want to elaborate, but I really can't without spoiling the whole book.  There are many reasons that Trudi Canavan is my favorite author, and they are all evident in this book.

With the 175 pages read yesterday, my quota is now 59.72 (60) pages for today.  I've read 1860 pages on the month, with 4539 pages yet to read on the year.  I can do it!

2012-10-15

Reading Progress
Yesterday I read 148 pages in The Traitor Queen!  That's more than double my quota for the day, and it brings my quota for today down to 61.22 (rounded to 62... because I won't read .22 pages, and I'd rather be ahead by .78 than down by .22).

Trudi Canavan has truly created an immersible world!  The characters are relate-able, and the setting is consistent with the world that she created with The Magician's Guild in 2001... over a decade ago!

Running
Jill and I ran yesterday.  We ended up running a bit farther than we meant to, and so she ended up walking a bit.  I can't blame her, it's the first time she's run in a while.  Mine too for that matter.

We're going running again today, but will run a much shorter route.

Reading Progress

Running
I've been horrible about running.  When I say horrible, I mean HORRIBLE.  I haven't run since September 18th.  Almost a month... yikes!  My sister called me yesterday, wanting to know if I'd like to start running with her in the mornings, and I said yes!  She'll be here in about half an hour for our inaugural run together.

Reading Progress this Weekend
This weekend I read a decent amount.  I'm not sure exactly how much I read on Saturday or Sunday, because I left my book at Allison's parents' house.  I still finished Anne of the Island, though, because the text is still on Project Gutenberg.  All told, there were 129 pages left in the book.  I finished it on Sunday, but I'll go ahead and give all 129 pages to Saturday, seeing as I'm not sure where I left off on Saturday.

On Sunday I also read 42 pages in The Traitor Queen, the last in Trudi Canavan's Traitor Spy trilogy.

The Cover

So far it's a good book, picking up right where The Rogue left off.  Trudi has a way of instantly immersing the reader.  Love it.

So, with all the reading I did this weekend, I have read 1,531 pages, still have 4,862 left in my challenge, with 78 days left to do it in.  I must read an average of 63 (62.333) pages per day in order to finish before the end of the year.  That shouldn't be too much of a problem.


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)

Currently Reading
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (on page 42 of 509, 8%)

To-Read
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading Post

Reading
SPOILER ALERT
for Anne of the Island, up to page 143

Mine was used, though, so it's a bit more endearingly faded and worn. 

Yesterday I read 86 pages to page 143, putting me right after Gilbert tells Anne that he loves her, but Anne tries to get Gilbert to be content with her friendship.  It's sad, because they obviously end up together, but she refuses to see it.

The 86 pages I read yesterday makes it the only day of the past 3 that I met my quota of pages to read.  And I exceeded that quota by more than I was under it the day previous.  On Thursday I only read 16 pages, so it will take another 46 pages over quota to completely negate the loss of those couple days.


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)

Currently Reading
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (on page 143 of 272, 53%)

To-Read
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Dreams

Unintentionally, I had a lucid dream last night.  I was aware towards the beginning of this dream narration that it was a dream, and that I was in control of it.  It was glorious.

It started out in a room that, though inside, somehow seemed shrouded in a thick fog.  There was a deep, blood red chair that stood out like a sore thumb in the corner of the room, and I was instantly attracted to that chair.


The room was dark as night, but everything in it was vividly visible.  From the stone floor to the black bookshelf and reading table.

This was the room in which Barry died.  It was also in my apartment.

I found out that a Presidential debate was going on next door, and I went to attend.  Shortly before I left, President Obama said something subtle about if someone could reach them then something would happen.

I left my apartment (which was somehow in a building 100 stories tall), wormed my way around to the outside, and jumped from the apartment building to the chain-link fence surrounding the debaters.

The opposing debater was no longer in the debating arena, so I worked my way up and around the fence to be near the thin rod of a pedestal that the other debater was standing upon.  I jumped, and landed deftly upon he pedestal.

The President and I talked for a brief while, then my pedestal started to fall.  I jumped to the chain-link fence, and worked my way to a door.  Once inside, I walked down the spiral staircase, and saw a beautiful woman.  I followed her to the landing at the bottom of the staircase, and grabbed her hand.

She had a wedding ring on.  "Mon Dieu!" she exclaimed,pulled her hand away, and ran out the door.  A middle-aged Asian woman told me off for grabbing her hand, even though we were both married.  In speaking with her, I ascertained that going down the stairway I had retreated in time.

I left the stairway with her blessing.  I had to promise her that I wouldn't chase the woman in order to leave.  I promised this and I meant it.  I wasn't trying to harass her, merely to get her attention to talk to her.  I am a married man, after all.

Once I went through the door at the bottom of the staircase and was outside, I saw that the Asian woman was right, and that I was in the early 1900s.  I decided to walk towards the Texas A&M Campus, still being right where I left.

In walking to the campus, I could no longer help but actively think about how this was a dream.  There's a difference between knowing something is a dream and actively thinking about it.

In thinking I was having a dream, I felt myself start to wake up.  I fought it as I ran towards the A&M campus, but my way was blocked by some diagonal metal rods, and I heard a female voice talking to a companion she was walking down the street, how no one could make it through the rods.  I made up my mind to try, and I shimmied my way from the land of dreams into the realm of consciousness.

There were other little bits, but I couldn't remember them quite as much.  They were each parts of scenes I could remember more vividly, and wrote about above.  Mostly I cut them out so I could get it all down before I forgot, and to preserve something resembling cohesiveness.

Reading and Working

Yesterday I was working until 8:15, so I didn't have much time to read again yesterday.

So far in Anne of the Island, Anne has started college at Redford, and is fitting in really well!  It's still exposition for goings-on later in the book, but it's good.  Just going by a little more slowly than I'd like because, well, I've been working quite long hours.

All told, I read 41 pages yesterday.  Closer to my goal of 63, but still not achieving it.  Today should be a lot easier, and I'll probably have ample reading time.

Huzzah!

Yesterday

Book Progress
I had a long day yesterday, so I only read 16 pages instead of the allotted 63.  Days like that are just bound to happen, sadly.  So, that leaves me with 62.93 (63) pages allotted for today!

Had to Change a Tire
When I got home yesterday, my tire was leaking air.  Grr.  So I changed the tire to the spare, and will go to get it patched either tomorrow or Saturday with Allison's dad.  Allison wants me to go with Todd because she thinks that places are less likely to try to screw me over if more than one person enters the shop.  However much I rather doubt that, I don't mind humoring my wife.  Plus I don't particularly enjoy doing things like that alone anyway.

Owl Post
Yesterday my new Trudi Canavan book, The Traitor Queen and my new Muse CD, The 2nd Law came in the mail!  I'm really excited to delve into both!


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)

Currently Reading
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (on page 1 of 272)

To-Read
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

I Finished The Casual Vacancy!

The Casual Vacancy is definitely not a children's novel.  On top of adult (or teenage) content (sex, drugs, and local politics), The Casual Vacancy has many adult themes too (good doesn't always win, adultery, and mental illness among them).

Jo's characters are, as usual, perfect, but in a very different way from the Potter series.  Not a single character is a beacon of good or a bastion of evil.  Each character has their own positive and negative attributes, which makes the book all the more realistic.

The plot itself could very well be happening in any small town, from England to a Texas suburb.

Essentially, what I'm saying is that if you want fantasy or fantastic elements like Harry Potter, look elsewhere because The Casual Vacancy doesn't have them.  That doesn't stop it from being a great book, though, in fact it merely strengthens it. 9/10, would read again.

Rowling's First Adult Novel was a Work of Literary Genius 

In order to finish The Casual Vacancy yesterday, I had to read 123 pages.  I planned on stopping much earlier than I did, but the book kept me captivated, and I couldn't put it down.  This leaves me with 5176 pages left to read in this challenge, with 83 days to do it in, making an average of 62.36 (rounded up to 63) pages a day needing to be read per day.

I'll start Anne of the Island today, but may not get my allotted reading in.  We have several events going on today at work making a long day, so my reading may be fairly limited.


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)

Currently Reading
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (on page 1 of 272)

To-Read
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading Progress &1000 Pages Read This Month!

Yesterday I read 100 pages in The Casual Vacancy.  It was good to read more than the quota again.  In fact, I nullified the deficit from the day before... and then some!

It's getting more and more intense, but she's only got 123 pages left in the book... I'm just not sure how it's all going to wrap up.  I mean, I think it's been a really good book, I'm just not sure how it's going to finish.

Which is really the mark of a good book, anyway.  I mean, I still have a quarter of the book left, after all.

I still need to read 63.08 pages today to meet the quota.  Getting the number down before starting in on Orientalism is my goal.  4 of my next 5 books are under 300 pages one is even under 100!  Those should go by a little more quickly, and The Traitor Queen will go by quickly because I really enjoy Trudi Canavan.

I'm hoping that Little Women and Gone With the WInd are good reads.  I've been told that they are, I just dunno if they'll necessarily be quick reads, one over 100 pages, the other still over 500.

The good news is that I've read over 1000 pages as of yesterday!  After day before yesterday I was at exactly 1000, but was unaware of it!  1000 pages in a month... on the 9th!  No wonder my quota has dropped so drastically!  Huzzah!


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)

Currently Reading
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (on page 380 of 503, 76% complete)

To-Read
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading

Yesterday I didn't meet my reading quota.  For the first time in this challenge.

That's not too bad, though.  I mean, I still read a decent amount.  I read 47 pages, out of my quota of 64.  That leaves me with still 64 pages to read today.  I'm also down to 5,399 pages left in the entire challenge.  I'm excited about that.

Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)

Currently Reading
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (on page 280 of 503, 56% complete)

To-Read
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Yesterday's Reading

I know I said that I only read 74 pages yesterday... but then I kept reading, making it 103 pages, putting me on page 233.  Thanks & Gig 'Em!


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)

Currently Reading
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (on page 233 of 503, 45% complete)

To-Read
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Today

Today was a great day, not going to lie.

The Football Game
Texas A&M played at Ole Miss today.  It was great.  The third play of the game, Ben Malena scored a 59-yard touchdown.  Ole Miss scored 10 points in he first quarter.  A&M kicked a field goal and Ole Miss scored a touchdown to make it 10-17, when Steven Jenkins scored on an interception.  Sometimes defense really is the best offense.

The game was tied at the half, and Ole Miss scored the only points of the third quarter on a field goal, and the first points of the fourth quarter with a touchdown.  The Aggies only had the ball for 2 minutes 59 seconds in the third quarter, on a drive that ended in a fumble.  Oh yeah, A&M had 6 turnovers in the game.

Down 17-27 in the fourth quarter, the Aggies rallied with a 29 yard run from quarterback Johnny Manziel.  He's a freshman.  Then kicker Taylor Bertolet missed the point after, making the score 23-27.  Texas A&M had to score a touchdown now, because a field goal would still leave them short.

Ole Miss got to their own 39 on their possession, then went for it on 4th and 1, losing the ball and leaving A&M with only 29 yards from the game winning touchdown with 3 minutes still left in the game.  Manziel passed 20 yards to Senior Wide Receiver Ryan Swope for the game winning touchdown, with 1 minute 16 seconds still left!  Ole Miss marched 40 yards down the field before throwing the ball away with an interception.  A&M just kneeled the ball until time ran out.

The Aggies won, despite being down by 10 in the 4th quarter.  Despite 6 turnovers.  Comeback wins are exciting, but I hope the Aggies do better in the game against LSU.  Who lost to Florida today, I might add. By a larger margin than the Aggies in their first game of the season.

But if the Aggies play LSU like they played Ole Miss in this game, they'll will lose handily.  But that game will be in College Station, which gives A&M a much better shot than if they were playing in Death Valley.

Reading
I didn't read as much today as I have been.  That being said, I still read 74 pages, putting me on page 204 of The Casual Vacancy.  It's getting really good.

Part 1 of the book was mostly character development.  It ended after Barry Fairbrother's funeral.  (That he dies is no secret or spoiler, really.  He dies in the first chapter.)

The book (as has been touted) is definitely not intended for children, but is great food for thought for adults.  The segments focusing on the high schoolers are much more akin to what my high school experience was than Hogwarts (sadly).  Jo really has a great talent for writing people.  Not just convincing characters, but people.  As far into Part 2 as I am, it seems like the plot itself is going to start moving along more quickly, now that the stage is set.


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)

Currently Reading
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (on page 204 of 503, 41% complete)

To-Read
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

The Casual Vacancy Book Progress

I read 123 pages in The Casual Vacancy yesterday, putting me at page 130.  So far I've really been enjoying it.  It's a lot different from Harry Potter.  There's a lot of cursing and talk about dirty stuff, but it helps capture life in a suburb quite well, from my experience in a Texan suburb.

When I take the book to work, I take the sleeve off, because I don't want it getting messed up... and I don't just read things because I want other people to see that I'm reading.  Except internet people.  You're special.  

The kids are at war against their parents.  The people on the council are at war with one another about the low income part of the suburb (part want to help it, part want to redraw the town lines to get rid of the low income part, or at least keep the kids from going to the same school as their kids, etc.).

Jo's writing style is similar to that of Harry Potter in that it is very character-driven, and the location plays the role of yet another character.  Jo's always been good about integrating the location into the story in a really big way.  Can you imagine Harry Potter without Hogwarts??  I didn't think so.  Even in the last book when they're not at Hogwarts for the majority of the book, it still plays a big part.

That being said, I've still got 373 pages remaining in the book, so it could still get better or disintegrate into a horrible book.  Knowing Jo's writing style from the Harry Potter series, however, I doubt the latter.

Well, now I have 87 days remaining to read 5,549 pages, leaving me with an average of 63.78 pages (rounded up to 64 pages) per day.  The number keeps going down by a page, because I keep reading more than I need to.  I'm okay with that if you are!


Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (720 pages)

Currently Reading
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (on page 130 of 503, 26% complete)

To-Read
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Books Progress

Yesterday I finished The Star Wars Trilogy, which still had 201 pages left in it.  I'm now on page 7 of The Casual Vacancy, meaning that I read 208 pages yesterday.  This leaves me with 5,672 pages left on the year, and 88 days in which to do it.  As such, I must read an average of 64.46 (rounded up to 65) pages per day for the rest of the year.  Despite reading 142 pages extra yesterday, my average amount of pages left has only waned by 1.  Still, moving right along!

The Star Wars Trilogy was really a great adaptation of the movies.  It stayed very true to them (one of the reasons it was such a quick read, despite its 720 pages), adding only a few scenes, and cutting nothing out.  Some of the phrasing was different, what with the books coming out first.  For example, when Leia tells Han that she loves him when he's going into the carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back, Han merely kisses her on the forehead rather than saying "I know."  In Return of the Jedi, when Han finally tells Leia that he loves her, Leia responds with "I know."

It was really a great book, and I'd recommend it to any Sci-Fi fans, Star Wars fans, or general fans of books.  As I showed earlier, the book itself is freaking beautiful.

I just started The Casual Vacancy last night before going to bed.  It kills me to not be "reading" something, even if it's just because I finish one book and am going to start the next one the following day.  So I read the first chapter, and that was it.

Well, seeing as I still need to read 65 pages today, I'm going to get down to business!

Finished Reading
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas

Currently Reading
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (on page 7 of 503)

To-Read
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Reading Progress

Yesterday I read 133 pages, finishing The Empire Strikes Back, and getting 43 pages into Return of the Jedi.

I continue to be ahead of schedule!  Yesterday reading 133 pages with a requisite of only 67!  That's 66 extra pages!  Subtracting the pages I've already read from the total (6399-519=5880), dividing by the new number of days (5880/89), means that I must now average of 66.07 pages a day for the next 89 days. This is cut down from 66.81 pages per day, eliminating a whole .74 page(s?) per day!

Recap of the 3 month challenge!

Currently Reading 
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (on page 519 of 720, 72% complete)

To-Read
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

I've only got 186 real pages left in Return of the Jedi, so the further I can get today, the better poised I am for the duration.

Now I've got to keep on reading, keep on reading, reading, reading, reading, reading!

Reading Progress

Yesterday I read 109 pages, putting me in the middle of The Empire Strikes Back.  

One weird thing I'm noticing about the book is that Yoda is supposed to be blue.  I have a hard time picturing him as blue instead of greed.  It ends up looking a little bit more of a bluish tint of what he was in the movie to my internal eye.

Since I read 109 pages yesterday, I'm ahead of schedule on my reading goal for the year.  Subtracting the pages I've already read from the total (6399-386=6013), dividing by the new number of days (6013/90), means that I must now average 66.81 pages a day for the next 90 days.

Of course my initial count didn't include the number of pages I had already read in The Star Wars Trilogy.  As of yesterday with that taken out, I needed to read 67.28 pages a day for the 91 days.

In fact, I hope to remain ahead of schedule as long as I can.  I have a feeling that I'll need it for the books further in.  Orientalism is more of an academic text, and bound to be a little denser.  Dostoevsky is one of my favorite authors, but tends to require a little bit of extra care taken to understand what's going on.  (That's not a bad thing, just means it will take a bit longer.)  The same thing with Dumas.  The last book of the year, How to Write Well looks like it will be more of an academic text as well, thus also a little more difficult to be getting on with.

For recap, here are the books remaining in my 3 month challenge!


Currently Reading 
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (on page 386 of 720, 54% complete)

To-Read
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)
The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)
Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)
Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)
Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)
Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)
Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)
On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

Well, it's time to get back to reading.  I have another 67 pages to read today if I want to stay on track.  And as I would like to be ahead of schedule...

My Current To-Read List

I hope to get through all of these by the end of the year.  If it doesn't happen I won't beat myself up, but I would really like to.

Currently Reading 
The Star Wars Trilogy by George Lucas (kind of) (720 pages)

To-Read

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (503 pages)

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (272 pages)

The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan (509 pages)

Texas A&M: Traditions and Spirit by Carolyn Bible (80 pages)

Brave New World Aldous Huxley (259 pages)

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (261 pages)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (528 pages)

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (190 pages)

Orientalism by Edward W. Said (395 pages)

Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (464 pages)

Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (845 pages)

On Writing Well by William Knowlton Zinsser (336 pages)

All told (including the pages of The Star Wars Trilogy that I've already read), I plan on reading 6399 pages by the end of December.  There being 91 days remaining in the year, I must read an average of 70.32 pages a day to achieve this goal.  

Definitely doable.  

Was College "Worth It"?

My last blog post was ended rather abruptly because it was 17 minutes before I needed to leave, and I had yet to suit up.  We have an event today, so I must dress professionally.  I just spent way too long making that Jabba the Hutt image. 

Can you blame me? 

Today will be fun, but very long.  The event doesn’t start until 5:30, meaning that I won’t get off work until 8 or later.   

Was College Worth It?

I meant to discuss earlier how school hasn't prepared me for the “real world” in the least.  High school at least prepared me for exerting attention and efforts during working hours, but college seems largely to have been a waste of time.  My major (Telecommunication Media Studies) made me more qualified for the job I presently have, but it didn't prepare me any more than that.  Internships on a movie set and TV station are great talking points in an interview, but the work I did there was very different from what I do now.  Except that I still work a sound board.  That much is the same. And fun.

And I was involved in the Liberal Arts Student Council… in a leadership capacity.  LASC brought someone once a year to give us advice on our resumes… advice that was undone once I visited the career center here.  And rightfully so, the resume I prepared via instruction from LASC was pretty bad. 

But never did anyone give us then soon-to-be college graduates suggestions on how to find a job or network for a job.  We were left to our own devices. Every once in a while we'd have a speaker who was an entrepreneur come and talk about how they made something to do for the world, but nothing that was really practical for people who are just about to get out of college with student loans already to pay off.   

All in all, though great and fun and informative in many areas of my life, my college experience hasn’t prepared me for working in the real world very much.  I don’t wish I could take it back, but sometimes I wonder if it was really worth it. 

But hey, I have a job and am happily repaying my student loans.  So… nothing to really complain about, yeah?  

Book Progress

I think that the reason I don't blog much is because it's a lot of effort.  I mean, I could sit and type my thoughts about all sorts of things, but to give a single topic enough attention to fill up an entire blog post and have an entire topic?  *Gasp!*  That takes a little bit of effort, and I'm completely against that.

So, in the vein of trying to at least collect some of my thoughts on a more regular basis, I've decided to make sub-headings, so that I don't have to spend so much time writing about one subject.  Yup, that's happening.

In the future if I do this, I'll start with some sort of an intro that isn't as blunt or dry as this, but as I'm playing with a different format, I hope you'll forgive me this time.

Book Progress

I read from page 82 to page 277(?) of the Star Wars book that I'm reading.  A New Hope ends at page 260, and I'm on page 17 of The Empire Strikes Back, so we'll call that 277.  That's 195 pages!  Yay!

A New Hope was really well-written, and The Empire Strikes Back promises to be as well.  There is a different author for the second book (though still based on the George Lucas plot and all... made to tie in with the movie and whatnot).  The credit for writing A New Hope always goes to George Lucas, but Alan Dean Foster ghostwrote it.

There are a few added scenes, but follows really closely to the movie, probably why it was such a quick read.  The biggest change that was made between the book and the movie is that when they're attacking the Death Star, Luke is part of the "Blue Squadron" in the book Red.  His number (5) remains the same, but instead of Red 5, he's Blue 5.

Yup, that's the only real change.

Oh, and the "added scene" from the movie with Han and Jabba in the hangar on Tatooine?  Totally in the book.  That came out in 1977.

No Jabba, No They Aren't

All in all, 9/10, would read again.

Aaaand I need to be getting ready for work now, so there's only going to be one section for today.

Hello Internet

Hello Internet, it's been a while, hasn't it.

A lot has happened since we last spoke.  Towards the end of August I god a job working as an Audiovisual Technician for the APCC on campus, and started on September 3rd.

So far the job has been fun.  Stressful at times, but that's the nature of a job, isn't it?  I enjoy the work, and there's been a decent amount of downtime.

I shan't dwell upon the change of job, because while it is definitely important to note, no one really wants to read a recap of what people do in their workweeks.  I'll just say that a month in, I enjoy my job.

I recently finished reading the Harry Potter series again.  I decided to start re-reading the series each time July 31st rolls around.  I picked July 31st, because that's Harry's birthday, and the day that the books usually came out.

For the first month I didn't really read much of anything.  When I started my job I had still hardly made a dent into The Sorcerer's Stone.  Since then... I've been a real Potterhead, reading every day, usually hundreds of pages each sitting.  Yum.

I finished the series yesterday evening, had a little reading break, and then started reading Star Wars.  I bought a leather-bound book of the Star Wars trilogy a couple weeks back, and have been itching to crack it open ever since.

Back Cover, Spine, and Front Cover
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-star-wars-trilogy-lucas-george/1112352844?ean=9780307292216

Disclaimer:  I do not currently work at Barnes and Noble.  I previously worked at Barnes and Noble, but am not being compensated for mentioning this book.  I even paid for the book itself.  Side note: the Barnes & Noble in my area now (not one of the couple that I've worked at) is pretty horrid.  They never have anything I go in for.  I bought this from B&N online.

I'm a bit of a sucker for the Barnes and Noble classics series to begin with, I have a couple shelves in the office of their paperback classics, and own a few of their leatherbound classics.  But this one is by far the coolest looking book I've seen them put out.

And now I feel that I've spent a little too much time away from reading, and shall return to my reading.  Stay classy, Internet.

Big Brother 14, Day 25 Reactions

So, in my last post, I neglected to mention that Julie announced that America was to vote for whether the coaches had the opportunity to join the fray of players.  America did just that.  It only took 1 vote to bring all the coaches back.  Every coach voted to join the game except for Mike Boogie, so the coaches rejoined the game.

Because the coaches joined the game, no player was sent home this week, and both Joe and Frank were safe.  They began the Head of Household competition right before ending the episode, so we don't even know who is Head of Household this week.  Oh, and with the former coaches joining in this competition too, it's all up in the air.

Sunday can't come fast enough.

Big Brother 14, Day 24 Reactions

Last night in the Big Brother House, Shane won the power of veto competition.  He was also the Head of Household, so he was the one who nominated the people on the block, Joe and Ashley.  Because he was the one who nominated the possible evictees, he was unlikely to put up another player.

In a game-changing decision, Shane nominated Frank for eviction.

In case you're not familiar with Big Brother this season, here's a brief overview of the characters.


Coach: Britney - Had 3 players, 1 evicted, 1 kicked out for fighting.
Player: Shane - Head of Household.  Has a thing with Danielle.


Coach: Dan - Had 3 players, 2 evicted.
Player: Danielle - Dan's last player.  Has a thing with Shane.

Coach: Mike Boogie - Still has all 3 players.
Player: Frank - Made deal with Shane to stay free from eviction.  Shane just put him up with the Power of Veto.
Player: Jenn - Staying off the grid.
Player: Ian - Engineering student.  Little showmance with Ashley on Janelle's team.

Coach: Janelle - Has 3 players
Player: Will - Will was saved from nomination by Janelle as a result of winning the Coach's competition.
Player: Joe - Nominated for eviction this week.
Player: Ashley - Was nominated for eviction, but Shane saved her with the Power of Veto.

Up to this point, Shane has allied himself with Frank, while becoming involved (and has power with) Danielle.  When Shane became Head of Household, he nominated two of Janelle's players (Joe and Ashley).

Shane wins the Power of Veto competition, and violates his agreement with Frank by replacing Ashley with Frank.  The line is drawn thus: Will and Ashley will vote against Joe (for Frank), Jenn and Ian will vote against Frank (for Joe), and Danielle will vote however Shane wants her to.  Shane can't vote because he's Head of Household.

Shane wants Frank out, so he will influence Danielle to vote for Frank.

Frank is going to leave this week, ladies and gentlemen.  Had Frank and Shane's alliance held, then they could have taken out each of Janelle's players, and it would have been 3 vs. 2, but with Shane breaking that alliance, he decides who the power goes to next... but it can't switch back to him.

Staying with Frank would have ensured his spot in the game until each of Janelle's players were eliminated, because it was 5 against 3, but this decision makes it 2 (Shane and Danielle) vs. 2 (whichever team Danielle votes against) vs. 3 (whichever team is safe from elimination).

Naturally, the team with the numbers has the advantage, so Shane and Danielle just created a situation where they are at risk sooner rather than later.

Good job, Shane, it looks like you've expedited your exit from the game.

T-Shirt Time

Let me preface this by saying that I watch Jersey Shore.  It's a guilty pleasure of mine.  My wife and I have even started calling Eastern Time "T-Shirt Time."  Located in Central Time, it's not something that comes up much, but we always chuckle.

In Season 2 Episode 9 of Jersey Shore, Mike is mad at Angelina because he feels that his masculinity is threatened.

In case you don't watch the show, the necessary players are..
Angelina - One of the roommates.  Accused of being a "ho" by a "pimp."
Mike "The Situation" - One of the roommates.  Resident manwhore.
Jose - Guy who has been trying to date roommate Angelina.
Ronnie - One of the roommates.  Talks with Mike in this exchange.

Jose atetempted to date Angelina.  He bought her a Fossil watch, and they had been on multiple dates together.  Angelina insisted repeatedly that she is a single lady and can do what she wants.  Angelina, with pressure from Mike, admitted to Jose that she "hooked up" with Vinny, which Jose interpreted as kissing, even though she had sex with him.

When Mike comments on Angelina's sexcapades, Ronnie says "That's shit you would do."

He readily admits that there is a double-standard, and embraces it because it is to his benefit.

A photo from Mike's Wikipedia page.  Hint: he's the one on the right.  

"It's not sad that there is a double-standard.  Everybody knows there's a double standard.  Everybody loves a guy that gets girls, he's a man.  He's the pimp.  And everybody doesn't like a girl that is a ho.  And it's Angelina." - Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino

For perspective, later in the same episode, Mike tries to "gets it in" in the bathroom of the club with a girl, but is stopped by the security.  It doesn't take much imagination to figure out "what getting it in" entails.

To be fair, the previous two paragraphs were sequenced in the episode the same order they were written.  He's proving his own point.

That he's trying to reinforce the hegemonic structure with him on top.  By being louder and more insistent than anyone else.

"How many guys did you sleep with in 24 hours?  Two," Mike declares during an altercation at the end of the episode, "You know what you're good at?  Being a ho."

Essentially what I'm saying is that these are horrible people, and you should feel bad that these people exist.

And that's why I watch the show.

Yeah... not going to write about Jersey Shore again.  It makes me sad.

New Place! - Virtual Tour in Pictures

A couple weeks ago, the wife and I moved into our new 2-bedroom apartment.  We've got most of our stuff moved in, but still need a little work in the office.  Let's take a look!

Here is the front door.  Anti-climactic, I know, but... 

The hutch and door to the office.  

 Fireplace, TV, chair, and picture frame without our pictures in it.  

The wires still need to be cleaned up, and pictures in the picture frame.  

 View of the kitchen and dining room.  Door to the patio, too!

 Kitchen.

 The patio furniture.  

 The laundry room is on the patio.  Different, but I think I like it.  

The view from the balcony.  Not much of a view, but still.   

The office.  Books!  And DVDs, CDs, and video games.  

But mostly books  

 The desk will stay there, but the monitor will be mounted on the wall in the next picture.  

My diploma will hang above the desk.  

The monitor will be hung to the right, and the computer, wii, and xbox will all be hooked into it.  

Perfect for Netflix, Video Games, DVDs, and general winning.  

The door to the bathroom of the office.  

Harry Potter quote lightning bolt picture and Beatles painting.  

No bathroom is complete without a cat in the sink.  

Bathroom with all the greatest trappings.  

Closet, or...

A room for cats.  Ingenious use of space if I do say so myself.  

 Allison and my room.  

 Wedding shrine :D

Once we get pictures it will be complete.  

 Allison & my bathroom.  

Thus concludes the virtual tour of my apartment.  

Dreams - Racing with Arnold

Last night I had an extremely vivid dream about a boy who enrolls in a race. It's not an ordinary race, in this race he participants each pick a piece of furniture and race on that. It's a very long race, going through a mountain.

The protagonist in my story was Arnold from Hey, Arnold! Well, he looked like Arnold, and was called Arnold, but he wasn't the same moral kid that Arnold was. He was a regular middle school to high school kid, who doesn't have the morals of a gold fish.

Arnold raced against three other participants, who were very well developed, but who I can't remember much about except that two of them were boys just like him (except for looks and mannerisms, of course), and the other participant was the girl Arnold fancied. It wasn't Helga, of course.

The girl was an Allison. She didn't look like Allison, of course, but she was Allison's essence. She was morally upright, very driven, and the main character fancied her something fierce. As I said, an Allison.

Arnold started the race in first, and didn't see the other participants, but facing the battles of the environment set out for him. He was racing on a chair. A wooden, 4-legged chair.

Oh, did I mention the most awkward part of the dream (for it being my dream, at least)? It was a musical. Not like a rock opera, but a straight up, chorus line musical. But I digress...

Towards the end of the race the other participants have caught up with Arnold. The Allison character tricks him somehow, and Arnold and the other boys walk across the finish line after her.

It was a coming of age story, and I really wish I could remember the songs, etc. because it would have made a good short story. But as it is, it makes a hardly cohesive few paragraphs.

Shame.

Bunny and the Bull Review

Bunny and the Bull is a 2009 British film starring Edward Hogg (Stephen Turnbull) and Simon Farnaby (Bunny), written and directed by Paul King, the director of The Mighty Boosh, leading to cameos by Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt.

The entire movie takes place in Stephen's flat. And in his head. Stephen hasn't left his flat in a year. When mice throw off Stephen's daily routine, he remembers a road trip with his friend Bunny. The road trip comes to fruition through Stephen's confronting the girl he fancies, who says that he's in the friend zone. Stephen, through Bunny, realizes that he needs to go on a trip to recoup from his unrequited love.

Stephen continues mulling around his flat, finding different articles that remind him of his road trip. Characters from his trip manifest themselves in his flat too, as Stephen hallucinates. The remembrance of the same event that caused Stephen to retreat into his flat a year previous leads Stephen to make a decision with his life: to live or not to live his life.

I thoroughly enjoyed the aesthetic elements of the movie, from the paper scenery in Stephen's remembrances to the hallucinations wearing Stephen's robe in the "real world." The plot was well-developed, but not as immersing as it could have been.  

I would rate Bunny and the Bull 7 out of 10.  It was a good movie, with good acting, inventive directing, but a rather lackluster plot.  It was intended to be a comedic film that would make you laugh.  It worked as a comedy, but wasn't as deep as it intended.