My Room Smells Like Coffee and Incense

This summer has been a little hellish for me. I didn't accomplish much of anything. But I survived, so I'm counting that as a win. Now the end is in sight and a new beginning lies just over the horizon. Things will be very different this year. That leaves me feeling more than a little nervous, but also cautiously optimistic.

Now I feel like sharing a few things that got me through these endless days:

1. Cinnamon Coffee

After an entire year of consuming Cinnamon Roll Lattes almost daily via Java City, I was more than a little lost without them. But halfway through the summer I came up with the inspiring idea of adding a pinch of cinnamon to my regular coffee. I know, I know. This idea should have been much more obvious. Trust me, I hit myself in the head like those folks in the V8 commercials used to do when the realization finally came to me. And it turns out, adding cinnamon to coffee has unforeseen benefits.

2. Doctor Who

a big ball of wibbly wobbly time-y wimey stuff

The first episode I ever saw of Doctor Who was "Blink" way back when I was probably about 16. I remember thinking, "What is this delicious piece of science fiction?" Ever since then, the show has been on my to do list. At the beginning of this summer, I finally got around to watching the series. Now I am an unapologetic Whovian and a big fan of anything David Tennant does. Also, I finally have something to talk about with my brother.

3.  Historical Murder Mysteries

Over the past few years I have developed a liking for a very certain type of novel: historical fiction that features a female detective. It has all the fun a your average historical fiction murder mystery with the added element of the struggle of a women to escape the shackles of a repressed society. Watching these characters begin to ask questions that ladies of quality ought naught ask and then learn to navigate the treacherous waters of the underbelly of polite society provides hours of entertainment. Grisly murders, depraved villains, intrepid detectives, French spies, and mad kings. What more could you ask for?

4. Cardigans

Even with this 90+ degree weather, I still wear a cardigan almost everyday. In my defense, I live in the basement and it gets really cold when the air conditioner is on. Besides, I never feel more like myself than when I am wearing one of my favorite cardigans.

Super

I've been thinking about superheroes. More specifically, what kind of superpowers I would like to have if I were to become a superhero. I've narrowed it down to two.
One option is telekinesis because A) I’m kinda lazy and B) that one scene in Matilda when she’s dancing around in the living room and making all the cards and poker chips fly around…I’ve always wanted to do that.
Otherwise I'd pick time control. But I wouldn't want to go back and change anything. I've read my Ray Bradbury. I ain't stepping on no butterfly and bringing back the dinosaurs. I would just want to go back and watch history happen. I’d probably start with ancient Greece. Because those guys kind of invented western civilization. It'd be kinda cool to see how they worked that out. But I wouldn't want my presence to change history. I’d still like to interact with the world and ask people questions. How cool would it be to have dinner with Mark Twain or Leonardo da Vinci? Of course then I'd need to learn Italian... Maybe I should just get a TARDIS. Problem solved.
Oh! I'd also like to freeze time and maybe mess with people a little. Stop everything and move some things around. Of course I wouldn't be too villainous. I would use my powers for good and only minimal personal gain.
I don't think I'd want to be able to travel into the future though. Obviously it would be the most profitable part of time travel. You just pop forward a bit, see the winning lotto numbers and bam! Pay dirt. But if I were to foresee a tragedy I would feel compelled to stop it. And I feel like that would messing with fate a bit too much.

What then would my superhero name be? Well that would depend on what power I had. That's how most of them get their names anyway. Like The Green Lantern has his green lantern. And Iron Man has his iron suit. Batman has his whole bat thing. And Spider-Man, and so on and so forth.
Then what about Superman? Eh. I feel like naming him Superman was kind lazy, you know? But he was one of the first superheroes so I guess that’s okay then. Mr. Fantastic, however, has no excuse. But then again, what would you name a superhero with elastic limbs and not have it sound completely lame? Or sexual? You could call him Rubber Man. That’d be kinky.
But just consider the X-Men. Wolverine. He looks like a wolverine with his claws and his funky hairdo. Storm with her whole weather thing. Cyclops with his special eyes. Magneto, Beast, Iceman. They make sense. The only one I never understood was Rogue. But again, what would you name someone with the power to drain others of their powers? Drain-o Girl? I bet you’d love to have her clean your pipes.

Keep in mind, dear reader, that I’m just going off the movies. I adore superhero movies. I never got into the actual comic books. How could I? It wasn’t like there were any local comic book stores I could just walk to on a Saturday afternoon. So where I would I get them? I did watch some of the cartoons. I remember watching Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men when I was a kid. Grew out of that pretty quickly though. But this trend of over-the-top superhero movies? I love it. I'm just dying to see The Avengers and I cannot wait for The Dark Knight Rises. The latest Spider-Man reboot, however, I can take or leave. The trailers don't look too promising to me. So I'll most likely leave it.

Nine Things About Jamie

No essential information. Just random facts. About me. Enjoy.

I like to use the word delicious and apply it to things that are not food. Like books or movies. Such as, The Gargoyle is a delicious book. Or Sherlock Holmes is delicious movie, for several reasons.

On a normal day, it takes at least three alarms to wake me up in the morning. Sometimes more. Usually more. I’m not really one for rising and shining. It’s not my thing.

I am a huge fan of new jack swing. I have always loved it and I probably always will, even though that genre of music is no longer in vogue. (and if you get that pun, you’re my hero)

I like the word ‘druthers.’ Don’t know why. I just do. It’s not my favorite word, but I do enjoy it when people use it everyday conversations and I wish people did so more often. I especially enjoy it when people use it correctly.

I am a bit of a grammar freak. I wouldn’t say I’m up to the level of a grammar-nazi, but I do greatly enjoy it when people use their/there and your/you’re correctly in written forms communication. It turns me on. A misplaced comma or a run on sentence or two don’t bother me. It’s the simple things that get me. Like if people use seen/saw incorrectly, it physically hurts me to hear it. I don’t usually correct people when speaking to them. I just wince and cry a little on the inside.

When I’m cleaning, I listen to Giants of the Big Band Era. Les Brown, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey. These are my guys. They help me focus. I can sway as I dust and polish.

I am not afraid of spiders. I’m not particularly fond of them. But if I see one, even a big fat hairy one, I’m like BAM! Squished, dead. Not with my bare hand though. That’d be gross. But I am terrified of centipedes. Anything with more than eight legs freaks me right out. Even thinking about those little bastards makes my skin crawl.

My favorite actress, well one of my favorite actress, of the Golden Era of Hollywood is Ida Lupino. She was just amazing. Stunning, brilliant, talented, beautiful, awesome. And while she was quite famous in her time, her name has not stood the test of time like some of her contemporaries. This is unfortunate because she was amazing, in case I hadn't already mentioned that. And, quick history lesson, she was one of the first female directors in Hollywood and the first woman to direct a film noir. So she was kind of badass.

I still remember the first music video I ever saw. I would’ve been about six or seven years old. I walked into the family room to find my older sister was watching VH1, a channel I was not allowed to watch at that age. But I sat down and watched anyway. Torn by Natalie Imbruglia was playing. And this was my introduction to music television. As a bonus, the second music video I ever saw was Truly, Madly, Deeply by Savage Garden.

Aw Yeah!

I'm so proud of myself. Is that a bad thing? To be proud of what you've done? Aren't polite people supposed to be humble and modest about their accomplishments? I usually don't like to boast. It's not courteous. Oh, who cares! I'm proud of myself today and I don't care who knows it. This morning, I was up a full hour before my first class, a feat I have not been able to achieve since freshman year. A reason to be proud indeed.
Oh wait, there was something else. Some other reason for me to be proud and boastful. What was it again? Oh yeah! This:

wabam!

Yeah that's right. Second place in a national competition. I made crowns for our production of Metamorphoses. We brought them to the American College Theater Festival and entered them in the allied crafts competition. And we, little old DSU (who has no theater major or any real budget) won second place against the big boys. Elation!
And yeah, they spelled my name wrong.

On The Plus Side, I Just Got New Glasses

If one cares to look at the time stamp on this post they well notice that it is after four in the morning. As I write this I am fully aware that my time would be best spent sleeping at this moment. Unfortunately, I have been experiencing a small case of insomnia these past few weeks. Every other time there was no real reason for my sleepless state. However, tonight there is an excuse for me being awake at this ungodly hour: money. Or more accurately, my lack of it. The truth of the matter is that I have no idea how I’m going to pay for school this semester. If I dropped a couple courses I’m sure I could finagle a way to pay. But as it stands, I’m already going to be in school for five years. I do not want to turn that into six. There are other options I’m sure. (anyone know who to talk to about selling a kidney?) I’ll figure something out. But it’s really difficult to stay positive when you’re sleep deprived. Everything looks kind of hopeless at four in the morning. So here I sit in a state of panic, unable to shut my eyes and just go to sleep. I know there’s nothing I can do about it at this moment and things will probably look better in tomorrow morning. (and by tomorrow I mean Sunday and by morning I mean when the sun is up, Dave)

As a side note, there is absolutely nothing on TV at four am. Even the infomercials suck at this time of night. Or day. Whatever. 

Ahh, Sweet Sitcomy Goodness

It's five days into 2012 and I all can say is that I hope it gets better. As it stands, this new year has gotten off to a less than stellar start. I've spent the last week watching an obscene about of The Big Bang Theory. (caught up on all five seasons in five days, a personal record.)

And now I've moved onto How I Met Your Mother. It might take me longer to catch up on that one since there are seven seasons to be watched. But since I have no life at the moment, it seems like a worthy endeavor and a legitimate way to waste my time.
In between watching too many fluffy sitcoms, I have been able to catch up on a bit of my reading. I'll put in a quick word for my latest literary adventure, The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Only about halfway through, but thus far it has turned out to be quite delicious. But I digress.

Needless to say, I am more than ready to get back to real life. Not that I haven't enjoyed this time at home with my family. I'm just going a little crazy here.

Reflections and Projections

Well, here it is. 2012. Our last year on earth. On the positive side, if the world does end this year, there'll be no more student loans looming over my head.
But back in the real world.
Now is usually the time of year when one is called to both reflect and make plans for the future. I don't think I'll be doing either of those. 2011 is still quite fresh in my mind and as such, I have no desire to analyze all the alarming things that occurred within its 12 months. Oh I admit, there were a few moments that I am quite fond of. But the overall feeling of the year was one of panic and despondency. I can only hope that 2012 will bring something new to the table. Perhaps a little hope? But optimism was never my strong suit.
As for my plans for the future, those remain relatively unchanged. Continue with school and try not to die. I was never one for making new years resolutions as I can never seem to keep any of them. Much like whenever I was up to bat in softball, there was too much pressure and never enough follow through.
Now is also the time of year when people are making lists. From the top music videos to the top ten people not running for president, everybody has a list. So here is my list of the top five artists that I listened to the most this past year:
Florence + the Machine
Mumford and Sons
Shinedown
Mika
U2

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful New Year!

Inebriate of air am I

This last month has been just as chaotic as the one before. And now suddenly I'm in the the middle of December. Why must time forever be moving forward?

I had planned on blogging everyday in December because it's the month Emily Dickinson was born, but that obviously didn't happen. At least I'm getting to it today, her actual birthday. (for those who didn't know, "much madness is divinest sense" is line from one of her poems.) 

This upcoming week is finals and promises to be extra stressful. But along with the stress there has been some real good times with some real good people. With all the ups and downs, I am trying my best to stay positive and enjoy the little joys that live still offers. 

Wish me luck on staying sane during the next week!

A Grimm Future For Hollywood

It's no secret that Hollywood has run out of new ideas. But this fact has become more obvious of late. First vampires, then werewolves, then zombies, and now anything by the Brothers Grimm. The latest fad in film and television is revamping (pun intended) classic fairy tales. There are two movies retelling the story of Snow White coming out next summer alone.

Mirror, Mirror

Snow White and the Huntsman

The first one looks more like a romantic comedy with Julia Roberts playing a role tailor made for her: evil queen. The second looks like another Twilight knockoff. That is partly because Kristen "How-Does-She-Keep-Getting-Work" Stewart is playing Snow White. These movies come flying in on the tail of Red Riding Hood and Beastly and slew of other "modern take on classic fairy tale" movies.
I'm not really excited about any of them. The fact that Roberts and Stewart are involved is enough to keep me away. Far, far away. But I will probably watch them anyway because I am a sucker for fairy tales. But I'm not happy about it. In fact, I'm quite conflicted about this emerging genre. Even TV is getting in on the action:

Once Upon A Time

Grimm

And since I love fairy tales so much, I'll probably end up watching these two shows as well. But it's not something I'm proud of. They are guilty pleasures that I'll hate myself for watching because I am just feeding the machine that is Hollywood as it cashes in on the latest craze. What can I do but try to enjoy the this trend until it ends? So what if the movies are unoriginal and pander to an audience that is desperate to relive its childhood by watching melodramatic, teen angst versions of its favorite fairy tales?

Fluffy White Stuff

It snowed today. First of the season. I had heard a rumor of this happening yesterday. I was not overly excited about it. Snow signifies autumn, which happens to be my favorite season, is over and winter, which happens to last forever in South Dakota, is beginning. 

But when I saw the snow, I smiled. This morning when I looked out my window, I saw the world transformed. It's amazing that after so many years, the first snow never seems to lose it's magic. The world has been given a new coat of paint. All the mistakes that were so obvious and jarring before have now been cleaned away. A fresh slate has been offered to me. New beginnings coincide with a new season. 

Honestly though, this new found optimism is starting to get to me.