To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good

This is amazing:

I was having a long, tiring, and kind of shitty day. Then this happened and my fangirl squee went into overdrive (SPOILER alert for last night's episode):

I've finally put my thoughts about Brian K. Vaughan's Faith arc down on "paper," and my fandom journal seems to be a logical place of entry. This review covers "No Future for You," parts 1-3 and primarily focuses on the portrayal of post-Chosen Faith. So here goes:

IC Wales DW gossip article

Four people in the rumors:

1. John Simm
2. Daniel Radcliffe
3. Rhys Ifans
4. Macknenzie Crook

Okay, I had my cupcake. Mmmmm...completely organic and full of yummy Black & Green chocolate. The urge to tumble down a shame spiral of whisky and no good men has passed.

( Well, for the most part. Does it every *really* go away? )
In other news, I had an interesting conversation with my co-worker about books yesterday. She asked if I'd knew anything about The Golden Compass movie that's coming in December. I, quite enthusiastic to have something as fantastic as children's lit to talk about during an otherwise boring day, expressed great enthusiasm about the film and admitted that I had recently read all three books in the series and found them more than favorable. She then recounted a conversation she'd had with her mom the night before. SPOILER ALERT for TGC:

( The kids killed God! and other bizarre GT rumors from people who haven't read the book )This post could use a bit of happy and I'm still suffering from a severe case of DoctorWhoitis, the symptoms for which are: reading fic when you should be doing other things, suddenly realizing you know exactly where "that scene" is in the menu of "Utopia", getting high off surfing through clever pics at DW icon communities, and trolling YouTube for fanvids to cheesy dance pop songs and weepy mainstream emo ballads. Here's my latest find of the former video variety:
( The Sound of Drums )

Things are kind of teh suck right now. I'm not going into much detail, but it's safe to say that I'm decidedly dumbass in some rather key areas of my life. While I should be thinking of logical, real-life solutions to breaking crappy patterns, I'm thinking about this instead: if I were a sci-fi heroine, what would I do in the face of a crappy life situation? Hmmm...

If I were Buffy, I'd give a long and cathartic beating to some random demon, boink a hot vampire (preferably a blonde one), and figure out how to prevent the next apocalypse.

If I were Veronica Mars, I'd outsmart the smug rich girl/gal who made the mistake of underestimating me, take his/her $1000, and head over to the Echolls place for an illicit make-out session with Logan.

If I were Starbuck, I'd execute death-defying stunts while taking out multiple Cylons in my Viper, drink a lot of whisky, antagonize the ExO, and have (or attempt to have) wildly inappropriate sex with a shipmate.

If I were Inara Serra, I'd break the captain's heart and run away to live in a Buddhist convent.

If I were Rose Tyler, I'd absorb the vortex, destroy the Daleks, jump in the TARDIS, and snog the Doctor (a lot). 

If I were President Roslin, I'd ride the chamallah train.

To be perfectly honest, the Buffy and Starbuck paths are looking pretty damn good right about now. I think it's time for a cupcake.

Aaarrrgggghhhh. Still no book review. I'm rubbish at this whole "blog discipline" thing. There are just so many other things that need to be done, not to mention the fact that when I do have a spare moment on the net it's usually spent looking at all the shiny DW fanvideos while I squeal and think "Face of Boe...OMG!" Can't say my brain is functioning on its highest level (case in point: I just typed it's instead of its), but the heart is working just fine.

Time Travel: itz in mi brain, steling mi thotz!

Seriously, I can't escape. The second graders are learning about the concept of Tzedakah. They spent some time last Sunday writing Tzedakah stories for school. My favorite:
( The Tzedakah Box From Space )

I think we have a ways to go on the concept of Tzedakah.

Also, I'm not ashamed to admit that this video made me tear up a little bit. The creator used my favorite Buffy/Spike song ever--"Run" by Snow Patrol--but it works for Rose and The Doctor, too:

( Indulging my angsty glee )

Sonic Screwdriver
In a highball glass, mix:
1 ounce citrus vodka
1 ounce Rose's* blue raspberry cocktail mix
1 blue maraschino cherry
Top off with clear sparkling liquid, such as Sprite or British-style lemonade
Use an activated glow necklace to stir and garnish
*I swear that's the name of the cocktail mix; no pun intended, but definitely appreciated!


I'm working on a proper review of the season (sort of like this one but more polished), but who knows how long that will take. In the meantime, I leave you with this:

If anybody's going to bring sexy back, it's definitely Doctor Who, Captain Jack, and The Master!

Well, I'm just going to come out and say it. Yes, I'm breaking NaBloPoMo. Tomorrow, actually. But it's for good reasons, I assure you. Some of those good reasons:

1) Getting the hell out of C'ville (it's been a month since the D.C. trip and stir crazy doesn't begin to cover it)
2) Hibernation (M's apt. has central heat, while my roommate and I are entering week three of a game of a game called "How Long Can We Go Without Having to Pay For Natural Gas?")
3) Captain Jack (*swoon*)

I would like to say I'll post tomorrow, but I know I'll be far too busy looking at the shiny stuff:
   

Hee.

The C. K. Williams reading was amazing. I'm a little bit in love with him, though that's obviously a pipe dream as he's both married and 71 years young. My faith in late 20th / early 21st century poetry was completely restored, especially in light of the fact that many young poets claim to be deeply influenced by him. He is a delightful man, equally good-natured and deadly serious about poetry, and he wore an adorable combo of an orange shirt and brown blazer with orange stripes. He also reads aloud beautifully. I was quite impressed with the whole event.

Also, in random squee, we saw Sissy Spacek at the reading. Seriously, she was sitting near the back and she hovered around afterwards, I assume in order to have a book signed once the line died down. My roommate elbowed me and whispered "Sissy Spacek is somewhere in the room." My immediate thought was "ZOMG, I have to call Amanda [my sister] right now and tell her I'm standing 20 feet away from the coal miner's daughter!" Apparently, she lives around here, but I've never bumped into her at Whole Foods or anywhere else in town before (like others I know have).

( My favorite poem from the entire reading )

Arrrggghhhh. Still no book review; sorry, all, but I'm just too busy today to crank out another. I promise a double one for tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm going to see this man read tonight: C.K. Williams According to my roommate, who is studying for her Master's of Fine Arts in writing, C. K. Williams is "the big cheese" of contemporary American poets. He's won pretty much every literary prize possible, save the Nobel, teaches writing at Princeton, and spends half the year in Paris. This will be an interesting change from the usual Wednesday night readings featuring local MFA writers. For one thing, unlike Baja Bean on the Corner, the UVA Bookstore, sadly, does not serve alcohol. So we'll see how it goes.

We take a break from our regularly scheduled book blogging to express complete and utter disgust with the following program:

VH1 News Presents Little Beauties: The Ultimate Kiddie Queen Showdown

The website introduces the program with these words:

[Move over Miss America! The Little Beauties are coming to town! They're gorgeous, they're talented, they're six-years old and with the helping hand of eager moms, determined pageant coaches, fabulous spray tan artists and "flipper" (fake teeth) makers, not to mention a couple of Pixie Sticks for energy, these girls are taking the stage at pageants all over the Southeast U.S for the chance to win cash prizes and crowns!]

As if the visions of exploitation "documentaries" dancing in my head didn't make me cringe enough, I continued reading and my jaw literally dropped in horror at that second paragraph (italics are added by me):

["Little Beauties: Ultimate Kiddie Queen Showdown" is a one-hour documentary special that will take a light-hearted look into the wonderful world of children's beauty pageants through the eyes of four, precocious six-year old girls. This documentary reveals the humor and love behind an American tradition; the always colorful characters on the pageant circuit; and the "sparkle" it takes to win a crown.]

Tune in at 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, November 18 and you can see:

·        Six year old girls being spray tanned and fitted for fake teeth (known as “flippers”)

·        Glamorous crowning ceremonies”

·        Pageant participants Joanna (The Reigning Champ), Aleena (The Flirt), Kynnedy (The Diva), and Jordan (The Longshot)

·        “Indomitable pageant coach Miss Nikki, pageant emcee and narrator Mr. Tim, International Total Miss director Carol Stephens, “spray tan artist” and Aleena’s mom Terry, and a whole host of other parents and directors (or what I call “enablers” or “pimps,” depending on my mood)

My feminist soul is shaking with rage over the objectification of six year old girls. If you’re worried that she won’t have enough ridiculous cultural expectations of beauty to contend with once she’s a woman, why not force those same narrow perceptions of airbrushed beauty on your pre-pubescent daughter? Slap her with a label that will undoubtedly influence her feelings of self-worth and sense of identity for years to come—some suggestions are The Flirt, The Diva, or, perhaps even worse, The Longshot. Alter her natural skin tone with help of Mystic Tan, liberally apply the Nice n’ Easy for the perfect number of “multi-tonal” highlights, shellac her face with an endless supply of cosmetics so she can sport the ever-popular “plastic doll” look, monitor her eating habits down to the last calorie, stuff her into a sexually provocative sequined leotard, and parade her in front of adults eager to judge her with creepily skewed Southern standards of female attractiveness. It’s an incredible efficient way to start the endless cycle of insecurity and neurosis over weight, skin tone, hair color, body shape, and sexuality before she has a chance to learn how to be comfortable in her own skin. Bravo, beauty pageant parents, on setting your daughter up for a lifetime of self-esteem issues.

Westerfeld, Scott. Peeps. New York: Razorbill, 2005.

ISBN: 978-1595140838

Which of the following doesn't belong?

A)Science

B)Evolution

C)Vampires

D)Parasites

Here's where I'll be participating in National Blog Posting Month:

www.xanga.com/abbylyne

I'm trying to remember why I decided to sign up for NaBloPoMo this year. Something about wanting to flex my writing muscles. Now that it's three days away, the slight panic of "shit...I have to post every day!" has kicked in. I guess I got kind of lucky with my poll; the winning subject of November's blogging is "Fiction and/or Non-Fiction Book Reviews." I read a lot of books, so this shouldn't be too hard to keep up with.

So now I'm compiling a list of books that I've read recently or am reading now to review. I'm also a few short, so I need suggested readings from anyone who would care to weigh in. I'm an eclectic reader and welcome pretty much any recommendation. I read fairly fast, though please don't recommend a 750 page English translation of a Russian novel. Nobody's that fast. I want to blog, not die. Here's the list so far:

Things I've already read recently (two months):
Fiction:

Eclipse (Stephenie Meyer)s

City of Bones (Cassandra Clare)

Peeps and The Last Days (Scott Westerfeld)

Uglies Trilogy: Uglies, Pretties, and Specials (Scott Westerfeld)

Magic or Madness Trilogy: Magic or Madness, Magic Lessons, and Magic's Child (Justine Larbalestier)

His Dark Materials Trilogy: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass (Phillip Pullman)

Non-Fiction:

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (John Grisham)

40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania (Matthew Chapman)

The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Execution (Sister Helen Prejean)

Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion (Edward J. Larson)

Thing I’ll be reading shortly (waiting for me at the library):

Non-Fiction:

Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army (Jeremy Scahill)

Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War (Evan Wright)

Babylon by Bus: Or, the True Story of Two Friends Who Gave Up Their Valuable Franchise Selling “Yankees Suck” T-Shirts at Fenway To Find Meaning and Adventure in Iraq (Ray LeMoine, Jeff Neumann, and Donovan Webster

Fiction:

Extras (Scott Westerfeld)

If you want to see a review of anything else, let me know (that includes anyone reading this by RSS feed, too). I need 10 more books; in case of a crunch, I could always reach into the well of books I’ve read multiple times over the years (All the President’s Men, A Wrinkle in Time, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, etc.), but I prefer to find new things and love getting recommendations.