A little thought on musical discernment

A few says ago I saw a facebook post that made me cringe. Which, honestly, happens quite frequently, but this post in particular needed to be blogged about:

Music should never been deemed good or bad by the way it sounds, But by the way it makes you feel.

Ouch. While I agree that a judgement of musical quality should not be based solely on physical sound, one must not forget that sound is the mode of communication that music uses. Sound is contained in the very definition of music. Additionally, sound is an emotionally evokative phenomenon; one of the most elementary examples of this is the common association of minor keys with sadness or darkness.

Feeling is very poor ground for determining the "goodness" or "badness" of music. While judgement of musical quality will always be subjective to a certain degree, leaving it entirely up to feeling ignores the technique and specific choices of the composer. Musical value is morbidly reduced by the exculsive "feeling criteria."

Sound and feeling work together with a number of other elements, among them being time, thought, and careful planning, to produce good music. What I would consider "bad" music would be something that breaks rules and strategies of writing music, without artistic purpose.

Yes, I did just pull a facebook post apart. I have no life.

Actually, I take that back. I have spent countless hours and days on music; I am studying it as a minor in college. I am far from well read in music theory and literature, but I believe that the past several months have given me a more accurate understanding of what music is. So I do, in fact, have a life.

Reducing the quality-determining factor of such an intricate and mysterious, yet beautifully systematic phenomenon as music to something so base and loose as "feeling" is a rash statement deserving of correction.

I will now return my soapbox to the closet and wish you all a wonderful day.

Imagine...can I?

i·mag·i·na·tion (ĭ-măj′ə-nā shən)
 n.

1.
 a. The formation of a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses.
 b. The mental image so formed.
 c. The ability or tendency to form such images.

2. The ability to confront and deal with reality by using the creative power of the mind; resourcefulness: handled the problems with great imagination.

3. A traditional or widely held belief or opinion.

4. Archaic
a. An unrealistic idea or notion; a fancy.
b. A plan or scheme.

Definition from The American Heritage Dictionary.

A Google search of "imagination" landed me several Einstein quotes and Brennan's Hierarchy of Imagination:

"Constrained by reality. . ." These days I feel confined to problem solving. On the occaisional good day creativity will come into play a little bit, and I will put together another page in the journal/scrap/picture book my boyfriend and I are making.  The majority of my personal journal entries are written for the purpose of figuring myself out: problem solving. Where is the imagination of the novelist? The one who liked to write about dragons and magical books and quests? *queue sad violin music*

I think when I was packing for college a year and a half ago, I shrink wrapped my imagination to preserve it. But it has gone stale from disuse. *full force sad violin music*

So here's to the day, this day, in which I pull my imagination out of the Play Doh canister and squish it up and make it warm again. This is my quest "to confront and deal with reality by using the creative power of the mind," to regain the power to mentally form that which is "neither perceived as real nor present to the senses." *epic hero music*

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. ~ Albert Einstein

More books. PLEASE

So, it's Christmas break and I have nothing that I simply must do, no deadlines, work or what-not. I spend partial days texting a friend of mine, to whom I have loaned my copy of Ender's Game, and we mourn the books we probably won't get to read before the spring 2014 semester comes along and eats our reading time for breakfast. I have stopped New Year's resolution-ing because it's a resolution a week with me, so I am not going to make a goal this year of reading more while I am at school. But if that were my goal, these are the books I would read:

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I read The Screwtape Letters during spring break, and ever since I have been hungry for more of Lewis's work.

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. I actually did manage to read Ender's Game this past fall semester. It was my first sci-fi, and it had me in tears on occaision. My boyfriend tells me this sequel is really good, and he is going to loan it to me (oh, the many perks of dating a nerdy English major).

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom.  Aforementioned friend / partner-in-mourning-the-books-we-don't-have-time-to-read recommeded this one to me.

Those are the titles that have been tapping me on the shoulder lately, whispering "read me! you're already so far behind!" I get depressed sometimes, when I think of all the books I still will not have read by the time I die.

Most recently I have been reading some of the Sherlock Holmes novels (and by "some" I mean A Study in Scarlet and The Hound of the Baskervilles). A couple nights ago, I watched the BBC show Sherlock with my boyfriend and his family, and I believe I may have found my new show.

So here I cut the blog time, and give the rest of this cold Monday to reading. Sign of the Four, here I come.

Tidbits from Ireland

My traveling career started this past summer in Ireland, a three week trip of drawing, writing, and exploring.  For my 19th birthday, as an early gift for traveling, my parents bought a Samsung WB250F digital camera.  I had a great time experimenting with it in Ireland.  Here a few favorites, all taken in Belfast:

Some graffitti that caught my eye.

I walked by this place several times, each time telling myself I needed to take a picture of it.  Once the bicycle was there, I finally stopped and photographed.

I'm not really a dog person, but I wanted this husky wolf, just chilling under an arch in Belfast.

While I was in Dublin, I was able to meet some of my relatives, so returning to that gorgeous country is a high possibility that I am setting my sights on.

My professors for the trip have yet to return the sketchbook that was my coursework for the trip, but when I get it back, I will try to post some of that material as well.

Slainte, and DBF Out!

Demigods, scholarships, and other fun stuff

Semester one is behind me (shining brightly with a big B+ in Calculus!), and I am home catching up on doing nothing.  Today I finished reading The Mark of Athena, book three in the Heroes of Olympus series.  Oh Riordan, you never fail to leave me hanging.  From a rocky ledge.  Above the pit of Tartarus.  So I find myself once again greatly anticipating the release of yet another book and wishing to goodness I could find myself a Percy Jackson.

I was so inspired by this novel that I decided to go on an epic quest of my own: follow the mark of financial aid, that you may venture into yon fair green lands.  Basically I just looked for scholarships and grants to help me study abroad in Ireland next summer.  I'm excited, to say the least.  About traveling, not scholarships and grants.  I have high hopes of catching a leprechaun.

Speaking of mythical creatures...The Hobbit.  An Unexpected Journey was such a beautiful thing!  It was the first time I'd ever gone to a midnight premier, and I had a great time with some of my college buds and spent way too much money on popcorn and Sprite.  The film was spectacular.  The "Riddles in the Dark" scene is indeed a great moment in the history of cinema.  Oh, and the eagles!  Simply magnificent; they deserved more screen time.  It had all the fun, danger, quirks, and thrill of an original adventure, and I expect an equally if not more fantastic follow up in The Desolation of Smaug next year.

Do any of you readers like One Direction?  When I first heard the song "What Makes You Beautiful," I thought they sounded fun - and hey, they're British! - but then I listened to the rest of their album on itunes and grew disinterested.  But that didn't stop me from making the mistake of telling my little sisters about them.  And now all I hear about when I come home is Harry, Liam, Niall, Louis, and Zayn, and more Harry.  (see how bad it is?  I know their names! >_< )  The other night, my iPod lost its 1D virginity.  I'm not really a boy band type of person, and their lyrics aren't much, but it's fun music when you're in a playful mood.  And after all, they are from England...

Also, I am knitting a scarf.  A fat scarf.  A pretty scarf.  The end.

DBF Out!

in the coffee shop

That is the state of being I have reached on this evening following a lovely November Saturday afternoon.  I have my messenger bag dotted with pins next to me, an empty frappe cup and chocolate crumb covered plate on the table in front of me, Death Cab for Cutie is playing through my leopard print headphones, and my hair is a big bed-head mess.  I have been home-working all day, and so I have set aside for the moment my lit class Conjure Stories project to write a long over-due blog post.

I'm not going to even try covering all the blog-worthy occurences during my absence.  I will say though, that life at this college has been pretty much just right for me.  I have found lots of fellow Lord of the Rings nerds, but not many, if any, Narniacs.  I still think about my DBFs quite a lot, and if you guys could be here with me I think I should explode from so much awesome around me in one place.

Last night my friend Bethany and I went to a contra dance together.  I played with the band, danced a few dances, and ate food.  It was a beautiful thing, the sort of thing Friday nights are made for.

I know the new year is still a while away, but I can't help but reflect on this year now that it's getting late.  2012: Caroline's year of firsts.  First official job.  First year of college.  First dance.  First cell phone.  First kiss.  First time voting.  First driver's liscense.  And I feel fine.  Still doing the things I love, and learning more about them.  Still very much crazy clueless me.

Here is a little snippet of a song that came to me in the shower last night at 1:30 a.m.  Rhythm and melody are still ambiguous, but I really want to go somewhere with "For the Time Being":

What kills the most,

And what haunts like a ghost

Is that it was not supposed

To feel this way.

Took the shortcut out.

Turned out to be the long road home.

And if home is where the heart is,

Well it’s lost.

But as the doors swing open and shut,

A clever thought begins to think.

Think at last the dusky past

Should lay to sleep.

On va voir (we'll see).  French 101 has been my best class this semester; j'aime parler francais.  Anyway, we'll see what this song turns in to.  Perhaps it will be worth recording and posting at some point.  Heck, maybe even a music video.  That would be fun.  I need to do that sometime...

But for now, I leave you with all this posted life stuff to dwell on until I write again (because all of said "posted life stuff" is so very important in the vast scheme of things *sarcasm*).  Au revoir!

DBF Out!

I have officially (but not unofficially) graduated high school...

On the 21st of this month, I will have been a high school graduate for one whole month.  (I will also be at college orientation).  During this time of supposed freedom, I have been trying to finish high school whilst working and being in a play and writing thank you notes.  That's right; I've got the diploma, but the burden of unfinished textbooks is still there.  But I'm a fighter, and freedom is not free.

Speaking of graduations, I would like to congratulate my DBF Megan Pevensie, for completing the homeschool years as well (I don't stalk, it just showed up in my news feed ;P).  My words of encouragement and advice to you: may Aslan and the force be with you, check every wardrobe just in case, never simply walk into Mordor, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

So, I now have one of those iPod dock/alarm clock things, and I love it.  The other day, just to be ironic, I set my alarm song to "Don't Wake Me Up" by The Hush Sound.  It woke me up.  It is amazing how much easier it is to slip out of dreams slowly and to music, rather than being jolted awake by a screaming time machine.

Last night, after the play was over, I went home and got a bowl of cereal and some chocolate, climbed into bed, and watched Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  Freaking.  Love.  And that soundtrack is one of the best things in my ears' life.  On IMDB, the third is "in development."  2014, it says.  Heck yeah.

And if any of you reading this post have never listened to the band "Capital Lights," you need to go check them out.  "Night of Your Life," "Let the Little Lady Talk," and "Out of Control" are some of their really good tracks.

Tonight is the closing night of Outlander, in which I am an extra, which means that I'll be at the playhouse extra late with all the other cast members to strike the set.   This is my last show this year (I wasn't cast in Big River :( ), but I'm an apprentice, so their are theater days ahead for me yet.

I miss mah deebs (erm, DBFs), and I hope you all are having a lovely summer.

Help me name this poem!!!

I have had this thing written in this, it's final, complete form (which is really saying something for me) for two months now, and I still have not named it!  If you have the time, I'd love for you guys to read it and give me some title ideas.

Part I

The bright yellow swing on the swing set

moves on its own as if

an invisible person is swinging gently upon it.

"Just the wind," I scold myself, and yet,

it seems as though it is teasing me,

playfully beckoning, "Come out!"

But I remain behind the window, behind

my self-made wall. Duty of the self-educated.

Words and worries, sums and stories,

Tick-tock, tick-tock allegory.

Books are closed, I may play.

Placid treetops, wind has died.

Yet yellow swing still sways. "Come out!"

To swing or not to swing,

To breathe and remember the sound of my heart beat.

My fingers drum against the window, dull

dum ba dum ba dum

And I forsake her, thoughtful friend,

for I have growing up to do, you know;

the words and worries, sums and stories.

Tick-tock, tick-tock allegory.

Part II

Clouds like the stretched out cotton balls

that wiped away the princess pink from my little nails.

My imaginary friend must be aging, getting

feeble, for the faded yellow swing creaks

back and forth, inch by shrinking inch.

I taste the tingly promise of the changing seasons,

the words and worries, the sums and stories.

Tick-tock, tick-tock allegory.

But today, today with all the chores and changing

schedules in a fickle whirlwind, with all

the promises I've made myself...

What should I wish to do but swing?

Yes I am ready... but it is gone.

A ghost dances about me elusively. A single

wilted daisy, her forlorn grave marker.

My fingertips kiss the petal strings.

Slight silver crescent of a moon like

a sharp fingernail clipping...

sweet dream escapes are all drowned out

by the words and worries, sums and stories.

Cruel tick-tock, tick-tock allegory.

Part III

Reminiscing pulse. I take

my place on yellow swing once more.

But I'm too solid, she too faint. Her eyes

so sad yet accusing, bore into mine.

"You are gone."

Her voice, like nails on a chalkboard,

chills me. "But I am here!" I protest.

She shakes her head, more and more

dark and distant. "Here

but not returned, you're not.

You'll never be back again."

I wake from my reverie, reality dawning cold.

It's frightening for one so young as I

to be so young no more.

Yet a subtle knowing all along.

Shifting battlegrounds on the

inescapable outcome. I took too easily;

the words and worries, the sums and stories.

Tick-tock, tick-tock allegory.

Part IV

In a haze of sweet honesty, my eyes

like my mother's take in the fresh world.

Mud pies baking in their sun-rock oven, fish dinner

of pinecones roasting on a spit, stick-fashioned

weapons, pole and tarpaulin fort; breathing with

a pure belonging life all their own.

"Hold on." Mother's whisper tickles my ear.

My fingernails imprint my hands around

the ropes of the bright yellow swing.

I sail towards blue, laughing pure laughter.

And the pendulum motion begins.

Oh, and Happy Mum's Day! (;

A very British post...

In honor of the completion of my collage "Britannia," I decided to post a couple other random English tokens I've come across in my life's rambles.

These are some charming tea things and luggage I found at Marshall's a few months ago.  (Unfortunately, I hadn't the funds to buy any of it; so I took pictures instead.)

And now, the poem I wrote to go along with the collage, and which ack-chellay wound up in the collage itself:

Hello you place I've never been;

My! you've inspired me so.

You've blown me kisses from afar,

into my head, my eyes, my ears.

Accenting vocal fun,

attractive beings acting out

those fantasies, how I admire!

Brush and pen stroke, teleport

me to your rich old worlds

of tasteful trifles and triumphs.

Take me there, and closer.

Foreign land of ever-after,

kingdom far, far away.

Oh, and last but not least, I stumbled upon this a while back and immediately saved it because it is such good advice:

'Tis what we do, eh DBFs? ;)







Afore promised poem...

Welp, here it is.  I may still tweak it.  Constructive criticism is most welcomed!

Growing Pains

By Caroline Hughes

My duffle bag

is full of outfits.

Each one a costume

for a new scene.

My binders

are full of papers.

Spilled contents,

overloaded brain.

My notebooks

are full of ink.

Lines that make a map

to somewhere.

My iPod

is full of music.

Words and rhythms

for mood swings.

My shoes

are full of feet.

They're connected to me,

and aching to go.

My heart

is full of blood.

I'm alive

and able to love.

My head

is full of me.

She's screaming and whispering,

kicking and sleeping,

jumbling up, sorting out,

trying to process

each object, sensation,

memory, fact,

opinion, and truth.

Will she ever get out?

We'll see...



I am Kentucky bound....

Oh dear.  I have over a month's worth of material to blog on.  Thank heavens it's Friday.

Well, let's start with the big stuff.  I have, at long last, submitted the $50 enrollment deposit.  To Berea College.  I cannot express to you guys in blogospheric language (or any other sort of language, for that matter) how relieved and downright ecstatic I am to finally know where I am going in the fall.  My friend Jordan goes to this college, so I already know someone there, and the campus is lovely.  Oh, and my first year is free.  It's work study, so I'll get job experience whilst working towards my degree.  Plus, the music lessons are only $50 for the year (methinks the cello is a high possibility), and the school pays for 75% of study abroad (England, Italy, New Zealand...oh where to go, where to go).  In other words, I am very excited to be taking up residence in the blue-grass state this August!

Okay, sorry if I got a bit gushy about college.  Now, on to other matters.  Yesterday I found out that Mountain Air, a gated community close to where I live, has hired me on their recreation team.  I'll be working in the recreation building to maintain the facilities, answer members' questions, and help with the kids' day camp about 20-25 hours a week over the summer.

Between college and getting a job, I am feeling blessed to the uttermost, praising God, and getting the feeling that my life is about to change for the better.  In less than a month, it's good-bye high school, hello future.

In theater news, there isn't much to tell, save that Isabelle and Olivia were simply wonderful in the Parkway Playhouse Jr. production of Alice in Wonderland.  Olivia was the White Rabbit, which meant she had a solo, and Isabelle was Lily, a flower Girl of the Golden Afternoon.  It was really cute.  The two of them are really besting me in drama, especially Olivia, who wants to be a famous actress.  She is convinced that she is going to meet Josh Hutcherson someday.  I'm keeping my eyes open for Catching Fire extras audition info.

Last night I saw Mirror Mirror with my family and my friend Hannah.  It was really good as fantasy comedies go.  Visually appealing, and laugh out loud funny.  I loved the costumes, the snowy setting, and the clever twist on the ol' Grimm's tale.  The idea that the wicked queen wasn't "all there" gave it an air of villainous whimsy.

I have a made a rather delightful discovery through facebook.  A friend of mine posted a video by Blimey Cow, these two formerly homeschooled brothers from Nashville who post hilarious videos on youtube every Monday.  Here's one of my favorites: (just a head's up, I have this kind of crazy sense of humor, such that sometimes the things that I burst out laughing about seem stupid, childish, or just plain ridiculous to others.  However, these videos do usually make a good point. So, that being said, Blimey Cow...)

I really am going to quit lying and ack-chellay post some of all this poetry I've been working on and promising to post.  But I'm afraid this post has gotten too long for it.  Perhaps tomorrow.

So, without further ado, DBF Out!

I believe the odds are in The Hunger Games' favor...

It was just a fantastic movie experience all around: the movie, the AH-mazing Regal Biltmore Grande, peanut m&ms and sierra mist, and even being dressed up as characters:

Katniss arena, Katniss reaping, and Effie Trinket. Yeah, you could say we're fans.

Right, so on to the movie.  I enjoyed it immensely.  The casting was pretty much perfect in my opinion.  I was very happy with Jennifer Lawrence's performance, as well as Liam Hemsworth's.  I honestly don't think Peeta could have been more perfect; Josh Hutcherson, you are amazing.  Adaptationwise, I feel like they covered the basics.  That being said, there were a lot of basics to cover, and so they were unable to get into all those delicious details.  They totally nailed the reaping scene in my opinion (way to go Willow Shields) but I was somewhat disappointed in the cave scene.  There was still some bonding going on, but it wasn't the three-day "vacation" of the book.  And I loved that part, so I was kind of sad.  But it was still good.  I missed Madge, Katniss drugging Peeta, the Avox girl, and the lamb stew.  Overall, it was not as emotionally and thematically complex as the book, but that's to be expected.  They did a great job.

And after I got home, I stayed up till 1:45 AM reading Catching Fire again.  November 2013 is when the movie is expected, I think.  I literally cannot wait to see who will play Finnick Odair.  Well, here's to more anticipation.  Happy Hunger Games!

A very happy 17th to a very dear blogging friend...

Of course, nothing can compare to Megan's genius birthday blunderkind from last year, but I thought I'd throw a little somethin' together.  Because Kellie is cool like that and deserves it. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyUGNiO5qxA
(hmm, seems me video will only post via link. why is blogger being difficult?)
Kinda cheesy, quick put together (the song doesn't even fit, but it was the most fun birthday-pop-y sounding thing I had), but there you have it. :)  I hope you had a fantastic birthday Kellie!

In which I watched (heheh, that's kind of funny to say) LotR extras...

I was home alone most of the day, and this evening I decided to watch some of my super-special-extended-edition-lord-of-the-rings-movie-extras from The Fellowship of the Ring.  This stuff is from about eleven years ago, which is really weird because that seems like a very long time, and yet I remember when the movies were coming out.  Anyway, I learned some inspiring stuff about Tolkien and about making a ridiculously epic movie and that at the age of nineteen Elijah Wood was rather adorable.  I couldn't help but think of you guys, with all the movie and story and magic and music making; if we ever get together, I think some LotR extras may be in order.  Of course, some of the filming techniques are probably obsolete by now, but whatevs.  It's still cool.

The Three Musketeers will be released on dvd next week.  And The Hunger Games comes out the week after that.  Excited.  Very.  You probably already knew these things, but I felt the need to blog them.

In music, right now I am really enjoying Relient K's "Be My Escape," Joshua Radin and Ingrid Michaelson "Sky," Paramore "That's What You Get," and Owl City in general, even though Adam Young can write some pretty odd lyrics - I have yet to discover what an "alligator sky" and a "strawberry avalanche" are.  Yes, this is a rather random ensemble, but I have a bit of cabin fever so it is to be expected. (As a matter of fact, today I began wildly jumping on the floor and pacing back and forth when I grew tired of working on an application. But I'm okay now.)

Welp, that's all for this post.  I must try to calm my over-active brain with some Charles Dickens so I can go to sleep instead of howl at the beautifully full moon. 

Meant to post this sooner, but anyway...

So, I think Kellie already knows this, since she "liked" my facebook status about it, but last night I watched Hugo.  I loved it.  There was lots of gears and clocks and keys and the like...making it kind of, steampunk?...but whatever ya call it, it's the sort of thing I love.  It also involves a drawing automaton, trains, and early films, which I thought was pretty cool.  It's set in France in the 1930s, but practically everyone has British accents, which didn't really bother me because I prefer a British accent to a French anyway.  There wasn't any magic in it, but it felt magical, and it's a sweet story, with a just right amount of emotion, and interesting thoughts.

Hugo and Isabelle with the automaton Hugo repaired.

Oh and I saw Puss in Boots.  It was kind of cute.

Right now I am listening to samples of Ingrid Michaelson's newest album.  Pretty good so far; I think "Fire" is my favorite, but I haven't heard it all.

I should probably wrap this up now; I am in my room, but my dad is making us all sleep downstairs tonight because there is a tornado warning until 5 in the morning.  Hah.  A tornado, in the mountains!  Strange weather.  So I shall leave the comfort of me bed to avoid being potentially crushed in my sleep by a tornado-torn tree.

On that thought, nightie night!

Just quick before bed...

Another fantastic Eisley song, and a cool picture I came across on google today...

Infrared photography.  I am absolutely captivated.  When I grow up, I wanna be an infrared photographer.

And now I am praying that that cricket hiding under my dresser will come out so I can squash it mightily instead of lurking in the dark waiting to ninja-leap at my face in the middle of the night. -_o

~DBF Out~

Battling senioritis is definitely a balancing act...

So I'll spare you the details of all the essays and campus touring and high school work and scholarship applications and tea and essays and chocolate and essays.  I've been accepted to four colleges, and I'm waiting for responses from two.  The decision will be difficult, as it will effect pretty much the rest of my life.  I must proceed with caution.  Oh, and finish high school.  Can't forget that part.

And, unfortunately, this balance battle has caused a lull in my blogging and painting/drawing.  But I have FINALLY begun writing my secret cottage / magic candle novel (by begun I mean seven pages :/ ) and I have learned to finger pick "Safe and Sound" from The Hunger Games movie on my guitar.  And a local writer is helping me improve my poetry, so I have written a different style of poem that I shall perhaps post soon. I am currently working on a song likely to be called "Picture in the Locket."  Mum found our long lost video camera, so maybe Kellie could give me some music video making tips and I could work on a music video over the summer.

Oh, and speaking of music videos, here is one by a wonderful band I recently discovered.  Maybe you've heard of Eisley.  If you don't like them, don't click the play button.  If you do like them, enjoy!

I love how all the beautiful things, the beautiful memories, grow throughout.

Well, I can't really think of anything to say to sign off because I'm rather drowsy, so...

DBF Out!

z.z



As I devour my homemade banana split shloppy creation...

Ice cream and Pandora on a foggy Saturday afternoon.  Yep, I'm a happy camper.

So I thought this would be the opportune moment to do a blogger update.  Here's a picture of Isabelle's birthday cake.  She turned fourteen last Sunday, and since the cake we got at Walmart the night before was rather plain looking aside from a Mickey and Pluto in an airplane figurine, I secretly made some alterations of my own...

Yep, that's Percy Jackson inspired: Camp Half-Blood orange icing, the Poseidon trident-thingie, and my sister's name in Greek (thank you Google translate).  I am proud to say that Isabelle was quite pleased.

And speaking of Percy Jackson, I've recently read the two Heroes of Olympus books, and they were really fun.  The Son of Neptune was especially great.  Now I am quite impatient for this fall to bring me The Mark of Athena, book three in the series.  So I've started The Kane Chronicles, at the recommendation of my sisters, to tide me over.  Finished the Red Pyramid this morning, and shall shortly begin The Throne of Fire.  But in my opinion, there's no beating Percy Jackson when it comes to mythology.

I've been learning Spanish lately, which is quite fun, even though I'm not very fluent in conversation yet.  I had an lol moment the other day when the computer woman I was conversing with said, "Nuria es tonto" and then later, "Los hijos de mi vecino son feos."  That's "Nuria is stupid" and "My neighbor's children are ugly."  I guess my Spanish program doesn't teach manners.  I figured out on my own that right now, this is probably the best thing for me to say to a Spanish-speaking person: "Mi español es mal."  My Spanish is bad.  But hopefully, not for long.

And here I sign out.  Love to ya, mi amigas!



In which I celebrate Logan Lerman's 20th brithday two days late with a Blunderkind...

It was too good a picture not put a story behind it...

It learned the hard way: one does not simply insult D'Artagnan. It is folly.

Related news: I think the filming of The Sea of Monsters begins this year.  I am hopeful that this time around, they'll stay more true to the book.  Guess I'll have to wait till 2013 to see.  But I have The Hunger Games and The Hobbit to tide me over, so I can't complain :)

Here's a jus' for the heck of it/happy birthday picture (btw, in case you haven't used picnik lately, the site will be closed for good this April. until then, all the premium features are free as well)

hehe, kinda looks like nick jonas

'sall for now.  DBF out!



I have returned like the king...

...from the iTheatrics Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, Georgia.  (We ack-chellay got back Monday) Had a fantabulous time; performing our fifteen minutes and doing the choreography workshop were the best!  Well, the Fabulous Fox was pretty darn amazing too; Annie was spectacular!  And on top of it all, our group,  Parkway Playhouse Jr., received the Outstanding Achievement in Acting award!  Five out of about sixty-five groups were given this award.  When they announced it in the big performance area, we all jumped up and screamed for a solid forty-five seconds.  Olivia cried.  It was awesome.  Here's some pictures:

At the Radio Disney Dance Party. It was my first time ever at a dance party, so I was a little shy and awkward, but I warmed up...I'm just glad there's no video of it lol

Bahaha



So, yeah.  I'm glad I got to do that before I go to college. Good times, good times.

DBF Out!