Rock-n-Roll Journey to Mars

Done with my finals! I head back home tomorrow. It's weird, though... it really doesn't feel like it should be winter break already. Maybe it's because the weather here has been 65 degrees F and sunny since October. It just... doesn't feel like winter.

Also, art post time, yay! Some half naked ladies this time, so beware.

( Also some fannish stuff and steampunk stuff )

I'm taking a world lit class this semester. For about every 3 texts or so we read, we are given a few questions, and choose one to write a short essay examining two of the three stories/plays/poems. The professor decided to start adding "creative" prompts. Updating scenes, creating a dialogue between characters. I just received an email from the TAs, explaining that we'll write a paper solely on Dante's Inferno, and one of our options... is to create our own hell.

That's when it struck me. Our homework... is fanfic.

The Ramayana: One of the oldest records of victim blaming in the world.

Today was... an interesting day. Or at least one part of it was.

I go to school on an open campus. Anyone can come on campus and do stuff there. We get a lot of people registering students to vote; people will try to get students to sign petitions; and every so often, religious people will come on campus and either a) hand out pocket bibles or pamphlets or b) shout at students. Today we had one of the shouty people.

I passed by this guy three times during the day. Once on my way to public speaking, once on my way into the student union building to kill some time between classes, and again on my way back to my lab class. The first time I went past him, he was screaming about how pre-marital sex is a sin. No one was really paying attention to him, as is usually the case with these nutjobs. The second time, he'd drawn a crowd of about 20 people who were all there to heckle him. He was ranting about how smoking marijuana was a sin, and he had a sign that said 'YOU ALL DESERVE TO GO TO HELL'. At this point, people were just playfully egging him on. One stoner was talking about how he 'sees God when [he's] high', so Shouty McPious should shove off and let him practice his faith. Another guy started making fun of him by preaching the "Gospel of Harry Potter", talking about how Dumbledore died for our sins. That guy was made of win. Third time I walked past him, things had gotten tense. He was ranting about how all the students at the school would burn in hell, and that we were Satan's children and whatnot. A group of students were holding a big hand-made sign that read 'FUCK THIS GUY' and had an arrow pointing to him. A lot of people were shouting at him, and a few were verbally ripping him apart, quoting the bible and pointing out how this guy was a bad Christian. There were some campus security members hanging near by, and honestly? It felt like a riot was going to happen soon. I'd estimate by that point (it was 4, he'd gotten started around noon) there were about 50 students watching and jeering.

It was interesting, to say the least. And I saw some people taking photos of the crowd with really nice cameras, so I'm wondering if they were staff from the school newspaper.

Day 14: A non-fictional book

Bad Astronomy by Phil Plait.

This is a great read. This book is a sound debunking of various astronomical conspiracy theories, from the Moon Landing to the face on Mars. Plait keeps things simple, and doesn't bog everything down with scientific jargon. He's also very professional in his writing, never personally attacking the people behind these theories. (Which is really amazing, since you can read transcripts of radio shows he's appeared on with these people on his website, and they are always launching personal attacks against him) It's an interesting read, and I encourage it to everyone, since there really are a lot of misconceptions about astronomy.

Day 4: My favorite book

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

I didn’t really have to think about this. I’ve read this book so many times that my hardcover copy fell apart. I love this book. Actually, I love most of Moore’s books (except for Fool, which I look upon as his self-insert Shakespeare fic), but this one is my favorite. It uses a lot of dark humor and sex jokes, like all of his work, but it sets itself apart from the rest with its characters and their interactions. Charlie Asher, the main character, is a beta male, like most of the Moore’s mains, but he’s also a single father, trying to cope with raising his daughter after his wife’s death, and also collecting the souls of the recently deceased and letting them move on. He approaches this with cynicism and witty jokes, but he doesn’t come off as a hero – in fact, he seems kind of Woody Allen-ish. All the characters are memorable and funny, and the writing makes me laugh ‘till I cry. I just adore this book.

I've told people IRL that this is my favorite book, and they usually seem pretty surprised. A lot of my friends assume that my favorite writer would be Ray Bradbury or Oscar Wilde, because I guess I come off as a bit of a book snob. And while I do like those authors, love their writing styles, and often try to emulate it, they don't really have the same spot in my heart as Moore does. Honestly, the book that got me to like reading was Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants, and I think of Moore as a bit more adult version of Pilkey.

Also, I started wearing suits because of Charlie Asher.

It is proving down-right fucking impossible to find an credible essays on framed narrative and Edith Wharton on the college library database.

I'm having more luck with effing Google Scholarly Articles, for Christ's sake.

Nyeeerp. I'm back. Here, have a meme.

the book nearest you. Right now.
Turn to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post that sentence along with these instructions on your LJ.
Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Flesh and blood, you, brother of mine, that entertain'd ambition, expell'd remorse and nature; who, with Sebastian,-- whose inward pinches therefore are most strong,-- would have kill'd your king; I do forgive thee, unnatural though thou art!

I'm literally surrounded by books right now. I've got floor-to-ceiling shelves on two of the three walls around me. So I just turned around and grabbed the first book I saw. Props to you if you know what it is... though the author should be obvious.

The latest Artemis Fowl book was about time travel. Doctor Who season finally aired last night. I felt obligated to draw a time traveler. This is Rei, my Brazilian time traveler. He was originally inspired by my middle school friend Jesus, who was the same guy that designed CowGirl for me. Rei travels around time with using a three-handed pocket watch, and wears a mix of '40s and '90s clothing. He's currently being used in a really funny free-for-all rp.

I drove for the first time today. I think I have to move to the UK, because I keep wanting to drive on the left side of the road. (In an empty parking lot, thankfully) Driving is hard and kind of scary. But I'll be getting my mom's car when I go to college (she'll get a new one for herself) so I really have a whole year to learn before I actually have to take myself places.

There's this big tree in front of my house. We think it's older then the house itself, meaning it was planted around 1890. Today a US Forest Service official knocked on our door and told us that that tree is a Balsam Poplar, and is the largest in the state. We'll be getting a certificate in the mail soon. Cool, huh?

Artemis Fowl 6 was pretty awesome. (I may be biased because I like time travel...) I don't really ship for any of the fandoms I like, but, man, Artemis+Holly = OTP. The book relied on dues ex machina a bit much, but that's what you have to expect in time travel stories. If you go back in a personal timeline, the outcome will always be the same, according to Doctor Who. And he is the leader in time travel, so I'll believe him.