I've decided for this blog that Friday's will be very light hearted and cater to my inner child.
I'm not sure what a lot of other people do when they're stressed, but I know my roommate goes for walks and another friend listens to his favorite band. For me, well I like to color. Yeah, I'm a 21-year-old girl who still finds bliss in coloring. It's also a good way for me to listen to new music. If I'm doing something else, like reading or talking to friends online, I don't give the music my full attention. But I'm able to do that while coloring.
And now, the most exciting thing to come about in the world of coloring appears. And this new idea probably completes the life of a girl who loves to color, and loves indie rock: an Indie Rock coloring book. WOW.
According to Amazon.com: "The Montreal-based nonprofit Yellow Bird Project has worked with an amazing range of indie rock musicians over the years to create unique T-shirt designs, benefitting an array of charities. This all-new project enlists artist Andy J. Miller to create witty, hand-illustrated activity pages in a fitting tribute to the DIY spirit of the bands. Including mazes, connect the dots, and coloring pages for Bloc Party, the Shins, Stars, Broken Social Scene, Devendra Banhart, Rilo Kiley, the New Pornographers, the National, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and twenty more musicians, and all royalties going to charity."
Not just coloring, but mazes and connect the dots? Jackpot! (not to mention that about 4 of my favorite bands is on that list of musicians!)
Now I just have to explain to my mom why I used a credit card to buy a coloring book ... then again it'll be released on Sept. 1, so maybe I can get it as an early birthday present.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
'Bout a Book: The Book Thief
Most books I like, and many books I love. If it makes me laugh, cry and get a bit angry then it's the perfect type of book. If I can set it down and not pick it up again for a few days, then it's not such a great book or a very challenging read.
It might be a bit difficult until I'm situated in Florida, but I am going to try to read a book a week. Each time I start a new book I'll post on it with a back-of-the-book plot description, a rating out of five stars (1 = Don't read it, 2= It was OK, 3= Good, 4= Great!, 5= Go buy it. NOW.) There might be a lot of 4s and 5s, because it's rare that I hate a book (but I did hate "Heart of Darkness", sorry Conrad fans.) I'll also put why I chose that rating, and also the book is next on my list.
Before that begins though, since I'm only half way through my current read, I might as well write about one of my favorite books of all time: "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak.
Although this book is listed under children's fiction, I do not feel it is a book for only that age group. Anyone of any age would enjoy it, and it would probably be most appreciated by a slightly older crowd given many of the serious themes it addresses.
"The Book Thief" is set in Germany in 1939. It is about a young girl named Liesel, who lives with foster parents near Munich. As she learns to cope with a pre-war Germany, Liesel finds her escape where many of us do - through books. And because many times she gets these books by chance - in a graveyard, from a Nazi book burning and a mysterious neighbor - she calls herself the book thief. Much of the book centers around Liesel's childhood in Nazi Germany, the close and unlikely friendships she develops (one with a Jewish man) and her escape through reading.
Rating: ***** (5 stars)
I loved this book from the first page to the last. It's not a happy tale, though I'll try not to give anything away, but it is inspiring. I loved the character of Liesel, her acceptance, curiosity and strength. Zusak is a master at his craft, and writes in beautiful prose. I found myself keeping a notebook by my side just to jot down memorable quotes. But the most fascinating part about the novel is the narrator, and his name is Death. Yes, Death is the narrator, and he does a darn good job. However, this is a more merciful death than one would imagine from a story about Nazi Germany. He does not enjoy his job, but finds Liesel fascinating, for he has never encountered someone so much -- without taking from them their own life. This book made me laugh, smile to myself and cry quite a bit (have tissues nearby). I've already read it twice, but I think it may be the one book I'll read over and over again.
(It's also going to be made into a movie set to be released in 2010, which is terrifying because the book is better 99% of the time.)
Up next: "Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card
It might be a bit difficult until I'm situated in Florida, but I am going to try to read a book a week. Each time I start a new book I'll post on it with a back-of-the-book plot description, a rating out of five stars (1 = Don't read it, 2= It was OK, 3= Good, 4= Great!, 5= Go buy it. NOW.) There might be a lot of 4s and 5s, because it's rare that I hate a book (but I did hate "Heart of Darkness", sorry Conrad fans.) I'll also put why I chose that rating, and also the book is next on my list.
Before that begins though, since I'm only half way through my current read, I might as well write about one of my favorite books of all time: "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak.
Although this book is listed under children's fiction, I do not feel it is a book for only that age group. Anyone of any age would enjoy it, and it would probably be most appreciated by a slightly older crowd given many of the serious themes it addresses.
"The Book Thief" is set in Germany in 1939. It is about a young girl named Liesel, who lives with foster parents near Munich. As she learns to cope with a pre-war Germany, Liesel finds her escape where many of us do - through books. And because many times she gets these books by chance - in a graveyard, from a Nazi book burning and a mysterious neighbor - she calls herself the book thief. Much of the book centers around Liesel's childhood in Nazi Germany, the close and unlikely friendships she develops (one with a Jewish man) and her escape through reading.
Rating: ***** (5 stars)
I loved this book from the first page to the last. It's not a happy tale, though I'll try not to give anything away, but it is inspiring. I loved the character of Liesel, her acceptance, curiosity and strength. Zusak is a master at his craft, and writes in beautiful prose. I found myself keeping a notebook by my side just to jot down memorable quotes. But the most fascinating part about the novel is the narrator, and his name is Death. Yes, Death is the narrator, and he does a darn good job. However, this is a more merciful death than one would imagine from a story about Nazi Germany. He does not enjoy his job, but finds Liesel fascinating, for he has never encountered someone so much -- without taking from them their own life. This book made me laugh, smile to myself and cry quite a bit (have tissues nearby). I've already read it twice, but I think it may be the one book I'll read over and over again.
(It's also going to be made into a movie set to be released in 2010, which is terrifying because the book is better 99% of the time.)
Up next: "Enchantment" by Orson Scott Card
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Can Disney pull it off?
While Fridays will primarily be for Disney posts, I had to write one after seeing THIS!
It's a trailer for Disney's newest animated feature The Princess and the Frog. The movie is set to hit theaters on Dec. 11. From the trailer the movie looks fairly promising. But it's hard for me to tell quite yet. I'm a huge Disney fan, and I feel like the company hasn't put out, in my opinion of course, a 'classic Disney film' since Tarzan in 1999. And even Tarzan almost didn't make the cut for me because none of the characters sang. From watching the trailer it doesn't seem that any of the characters in The Princess and the Frog do sing, but according to Wikipedia there are a few songs and a voice cast.
The film looks promising, and I think it's great that there will be an African American Princess. However, there is already some controversy surrounding this. When information about the film was first starting to surface the title of the movie was reported as being The Frog Princess and the main character was named Maddy. Her name caused some question of how sensitive Disney would be about an African American princess since Maddy can be seen as a slave name. However, more recent reports have stated that the movie will be called The Princess and the Frog and the heroine's name will be Tiana.
In addition, by watching the trailer, it is clear that Tiana is transformed to a frog very early on in the film. If she remains in this state through most of the film, it takes away from the fact that she is an African American princess. However, the film is set during the roaring 20s in Harlem and it seems that much of the culture of that era will be drawn into the film - literally.
Hopefully this will usher in another run of films similar to the ones my generation grew up with, and maybe children of the 20th century will rediscover a love for the older, but beloved, Disney films.
It's a trailer for Disney's newest animated feature The Princess and the Frog. The movie is set to hit theaters on Dec. 11. From the trailer the movie looks fairly promising. But it's hard for me to tell quite yet. I'm a huge Disney fan, and I feel like the company hasn't put out, in my opinion of course, a 'classic Disney film' since Tarzan in 1999. And even Tarzan almost didn't make the cut for me because none of the characters sang. From watching the trailer it doesn't seem that any of the characters in The Princess and the Frog do sing, but according to Wikipedia there are a few songs and a voice cast.
The film looks promising, and I think it's great that there will be an African American Princess. However, there is already some controversy surrounding this. When information about the film was first starting to surface the title of the movie was reported as being The Frog Princess and the main character was named Maddy. Her name caused some question of how sensitive Disney would be about an African American princess since Maddy can be seen as a slave name. However, more recent reports have stated that the movie will be called The Princess and the Frog and the heroine's name will be Tiana.
In addition, by watching the trailer, it is clear that Tiana is transformed to a frog very early on in the film. If she remains in this state through most of the film, it takes away from the fact that she is an African American princess. However, the film is set during the roaring 20s in Harlem and it seems that much of the culture of that era will be drawn into the film - literally.
Hopefully this will usher in another run of films similar to the ones my generation grew up with, and maybe children of the 20th century will rediscover a love for the older, but beloved, Disney films.
An intro
While I was studying abroad last semester in Galway, Ireland I kept a blog of all my travels. I really enjoyed being able to write about everything I saw/did/learned. Now that I'm back in the States I miss keeping a blog. So, I've decided to start a new one. I'm not really sure what direction this blog will take, or who will read it for that matter. But I figure it can be a way for me to continue to be able to write. And even if no one reads it, I'll enjoy writing in it regardless.
I'm going to try to post at least three times a week, maybe with a theme for each day. This summer I will be at Penn State University for two weeks to train for a copy editing internship at a newspaper in Naples, Fl. I'm really excited for the experience, so maybe I'll come across things in Naples to blog about. Otherwise it'll mostly be on whatever. A potpourri of posts.
The title of this blog is from "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John, written for The Lion King -- my favorite movie of all time. And that will be one of my themes. Every Friday will be a fun post on something Disney. Or at least something to embrace my inner child. Mondays will be dedicated to the arts, most likely movies or music. And Wednesdays will be for books, because I love to read and hope to read a book a week this summer, if not more. I may add things as time goes on or just post whenever my heart desires.
So hopefully you'll follow this little blog of mine -- and if not, I'll still enjoying every minute of writing it.
I'm going to try to post at least three times a week, maybe with a theme for each day. This summer I will be at Penn State University for two weeks to train for a copy editing internship at a newspaper in Naples, Fl. I'm really excited for the experience, so maybe I'll come across things in Naples to blog about. Otherwise it'll mostly be on whatever. A potpourri of posts.
The title of this blog is from "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John, written for The Lion King -- my favorite movie of all time. And that will be one of my themes. Every Friday will be a fun post on something Disney. Or at least something to embrace my inner child. Mondays will be dedicated to the arts, most likely movies or music. And Wednesdays will be for books, because I love to read and hope to read a book a week this summer, if not more. I may add things as time goes on or just post whenever my heart desires.
So hopefully you'll follow this little blog of mine -- and if not, I'll still enjoying every minute of writing it.
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