Friday, 12 November 2010
Quick Post : Stop Motion
A cinematographic phenomenon that I find incredibly interesting is one revolving around stop motion. Everyone knows what stop-motion is. [If you don't, think claymation, like Nightmare Before Christmas, or take a look at this Switchfoot music video to see an example of non-claymation stop-motion.
When people use claymation, they want the motion to be as fluid and life-like as possible, generally speaking, evident in Nightmare, Corpse Bride, and countless other [and non Tim Burton] films and shorts. I would think that's pretty obvious. Sometimes, when a director wants something to look like stop-motion, they remove a couple frames and make it look choppy. Then it dawned on me, while watching this Regina Spektor music video, that even if a director is using stop-motion*, like in this video and the Switchfoot one, they want it to look choppy, the obvious implication being that, if the stop-motion were too fluid, the audience would lose the effect of the stop-motion and see the film as another, traditionally filmed piece.
*I know for a fact that the Switchfoot video uses stop-motion. As for Regina Spektor's, I'm fairly certain that in this video they use a lot of real photographic stop-motion, particuarly so in the beginning, as well as the film-then-remove-frames technique, though I could be mistaken, as animation and stop-motion are not actually my strong points.
Blogging and Stopping
I've been thinking about blogging lately. I've slowed down on my posts between freshman year and now, but I'm not the only one. Most of my friends that I follow from LHS '09 have ceased to write new updates. I was wondering why this was. Of course, we're all busy on and offline, but surely we're not much busier than we were at this time last year?
I think I've figured it out.
Last year, everything was new. We left our homes - some of us *coughcough* having never had the opportunity to live in any other town for more than three weeks at a time. We left friends, families, and the comforts of homes. We were pushed into many new worlds, including academic and social ones. We had to adapt to the new, unsupervised lifestyle of the college student, and we had to scramble to find our place in the new social scene. And we were blogging. Blogging itself was new, but we were blogging because of that which was new.
Now, we've adapted. We're sophomores. This is our new normal. So while still 'new' in the sense that we've only been living this routine for about a year out of our almost twenty, it's still old. We're used to it now.
I'm not saying that this is the only reason we've stopped writing new posts, but I'm sure it's a huge prat of it. I can't imagine any of us think that 'oh my gosh another day in ___ class' or 'hey did you see that really obnoxious thing that happened on Saturday night' could possibly interest our fellow high school graduates any more, for the simple fact that they've probably seen much of the same in the last year. And to be completely honest, how exciting does it all seem now to us, the writers?
Of course, we're also really busy.
I think I've figured it out.
Last year, everything was new. We left our homes - some of us *coughcough* having never had the opportunity to live in any other town for more than three weeks at a time. We left friends, families, and the comforts of homes. We were pushed into many new worlds, including academic and social ones. We had to adapt to the new, unsupervised lifestyle of the college student, and we had to scramble to find our place in the new social scene. And we were blogging. Blogging itself was new, but we were blogging because of that which was new.
Now, we've adapted. We're sophomores. This is our new normal. So while still 'new' in the sense that we've only been living this routine for about a year out of our almost twenty, it's still old. We're used to it now.
I'm not saying that this is the only reason we've stopped writing new posts, but I'm sure it's a huge prat of it. I can't imagine any of us think that 'oh my gosh another day in ___ class' or 'hey did you see that really obnoxious thing that happened on Saturday night' could possibly interest our fellow high school graduates any more, for the simple fact that they've probably seen much of the same in the last year. And to be completely honest, how exciting does it all seem now to us, the writers?
Of course, we're also really busy.
Saturday, 18 September 2010
End Women's Suffrage!
My sister showed Mum a youtube video that afterwards Mum insisted that I watch. It's a man visiting an American high school "of excellence" and asking students to sign a petition to end the "monstrocity" that is women's suffrage.
The video provides commentary on many things, not the least of which include the way people are willing to sign their name to a piece of paper without knowing fully what it is they're promoting, and, of course, the myriad of ways the American school system is letting its students down. It's also somewhat upsetting because small, fringe groups of "conservatives" actually hold that women's suffrage should never have been passed.
As interesting as a conversation about this video clip would be to me, what I found more interesting and upsetting was my sister's reaction to my and my mother's reactions. I was doing something else when Mum started showing it to me, and I merely asked "Why am I watching this?" She told me it was because she thought that I'd "think it was interesting", and I replied that "it's just sad". Later into the video, she commented on how "somebody's failing" - referring, of course, to the way that so many young women were absolutely clueless to the point of the petition they were signing. My sister became very angry with us that we couldn't take a joke, and said that it was "just a silly video" and that she lived with "the most judgmental people on the planet".
I'm not writing this to in any way smear my sister's reputation, contrary to what she maybe believe if she read it. I merely want to use this opportunity to discuss the way jokes and serious problems intermingle and the way that we often have very different opinions about where those defining lines lie. The problem between my sister's and my own interpretations of the clip were not in drastically different viewpoints on any of the issues addressed, but in our individual willingness to call that "funny". Basically, our senses of humour. What she thought was almost mindlessly hilarious, I viewed as intelligently satirical and incredibly upsetting because of the real-world truths it highlights.
This phenomenon is everywhere.
The problem with certain TV shows - Family Guy, for example, or even Spongebob Squarepants - for me are the sense of humour required to enjoy them. A clever one liner in a comedic drama like Castle feels so much more satisfying than watching Spongebob sustain possibly fatal injuries... agian. So much of Family Guy is intelligent humour, but the creators need to back those witty quips up with barfing that looks like someone broke a water main and with jokes about rape, which, aren't really funny at all. The "rape joke" thing has a lot more in common with this suffrage conversation, though, merely because they do make people laugh, but when you think about it, they're actually very offensive and can be extremely hurtful to someone who has had any sort of experience with rape. But I digress.
This short little video that sparked so much bitterness in my family portrays social undertones that I cannot ignore. Watching young girls sign up to have their right to vote taken away from them hurts because it's a right that so many people worked so hard to earn, and that so many other people around the world still do not, and never will, possess. The conversation about the fact that these girls don't even know what "suffrage" means could literally go on for days, and, in certain political and social arenas, has. I appreciate the creator of the video for the witty way he exposed these social shortcomings, and that's why I think his video is powerful. The difference, though, is that my sister appreciates the way he highlighted certain individuals' ignorance [for lack of a kinder term], which is why she felt the video was powerful. The only difference was the way we interpreted the video's power. And the fact is, she thought it was funny.
Thoughts?
suffrage: the right of voting : franchise; also : the exercise of such right
The video provides commentary on many things, not the least of which include the way people are willing to sign their name to a piece of paper without knowing fully what it is they're promoting, and, of course, the myriad of ways the American school system is letting its students down. It's also somewhat upsetting because small, fringe groups of "conservatives" actually hold that women's suffrage should never have been passed.
As interesting as a conversation about this video clip would be to me, what I found more interesting and upsetting was my sister's reaction to my and my mother's reactions. I was doing something else when Mum started showing it to me, and I merely asked "Why am I watching this?" She told me it was because she thought that I'd "think it was interesting", and I replied that "it's just sad". Later into the video, she commented on how "somebody's failing" - referring, of course, to the way that so many young women were absolutely clueless to the point of the petition they were signing. My sister became very angry with us that we couldn't take a joke, and said that it was "just a silly video" and that she lived with "the most judgmental people on the planet".
I'm not writing this to in any way smear my sister's reputation, contrary to what she maybe believe if she read it. I merely want to use this opportunity to discuss the way jokes and serious problems intermingle and the way that we often have very different opinions about where those defining lines lie. The problem between my sister's and my own interpretations of the clip were not in drastically different viewpoints on any of the issues addressed, but in our individual willingness to call that "funny". Basically, our senses of humour. What she thought was almost mindlessly hilarious, I viewed as intelligently satirical and incredibly upsetting because of the real-world truths it highlights.
This phenomenon is everywhere.
The problem with certain TV shows - Family Guy, for example, or even Spongebob Squarepants - for me are the sense of humour required to enjoy them. A clever one liner in a comedic drama like Castle feels so much more satisfying than watching Spongebob sustain possibly fatal injuries... agian. So much of Family Guy is intelligent humour, but the creators need to back those witty quips up with barfing that looks like someone broke a water main and with jokes about rape, which, aren't really funny at all. The "rape joke" thing has a lot more in common with this suffrage conversation, though, merely because they do make people laugh, but when you think about it, they're actually very offensive and can be extremely hurtful to someone who has had any sort of experience with rape. But I digress.
This short little video that sparked so much bitterness in my family portrays social undertones that I cannot ignore. Watching young girls sign up to have their right to vote taken away from them hurts because it's a right that so many people worked so hard to earn, and that so many other people around the world still do not, and never will, possess. The conversation about the fact that these girls don't even know what "suffrage" means could literally go on for days, and, in certain political and social arenas, has. I appreciate the creator of the video for the witty way he exposed these social shortcomings, and that's why I think his video is powerful. The difference, though, is that my sister appreciates the way he highlighted certain individuals' ignorance [for lack of a kinder term], which is why she felt the video was powerful. The only difference was the way we interpreted the video's power. And the fact is, she thought it was funny.
Thoughts?
Sunday, 11 July 2010
The A-Team - I Liked It!
I know it's late - I promised Saturday - but here is one of my two posts!
Comic book hero movies and summer blockbusters haven't necessarily been good. Ever. Of course there are a few gems out there. That's only natural. I mean, last summer the only movie we had to look forward to that fit that profile - based on a comic book, huge budget summer blockbuster, lots of explosions - was the infamous Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. So I understand why anyone might be wary when it comes to 2010's The A-Team.
But it was really good.
That's right. I liked it a lot.
First of all, the cast was amazing. Obviously, the original team was built perfectly - you've got the brains, brawn, charm, and the wild card. None of them would be particularly amazing alone, but when you bring their very specific talents together, the team is basically unstoppable. The team in the movie specifically was all that and more. Liam Neeson does wonderfully as the no-nonsense, intelligent, plan-it guy slash killing machine. No question there. A part towards the end I found myself thinking, "Of course he's not dead, didn't you see Taken?" Bradley Cooper, of Hangover fame had me nervous for a little while. Before I saw the film, I was thinking, "How could this charmer from The Hangover POSSIBLY fit in with Liam Neeson the BAMF in an action hero movie?," but he worked so well as Face. Of course, I don't know the original A-Team, but his character was charming, silly, and excellently executed. Then, of course, there was Sharlto Copley, better known as Wikus from District 9. Initially, I was worried he was just going to be a stereotype of a crazy guy, because that's definitely how he came off in the beginning, but he was pretty amazing. He had me laughing much of the movie through, and when things got rough, he pulled something crazy out of his bum and saved entire operations. For instance [spoiler], he and B.A. are trying to clear customs and he was supposed to be the rabbi and B.A. was supposed to be from an African country but their passports get switched, so to keep his cover, Murdock ends up improvising Swahili, and it worked. Then there was B.A., played by Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, an actor I have never seen or heard of before, though apparently he was in one of Jesson's favourites, The Midnight Meat Train. He was also very good - he never tried to be Mr. T., which I think was very appropriate, and he filled out the character quite nicely, bringing him a human side and a charm that one might not expect from a comic book depiction of "the muscle". Overall, the acting was exceptional and the characters all worked together wonderfully.
The plot was fairly decent too - it wasn't about taking down bad guys or saving the world so much as clearing their own names. But for that reason [spoiler], the ending was unsatisfactory. They clear their names but "breaking out of prison is still illegal," so they have to go back in. Face got his ex back, too, which at first bugged me a lot - she doesn't deserve him - but [spoiler] she actually slips him the key to the handcuffs through an overly-passionate kiss, leaving the ending wide open. Though if the cast is the same and the plot is as good, I would definitely not mind seeing a sequel in a couple years.
The effects were great but the CGI was never overwhelming, which is typically a problem that's been bothering me a lot in more recent movies.
There were also times where the dialogue was a little... cheesey... bordering on awful. But the chemistry of the actors and the light-hearted feel of the whole movie more than make up for any faults. I would be lying if I said anything short of "I loved it". I highly recommend this movie - and face it, if you want to see a movie this summer, your other options are kids' movies [though Toy Story 3 was amazing and I've heard good things about Despicable Me, they're simply not for everybody], Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Twilight Saga: Eclipse. So weigh your options carefully : I think you'll find that, besides Toy Story 3 if you're into it, The A-Team will be the best movie you see all summer.
Unless Inception turns out to be really good.
Comic book hero movies and summer blockbusters haven't necessarily been good. Ever. Of course there are a few gems out there. That's only natural. I mean, last summer the only movie we had to look forward to that fit that profile - based on a comic book, huge budget summer blockbuster, lots of explosions - was the infamous Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. So I understand why anyone might be wary when it comes to 2010's The A-Team.
But it was really good.
That's right. I liked it a lot.
First of all, the cast was amazing. Obviously, the original team was built perfectly - you've got the brains, brawn, charm, and the wild card. None of them would be particularly amazing alone, but when you bring their very specific talents together, the team is basically unstoppable. The team in the movie specifically was all that and more. Liam Neeson does wonderfully as the no-nonsense, intelligent, plan-it guy slash killing machine. No question there. A part towards the end I found myself thinking, "Of course he's not dead, didn't you see Taken?" Bradley Cooper, of Hangover fame had me nervous for a little while. Before I saw the film, I was thinking, "How could this charmer from The Hangover POSSIBLY fit in with Liam Neeson the BAMF in an action hero movie?," but he worked so well as Face. Of course, I don't know the original A-Team, but his character was charming, silly, and excellently executed. Then, of course, there was Sharlto Copley, better known as Wikus from District 9. Initially, I was worried he was just going to be a stereotype of a crazy guy, because that's definitely how he came off in the beginning, but he was pretty amazing. He had me laughing much of the movie through, and when things got rough, he pulled something crazy out of his bum and saved entire operations. For instance [spoiler], he and B.A. are trying to clear customs and he was supposed to be the rabbi and B.A. was supposed to be from an African country but their passports get switched, so to keep his cover, Murdock ends up improvising Swahili, and it worked. Then there was B.A., played by Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, an actor I have never seen or heard of before, though apparently he was in one of Jesson's favourites, The Midnight Meat Train. He was also very good - he never tried to be Mr. T., which I think was very appropriate, and he filled out the character quite nicely, bringing him a human side and a charm that one might not expect from a comic book depiction of "the muscle". Overall, the acting was exceptional and the characters all worked together wonderfully.
The plot was fairly decent too - it wasn't about taking down bad guys or saving the world so much as clearing their own names. But for that reason [spoiler], the ending was unsatisfactory. They clear their names but "breaking out of prison is still illegal," so they have to go back in. Face got his ex back, too, which at first bugged me a lot - she doesn't deserve him - but [spoiler] she actually slips him the key to the handcuffs through an overly-passionate kiss, leaving the ending wide open. Though if the cast is the same and the plot is as good, I would definitely not mind seeing a sequel in a couple years.
The effects were great but the CGI was never overwhelming, which is typically a problem that's been bothering me a lot in more recent movies.
There were also times where the dialogue was a little... cheesey... bordering on awful. But the chemistry of the actors and the light-hearted feel of the whole movie more than make up for any faults. I would be lying if I said anything short of "I loved it". I highly recommend this movie - and face it, if you want to see a movie this summer, your other options are kids' movies [though Toy Story 3 was amazing and I've heard good things about Despicable Me, they're simply not for everybody], Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Twilight Saga: Eclipse. So weigh your options carefully : I think you'll find that, besides Toy Story 3 if you're into it, The A-Team will be the best movie you see all summer.
Unless Inception turns out to be really good.
Monday, 5 July 2010
My Brain Is On Summer Vacation
Lately, I feel like I've been too distracted to even write coherently. But I've got at least two posts kicking around. I'm working on actually fleshing them out and hopefully at least one of them should be up by uhhh let's say Saturday? Why not. Lofty goals here, folks.
Updates on other random things? I've been doing a lot of lazy stuff. The computer fixing didn't work out for me, so I'm sending all the parts back and getting my money back. D
// EDIT: 13 July -- HTML glitch here. Apparently I'm missing a bit and it's been too long to try to remember what's in between. Probably boring details on computer assembly and sister nagging. //
My sister wants me to take her to Rocky. I mean, I enjoy it a lot, of course, but Mum doesn't entirely approve, and she is my "little" sister. I don't know. I told her I would in a few years. But the movie is sex. Basically. It's the closest thing to porn she'll ever see, too. Mum would be super mad if I wanted to bring her to that. I don't know. I won't go back on my promise to bring her in a year or two, but if I bring my cousin Mike this summer - going to be a junior - he'll officially be the youngest person I've brought, and I have this weird thing about... corruption? Lol. I mean, there was Kat's friend, but I don't think that counts. I'll bring her. But not until she's seventeen or eighteen.
I've been watching Bones. Mostly to fill the "void" in my life left by my recent Lost binge. That, and Stephen Fry is in it occasionally and it's on Netflix Watch Instantly. That's about it. It's not that good. The premise is almost exactly like Castle. All-work-no-play lead lady good with a gun and a little socially awkward. Fun loving guy who doesn't really know what he's gotten himself into when it comes to the technical / work stuff that the woman has to deal with. One of them has written a best-selling book. Lots of geeky stuff. Even some episodes follow similar plots. The saddest part is, though, Castle came second, making it the copy-cat, but it does it all so much better. Yeahhh.
My fourth of July weekend was thoroughly enjoyable. I watched 1776 with Charlie, John Adams, Alex, Dan. Andrew came. We went to Rocky and it was great watching Jenny, David, and Andrew squirm as virgins. Kathleen loved every second of it. I went to sleep at almost five. Got up about 1, but Andrew didn't wake up until almost four! We went to his house for a little while and the two of us hung out while Mum talked with his parents. Then I came home. We watched the fireworks and then I saw The A-Team with my cousins and sister. And here I am typing up stuff and watching Bones. Yayyyy. A-Team and advertising posts to come, I swear!
Updates on other random things? I've been doing a lot of lazy stuff. The computer fixing didn't work out for me, so I'm sending all the parts back and getting my money back. D
// EDIT: 13 July -- HTML glitch here. Apparently I'm missing a bit and it's been too long to try to remember what's in between. Probably boring details on computer assembly and sister nagging. //
My sister wants me to take her to Rocky. I mean, I enjoy it a lot, of course, but Mum doesn't entirely approve, and she is my "little" sister. I don't know. I told her I would in a few years. But the movie is sex. Basically. It's the closest thing to porn she'll ever see, too. Mum would be super mad if I wanted to bring her to that. I don't know. I won't go back on my promise to bring her in a year or two, but if I bring my cousin Mike this summer - going to be a junior - he'll officially be the youngest person I've brought, and I have this weird thing about... corruption? Lol. I mean, there was Kat's friend, but I don't think that counts. I'll bring her. But not until she's seventeen or eighteen.
I've been watching Bones. Mostly to fill the "void" in my life left by my recent Lost binge. That, and Stephen Fry is in it occasionally and it's on Netflix Watch Instantly. That's about it. It's not that good. The premise is almost exactly like Castle. All-work-no-play lead lady good with a gun and a little socially awkward. Fun loving guy who doesn't really know what he's gotten himself into when it comes to the technical / work stuff that the woman has to deal with. One of them has written a best-selling book. Lots of geeky stuff. Even some episodes follow similar plots. The saddest part is, though, Castle came second, making it the copy-cat, but it does it all so much better. Yeahhh.
My fourth of July weekend was thoroughly enjoyable. I watched 1776 with Charlie, John Adams, Alex, Dan. Andrew came. We went to Rocky and it was great watching Jenny, David, and Andrew squirm as virgins. Kathleen loved every second of it. I went to sleep at almost five. Got up about 1, but Andrew didn't wake up until almost four! We went to his house for a little while and the two of us hung out while Mum talked with his parents. Then I came home. We watched the fireworks and then I saw The A-Team with my cousins and sister. And here I am typing up stuff and watching Bones. Yayyyy. A-Team and advertising posts to come, I swear!
Monday, 31 May 2010
I'm Like the Freaking President
I have recently decided to undertake a series of projects, most of which are projects of reformation. I hope to have at least 60-70% of them done by the time I go back to school on the last day of August, so I suppose this will really come down to a test of my will power and determination. Some of these projects include Closet Reformation, Desk Reformation, general Room Reformation, bringing Paula to Rocky Horror Picture Show, upping my Chinese and Bassoon skills, and Bathroom Reformation. I've got a big list of these goals taped to my wall where I can see it from my bed... for motivation.
I'm proud to announce that I've already completed Closet Reform, and that my clothing has been sorted through and stored as efficiently as I wanted it to be. It took me a few days, mostly because I like to take breaks that are longer than actual periods of work, but I was successful.
This is the third week I've been home now, so I'm going to try a little harder to get more work done [after having allowed myself that initial period of slacking and sleeping that is so typical of summer holiday]. Today I already went shopping to acquire some materials for Bathroom Reform, and I think I will spend tomorrow working on that.
So that's pretty much what I've been up to, lol. My life is so exciting ;P
I'm proud to announce that I've already completed Closet Reform, and that my clothing has been sorted through and stored as efficiently as I wanted it to be. It took me a few days, mostly because I like to take breaks that are longer than actual periods of work, but I was successful.
This is the third week I've been home now, so I'm going to try a little harder to get more work done [after having allowed myself that initial period of slacking and sleeping that is so typical of summer holiday]. Today I already went shopping to acquire some materials for Bathroom Reform, and I think I will spend tomorrow working on that.
So that's pretty much what I've been up to, lol. My life is so exciting ;P
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Sloth
Teaser/filler entry. More, actually interesting stuff to follow, I promise think.
Because I was out really late last night, I slept in a lot today. I finally got up around one and went downstairs and had breakfast. Then I watched some Jeopardy! because I hadn't watched in a few days. I'm finally caught up, by the way. So then I was just chillin' on my awesomechair with my cat, and I fell asleep. I slept right through French Club, which was unfortunate because I kinda really wanted to go.
When I finally woke up, it was about four, so I went back upstairs to my room and surfed the Internet for a little while, but then my legs and back started hurting because of all my non-activity. I was really bummed out and restless, so I decided to go be active. A quick look out the window informed me that it was still too wet to go on the trampoline, and I just didn't feel like going on the treadmill again.
At five, I went downstairs to play DDR. I was taking some allergy medicine [because it has been that sort of awful day] when I stepped in dog crap. I had to clean it all up and it was really gross [not going into detail, for your sake, trust me]. After that mess was finally taken care of, I went back to getting ready to play DDR. I fixed myself a glass of water, I remembered to bring my inhaler down with me, and I moved the basement furniture so that there'd be space for the mat.
Then I went to the TV and looked for my mats and games and THEY WEREN'T THERE, even though that's where Mum told me they'd be. I frantically searched all over the ground and basement floors but I couldn't find them any where. I even texted Mum and she told me they'd be in the basement but they clearly weren't.
After an hour and a half running around my house, complete with dog poop, unbearable allergies, and no games, the DDR mood is quite gone. I've come back to my room and I'm going to settle down and watch what TV I'm behind on.
And that is why the word of the day is "sloth".
Because I was out really late last night, I slept in a lot today. I finally got up around one and went downstairs and had breakfast. Then I watched some Jeopardy! because I hadn't watched in a few days. I'm finally caught up, by the way. So then I was just chillin' on my awesomechair with my cat, and I fell asleep. I slept right through French Club, which was unfortunate because I kinda really wanted to go.
When I finally woke up, it was about four, so I went back upstairs to my room and surfed the Internet for a little while, but then my legs and back started hurting because of all my non-activity. I was really bummed out and restless, so I decided to go be active. A quick look out the window informed me that it was still too wet to go on the trampoline, and I just didn't feel like going on the treadmill again.
At five, I went downstairs to play DDR. I was taking some allergy medicine [because it has been that sort of awful day] when I stepped in dog crap. I had to clean it all up and it was really gross [not going into detail, for your sake, trust me]. After that mess was finally taken care of, I went back to getting ready to play DDR. I fixed myself a glass of water, I remembered to bring my inhaler down with me, and I moved the basement furniture so that there'd be space for the mat.
Then I went to the TV and looked for my mats and games and THEY WEREN'T THERE, even though that's where Mum told me they'd be. I frantically searched all over the ground and basement floors but I couldn't find them any where. I even texted Mum and she told me they'd be in the basement but they clearly weren't.
After an hour and a half running around my house, complete with dog poop, unbearable allergies, and no games, the DDR mood is quite gone. I've come back to my room and I'm going to settle down and watch what TV I'm behind on.
And that is why the word of the day is "sloth".
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Heads Will Roll
So I spent the weekend at home. I really needed it, and it was pretty great.
I caught a train at 11:17 on Friday morning, after Euro. I tried to pack light this time ^-^ On the ride, I was able to completely finish my Euro essay/sermon about Charlemagne.
It was about 2:30 when I got in, and Jesson and Mum both met me at Newark Penn Station, where we wandered around and grabbed some lunch [I don't eat breakfast on Fridays, so that was good].
After that, Jesson had a chem lab, and I was still hungry, having not really eaten when we got lunch because I was promised an awesome early dinner. Mum and I drove back home, but the car was a little broken and the back door wouldn't shut all the way, so it was beeping the whole ride home. Mum was not amused. So after we got home, we stopped at the gas station and waited there for a really long time to see if they could fix the door, and they did. And then we were off to dinner!
We drove to Pane Vino, and I sort of really love that place ♥ Mum and I talked about Drew and stuff, and I got a pretty positive reaction from her that night, which made me optimistic. This opinion she held would change by Sunday afternoon.
After dinner, we went to Borders and "made out like bandits" as the saying goes. I can't believe it's closing! That's really unfair. That whole shopping centre is gone now - first Circuit City, previously my electronics store of choice, then Linens 'N Things, for those days when you didn't feel like driving all the way up to Bed Bath and Beyond, then Old Navy, one of my favourite clothing stores [luckily there's one in the mall], and finally, Borders, one of the best stores of all time. Yeah, angry face. So I bought some really cheap movies, books, and CDs: The Producers [old one, with Gene Wilder], and Much Ado About Nothing [Kenneth Brannagh, Robert Sean Leonard]; Cyrano de Bergerac - I hope it's a good translation lol; Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack, and The Rite of Spring and Petrushka by Stravinsky. Also some chocolates.
Finally, that evening, I called up Vigg and Jesson and we all went to see The Wolfman, with Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving ♥♥♥ You'd think that with a cast like that the movie would be AMAZING, and it could have been. The acting - except SPOILER ALERT Benicio's death - was phenomenal by all parties, and the story, though slowly paced, was intriguing and gripping. And then there were fight scenes. The CGI was awful and the wolf prostetics looked like Jean Cocteau's 1946 La Belle et la Bête. It's 2010 now...
Not kidding.
And then we all went to our respective homes. Upon dropping Vigg off, we made tentative plans for the next night to see a movie, but that never happened. Back home, I online scrabbled with Vigg and DavidLi until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.
So on Saturday I woke up at 8:15 because Mum told me she was leaving at 8:30. She didn't, but I said goodbye to her and went back to sleep. When I finally woke up again, it was about 10:30, I believe. I watched Jeopardy! recordings and I filled in a survey, and I also walked the dogs and spent some time dilly-dallying on the computer. I had a bowl of Raisin Bran for breakfast/lunch/meal, and I did some work.
Later, I called Dan, and we decided to go to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner and then to go roller skating from 8-10. So I started asking other people if they wanted to come, too, but I didn't get many positive replies. I fed and walked the dogs, and then I went to pick Dan and Ying up, and we went. The service at the restaurant was pretty slow, and Dan said that the soup wasn't even that good. It was 9 before we got to go roller skating, but that was okay. It was amusing because Ying hadn't been in a really long time and they didn't have any blades in Dan's size so he had to get skates; watching them wobble around was SUPER FUN.
After that, we dropped Ying off and picked up Jesson. Still hungry, we went to the Golden Touch Diner. I got pancakes, Jesson got buffalo wings, and Dan got a super awesome Belgian Waffle Royale. I also had hot chocolate. Good meal!
We went back to my house and watched Sleepy Hollow, but Jesson had to leave very soon into it. Dan and I stuck out the rest of the movie, but we were very tired, and then I drove him home. I probably went right to sleep as soon as I got back. It was nice that no one was home, because I could sleep with my door open and let all the dogs in and out as they pleased. Most of them stayed on my bed the whole night, which is always adorable :3
On Sunday, Darcy kept coming in and purring and sleeping on my bed or on my stomach, but at one point Pippin growled at him and he never came back in again. When Mum got home, all the dogs left my room, and though I wanted to sleep more, I couldn't fall back asleep. I decided to take a really long, nice shower, the kind you don't get in college, and then I made the mistake of blow drying my hair. Oh, is it the eighties?
Mum and I went to Staples, where I bought such exciting things as pencil lead, rubber bands, post-it notes, and tape! And then we had brunch at the Original Pancake House, even though the line was SO LONG. The crêpes were great, as usual [not real crêpes, but still really good for whatever they are]. We then went to Marshall's to buy a small weekend bag [I'm sick of either bringing my stuff home in a large suitcase or in a plastic bag], and then we bought bubble tea at Kam Man ♥.
We had only a short bit of time at home before my train was supposed to leave at 4:25. We got to the train station early, only to find that the train was approximately 1:45 late! AAAAAH. We sat in the station for two hours before the train came in - it left at 6:24, almost exactly two hours after it was supposed.
The train ride was interesting. I was in the quiet car all by myself, and the woman in front of me's phone went off. And then it went off again and she answered it. Then some jerk came over to me and said, "This is the quiet car; cell phone use is prohibited." He wasn't a conductor or anything, just some jerk. I meekly informed him, "I'm not the one on the phone, she is," gesturing to the woman in front of me, but he didn't say anything or care. He's one of those guys who like to pick on younger people to make themselves feel good, but he wouldn't dare confront an older person like the woman in front of me. He didn't even apologise. I bet he's a high school teacher. Well, seeing as I was having a pretty bad day, I started crying, by no fault of my own; I really couldn't help it and I did all I could to stop, but not after many tears rolled down my face. I hope he saw, that jerk. In New York a bunch of people got on the train, including this woman who was sitting next to me who wouldn't stop talking to me, despite being on the quiet car, despite the fact that I was reading The Prince, and despite the fact that my headphones were in. Annoying! And she wasn't even getting off until after me. Sigh.
So my train came in at 9:30 instead of 7:30, and I waited in the cold for half an hour for a taxi to show up. What a great evening.
That same night, I also found out that my roommate is sick with a stomach bug that according to the doctor is only contagious if we're sharing cups, etc., but according to the Internet is very contagious. Which brings me to where I am today, Tuesday: I'm sitting on the couch in the common room upon which I've just slept. I've barely been in my room for two days. YAY.
Eighteen days until Spring Break.
I caught a train at 11:17 on Friday morning, after Euro. I tried to pack light this time ^-^ On the ride, I was able to completely finish my Euro essay/sermon about Charlemagne.
It was about 2:30 when I got in, and Jesson and Mum both met me at Newark Penn Station, where we wandered around and grabbed some lunch [I don't eat breakfast on Fridays, so that was good].
After that, Jesson had a chem lab, and I was still hungry, having not really eaten when we got lunch because I was promised an awesome early dinner. Mum and I drove back home, but the car was a little broken and the back door wouldn't shut all the way, so it was beeping the whole ride home. Mum was not amused. So after we got home, we stopped at the gas station and waited there for a really long time to see if they could fix the door, and they did. And then we were off to dinner!
We drove to Pane Vino, and I sort of really love that place ♥ Mum and I talked about Drew and stuff, and I got a pretty positive reaction from her that night, which made me optimistic. This opinion she held would change by Sunday afternoon.
After dinner, we went to Borders and "made out like bandits" as the saying goes. I can't believe it's closing! That's really unfair. That whole shopping centre is gone now - first Circuit City, previously my electronics store of choice, then Linens 'N Things, for those days when you didn't feel like driving all the way up to Bed Bath and Beyond, then Old Navy, one of my favourite clothing stores [luckily there's one in the mall], and finally, Borders, one of the best stores of all time. Yeah, angry face. So I bought some really cheap movies, books, and CDs: The Producers [old one, with Gene Wilder], and Much Ado About Nothing [Kenneth Brannagh, Robert Sean Leonard]; Cyrano de Bergerac - I hope it's a good translation lol; Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack, and The Rite of Spring and Petrushka by Stravinsky. Also some chocolates.
Finally, that evening, I called up Vigg and Jesson and we all went to see The Wolfman, with Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving ♥♥♥ You'd think that with a cast like that the movie would be AMAZING, and it could have been. The acting - except SPOILER ALERT Benicio's death - was phenomenal by all parties, and the story, though slowly paced, was intriguing and gripping. And then there were fight scenes. The CGI was awful and the wolf prostetics looked like Jean Cocteau's 1946 La Belle et la Bête. It's 2010 now...
Not kidding.
And then we all went to our respective homes. Upon dropping Vigg off, we made tentative plans for the next night to see a movie, but that never happened. Back home, I online scrabbled with Vigg and DavidLi until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.
So on Saturday I woke up at 8:15 because Mum told me she was leaving at 8:30. She didn't, but I said goodbye to her and went back to sleep. When I finally woke up again, it was about 10:30, I believe. I watched Jeopardy! recordings and I filled in a survey, and I also walked the dogs and spent some time dilly-dallying on the computer. I had a bowl of Raisin Bran for breakfast/lunch/meal, and I did some work.
Later, I called Dan, and we decided to go to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner and then to go roller skating from 8-10. So I started asking other people if they wanted to come, too, but I didn't get many positive replies. I fed and walked the dogs, and then I went to pick Dan and Ying up, and we went. The service at the restaurant was pretty slow, and Dan said that the soup wasn't even that good. It was 9 before we got to go roller skating, but that was okay. It was amusing because Ying hadn't been in a really long time and they didn't have any blades in Dan's size so he had to get skates; watching them wobble around was SUPER FUN.
After that, we dropped Ying off and picked up Jesson. Still hungry, we went to the Golden Touch Diner. I got pancakes, Jesson got buffalo wings, and Dan got a super awesome Belgian Waffle Royale. I also had hot chocolate. Good meal!
We went back to my house and watched Sleepy Hollow, but Jesson had to leave very soon into it. Dan and I stuck out the rest of the movie, but we were very tired, and then I drove him home. I probably went right to sleep as soon as I got back. It was nice that no one was home, because I could sleep with my door open and let all the dogs in and out as they pleased. Most of them stayed on my bed the whole night, which is always adorable :3
On Sunday, Darcy kept coming in and purring and sleeping on my bed or on my stomach, but at one point Pippin growled at him and he never came back in again. When Mum got home, all the dogs left my room, and though I wanted to sleep more, I couldn't fall back asleep. I decided to take a really long, nice shower, the kind you don't get in college, and then I made the mistake of blow drying my hair. Oh, is it the eighties?
Mum and I went to Staples, where I bought such exciting things as pencil lead, rubber bands, post-it notes, and tape! And then we had brunch at the Original Pancake House, even though the line was SO LONG. The crêpes were great, as usual [not real crêpes, but still really good for whatever they are]. We then went to Marshall's to buy a small weekend bag [I'm sick of either bringing my stuff home in a large suitcase or in a plastic bag], and then we bought bubble tea at Kam Man ♥.
We had only a short bit of time at home before my train was supposed to leave at 4:25. We got to the train station early, only to find that the train was approximately 1:45 late! AAAAAH. We sat in the station for two hours before the train came in - it left at 6:24, almost exactly two hours after it was supposed.
The train ride was interesting. I was in the quiet car all by myself, and the woman in front of me's phone went off. And then it went off again and she answered it. Then some jerk came over to me and said, "This is the quiet car; cell phone use is prohibited." He wasn't a conductor or anything, just some jerk. I meekly informed him, "I'm not the one on the phone, she is," gesturing to the woman in front of me, but he didn't say anything or care. He's one of those guys who like to pick on younger people to make themselves feel good, but he wouldn't dare confront an older person like the woman in front of me. He didn't even apologise. I bet he's a high school teacher. Well, seeing as I was having a pretty bad day, I started crying, by no fault of my own; I really couldn't help it and I did all I could to stop, but not after many tears rolled down my face. I hope he saw, that jerk. In New York a bunch of people got on the train, including this woman who was sitting next to me who wouldn't stop talking to me, despite being on the quiet car, despite the fact that I was reading The Prince, and despite the fact that my headphones were in. Annoying! And she wasn't even getting off until after me. Sigh.
So my train came in at 9:30 instead of 7:30, and I waited in the cold for half an hour for a taxi to show up. What a great evening.
That same night, I also found out that my roommate is sick with a stomach bug that according to the doctor is only contagious if we're sharing cups, etc., but according to the Internet is very contagious. Which brings me to where I am today, Tuesday: I'm sitting on the couch in the common room upon which I've just slept. I've barely been in my room for two days. YAY.
Eighteen days until Spring Break.
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Why I Wish I Hadn't Used Up All My "Skips"
I was listening to Pandora, and my station is fairly complex by now - sort of like my crazy iPod - so I get a lot of weird songs that I end up "thumbs downing".
Tonight, a particular song came on called "I Can't Own Her" by XTC. I thought, now that's a good concept for a song! I could really like this song. So I looked up the lyrics.
I was utterly disappointed as I read the words along with the song. A song with a title like that has the opportunity to be a really great song about how women aren't property and all that, but this song did the complete opposite.
The persona uses "own" to show his material possessions, and he appears to be a pretty well-off individual.
He's saying "Look at all these things I have! I own a lot of cool, material things!" And then he's saying that he "can't own her", which is right, because he can't. Women are human beings, not property, not material things, not a river or a town, but people. There are societies around the world and throughout history in which women actually are/were property of men, and it's something we have had to fight against, and still do. [See this recent post at SocioImages for, well basically everything I just said.] No, persona of that song, you can not own a woman.
But what else is he saying? He's saying "I want to own her". He's not saying he can't from some feminist or humanist stand-point; it seems like he might be, until we see that fourth line. It's "a bitter pill", meaning something that gives him grief, that he can't own her.
Later in the song, it might seem like he's redeeming himself by saying:
But I don't think that's really redemption for him at all. He says, of course, that he doesn't mean "own" in a master-possession sort of relationship, which means we should give him a break, right? Wrong. That's the power of words. There are words for what he wants to do, or hopefully wants to do, with this woman - he could love her, he could marry her, he could be her devoted partner or friend, he could even keep her in a cage in his basement [but that's a very, very serious issue that is not so related to this post] - but he chooses "own", a word infused with political and personal tension.
He never says "love" in this song, or any word related to it. He says words of ownership like "want" and "own" and "have" and "thing". So even though he assures us this has "nothing at all to do with money", his fantasy of ownership and dominance shines through, and that's probably why the girl isn't interested in the first place.
Thumbs down.
Tonight, a particular song came on called "I Can't Own Her" by XTC. I thought, now that's a good concept for a song! I could really like this song. So I looked up the lyrics.
I was utterly disappointed as I read the words along with the song. A song with a title like that has the opportunity to be a really great song about how women aren't property and all that, but this song did the complete opposite.
The persona uses "own" to show his material possessions, and he appears to be a pretty well-off individual.
I own this river, I own this townSo far so good, right? But then that last line that finishes off the phrase group:
All of its climbers and its wino's sliding down
But I can't own her and I never will
No I can't own her and that's a bitter pillI got a little uncomfortable at that point. It might be something I could have overlooked, but I decided to think about what exactly the persona is saying.
He's saying "Look at all these things I have! I own a lot of cool, material things!" And then he's saying that he "can't own her", which is right, because he can't. Women are human beings, not property, not material things, not a river or a town, but people. There are societies around the world and throughout history in which women actually are/were property of men, and it's something we have had to fight against, and still do. [See this recent post at SocioImages for, well basically everything I just said.] No, persona of that song, you can not own a woman.
But what else is he saying? He's saying "I want to own her". He's not saying he can't from some feminist or humanist stand-point; it seems like he might be, until we see that fourth line. It's "a bitter pill", meaning something that gives him grief, that he can't own her.
Later in the song, it might seem like he's redeeming himself by saying:
And when I say I can't own her
I don't mean to buy her
It's nothing at all to do with money
I simply want her in my arms forever more.
Is that an odd request?
Is that something so funny?
But I don't think that's really redemption for him at all. He says, of course, that he doesn't mean "own" in a master-possession sort of relationship, which means we should give him a break, right? Wrong. That's the power of words. There are words for what he wants to do, or hopefully wants to do, with this woman - he could love her, he could marry her, he could be her devoted partner or friend, he could even keep her in a cage in his basement [but that's a very, very serious issue that is not so related to this post] - but he chooses "own", a word infused with political and personal tension.
He never says "love" in this song, or any word related to it. He says words of ownership like "want" and "own" and "have" and "thing". So even though he assures us this has "nothing at all to do with money", his fantasy of ownership and dominance shines through, and that's probably why the girl isn't interested in the first place.
Thumbs down.
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Saint Valentine's Day 2010
So tomorrow is St. Valentine's Day. In the spirit of that wonderful holiday, I've decided to write a blog entry - that, and I'm embarrassed that, not only has Bryan written since the last time I have, but Will has written twice. Lol.
This is the story of Saint Valentine, as remembered by me, as told by other people, and supplemented with probably much truer facts from Wikipedia.
According to Wikipedia, "Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome. The name "Valentine", derived from valens (worthy), was popular in Late Antiquity. Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14. It is even uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or more saints of the same name."
The story that I remember comes from my pastor. She told us that Valentine was imprisoned and sentenced to death. During all of his imprisonment, he wrote copious amounts of love letters to his family and friends, expressing his undying love for all of them, and probably some other things like how boring it was to sit in prison all day. And he probably mentioned God a few times, as well. The idea is, acccording to my pastor, that we celebrate St. Valentine's Day on the anniversary of his death to honour not only his outstanding love for all around him, but God's love for all of us and our love for each other.
How true is that story? I'm sure that the Wikipedia research I am about to do will address that... [all of the following facts come from here.]
The first time we really hear any sort of story about him, or see a picture, is 1493 in the Nuremburg Chronicle. He was imprisoned by Claudius II, or Claudius Gothicus when he discovered that Valentine was aiding Christians, who were, at the time, persecuted, in Rome. During his imprisonment, apparently Claudius "took a liking to this prisoner" , but when he tried to convert Claudius, he was sentenced to death. He was beaten, stoned, and beheaded, somewhere around 269, 270, or 273.
The official list of Catholic saints, the Roman Martyrology lists seven Saint Valentines, and the Russian Orthodox Church has more.
[The following facts come from here.]
Ultimately, his holiday was removed from the Catholic calendar because he was too unknown, but some groups of Catholics still celebrate his feast day in a religious context.
So it would appear that my pastor's story was nothing but a faerie tale, but that's okay.
As I've been doing this 'research', I've noticed a lot of allusions to Chaucer, and now, it would appear, I am about to find out what, exactly, Chaucer may have done to create this chocolate and hearts holiday.
In his Parlement of Foules [Parliament of Fowls], a poem to commemorate the first anniverary of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, Chaucer wrote "For this was sent on Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate." "Readers have uncritically assumed that Chaucer was referring to February 14 as Valentine's Day; however, mid-February is an unlikely time for birds to be mating in England. Henry Ansgar Kelly has pointed out that in the liturgical calendar, May 2 is the saints' day for Valentine of Genoa. This St. Valentine was an early bishop of Genoa who died around AD 307."
The bit about the Medieval period and the English Renaissance is also extremely interesting, and I just wish I could quote the whole thing, but that would be silly. Check it out; it mentions the "High Court of Love" established in Paris on 14 February, 1400 and love poems, the fact that Ophelia mentions the holiday in Hamlet [1600-1601], and John Donne using bird imagery in the same way that Chaucer did.
The late seventeen hundreds to early eighteen hundreds ushered in the wave of mailing pre-written Valentine's Day sentiments to women, and 1847 saw the first mass-produced valentines for sale in the United States.
The article goes on to talk about Valentine's Day traditions in North America and England, and it has a section for Similar Days for Honouring Love all over the world.
But I love Valentine's Day. Obviously, I'm a huge fan of purple and pink and heart shapes and chocolate, so how could I go wrong? Not to mention getting letters and candy ;D But it's so much more than that. It's a day to celebrate love in all of its forms, and that is precisely how I spend it. It doesn't have to be about romantic love, and it doesn't have to be about "Singles Awareness Day" or any of that. Never having had a boyfriend does not mean I can't celebrate my love for so many other people. I love my friends and my family to death, and I wouldn't be who I am without them. That is why I celebrate Saint Valetine's Day.
It feels go to be reminded that somebody cares about you. With that in mind, go out and tell the people that you love that they matter to you! Tell your best friend or your mother or that hobo on the street that you love them! It can really brighten someone's day :D
♥ I love you!! ♥
This is the story of Saint Valentine, as remembered by me, as told by other people, and supplemented with probably much truer facts from Wikipedia.
According to Wikipedia, "Saint Valentine (in Latin, Valentinus) is the name of several martyred saints of ancient Rome. The name "Valentine", derived from valens (worthy), was popular in Late Antiquity. Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name and that he was buried at the Via Flaminia north of Rome on February 14. It is even uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or more saints of the same name."
The story that I remember comes from my pastor. She told us that Valentine was imprisoned and sentenced to death. During all of his imprisonment, he wrote copious amounts of love letters to his family and friends, expressing his undying love for all of them, and probably some other things like how boring it was to sit in prison all day. And he probably mentioned God a few times, as well. The idea is, acccording to my pastor, that we celebrate St. Valentine's Day on the anniversary of his death to honour not only his outstanding love for all around him, but God's love for all of us and our love for each other.
How true is that story? I'm sure that the Wikipedia research I am about to do will address that... [all of the following facts come from here.]
The feast of St. Valentine was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among those "... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." As Gelasius implied, nothing was known, even then, about the lives of any of these martyrs. The Saint Valentine that appears in various martyrologies in connection with February 14 is described either as:
- A priest in Rome,
- A bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), or
- A martyr in the Roman province of Africa.
The first time we really hear any sort of story about him, or see a picture, is 1493 in the Nuremburg Chronicle. He was imprisoned by Claudius II, or Claudius Gothicus when he discovered that Valentine was aiding Christians, who were, at the time, persecuted, in Rome. During his imprisonment, apparently Claudius "took a liking to this prisoner" , but when he tried to convert Claudius, he was sentenced to death. He was beaten, stoned, and beheaded, somewhere around 269, 270, or 273.
English eighteenth-century antiquarians Alban Butler and Francis Douce, noting the obscurity of Saint Valentine's identity, suggested that Valentine's Day was created as an attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of Lupercalia. This idea has lately been contested by Professor Jack Oruch of the University of Kansas. Many of the current legends that characterise Saint Valentine were invented in the fourteenth century in England, notably by Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with romantic love.
The official list of Catholic saints, the Roman Martyrology lists seven Saint Valentines, and the Russian Orthodox Church has more.
- a martyr (Roman priest or Terni bishop?) buried on the Via Flaminia (February 14)
- a priest from Viterbo (November 3)
- a bishop from Raetia who died in about 450 (January 7)
- a fifth-century priest and hermit (July 4)
- a Spanish hermit who died in about 715 (October 25)
- Valentine Berrio Ochoa, martyred in 1861 (November 24)
- Valentine Jaunzarás Gómez, martyred in 1936 (September 18)
The Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine, compiled about 1260 and one of the most-read books of the High Middle Ages, gives sufficient details of the saints for each day of the liturgical year to inspire a homily on each occasion. The very brief vita of St Valentine has him refusing to deny Christ before the "Emperor Claudius" in the year 280. Before his head was cut off, this Valentine restored sight and hearing to the daughter of his jailer. Jacobus makes a play with the etymology of "Valentine", "as containing valour".
[The following facts come from here.]
Ultimately, his holiday was removed from the Catholic calendar because he was too unknown, but some groups of Catholics still celebrate his feast day in a religious context.
Legenda Aurea still providing no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail. In an embellishment to The Golden Legend provided by American Greetings, Inc. to History.com and widely repeated, on the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he wrote the first "valentine" himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved, as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed, or both. It was a note that read "From your Valentine."
So it would appear that my pastor's story was nothing but a faerie tale, but that's okay.
As I've been doing this 'research', I've noticed a lot of allusions to Chaucer, and now, it would appear, I am about to find out what, exactly, Chaucer may have done to create this chocolate and hearts holiday.
In his Parlement of Foules [Parliament of Fowls], a poem to commemorate the first anniverary of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, Chaucer wrote "For this was sent on Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate." "Readers have uncritically assumed that Chaucer was referring to February 14 as Valentine's Day; however, mid-February is an unlikely time for birds to be mating in England. Henry Ansgar Kelly has pointed out that in the liturgical calendar, May 2 is the saints' day for Valentine of Genoa. This St. Valentine was an early bishop of Genoa who died around AD 307."
Chaucer's Parliament of Foules is set in a fictional context of an old tradition, but in fact there was no such tradition before Chaucer. The speculative explanation of sentimental customs, posing as historical fact, had their origins among eighteenth-century antiquaries, notably Alban Butler, the author of Butler's Lives of Saints, and have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars.
The bit about the Medieval period and the English Renaissance is also extremely interesting, and I just wish I could quote the whole thing, but that would be silly. Check it out; it mentions the "High Court of Love" established in Paris on 14 February, 1400 and love poems, the fact that Ophelia mentions the holiday in Hamlet [1600-1601], and John Donne using bird imagery in the same way that Chaucer did.
The late seventeen hundreds to early eighteen hundreds ushered in the wave of mailing pre-written Valentine's Day sentiments to women, and 1847 saw the first mass-produced valentines for sale in the United States.
The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend in average twice as much money as women.
The article goes on to talk about Valentine's Day traditions in North America and England, and it has a section for Similar Days for Honouring Love all over the world.
But I love Valentine's Day. Obviously, I'm a huge fan of purple and pink and heart shapes and chocolate, so how could I go wrong? Not to mention getting letters and candy ;D But it's so much more than that. It's a day to celebrate love in all of its forms, and that is precisely how I spend it. It doesn't have to be about romantic love, and it doesn't have to be about "Singles Awareness Day" or any of that. Never having had a boyfriend does not mean I can't celebrate my love for so many other people. I love my friends and my family to death, and I wouldn't be who I am without them. That is why I celebrate Saint Valetine's Day.
It feels go to be reminded that somebody cares about you. With that in mind, go out and tell the people that you love that they matter to you! Tell your best friend or your mother or that hobo on the street that you love them! It can really brighten someone's day :D
♥ I love you!! ♥
Saturday, 2 January 2010
A New Year's Story
Now is the time to be pensive. New Year’s is a time for remembering the past and thinking about the future. I spent all of my New Year’s Day looking through my old pictures from 2007 – the first picture of the year, my birthday, Anna’s and Bryan’s and Julia’s sixteenth birthdays, my trip to China, my first marching band adventures, fencing. Before I got to the China part, awful memories came flooding back, filling my mind. My sixteenth birthday marked the beginning of the rapid decline of one of my best, truest, and most comfortable friendships, and after that date, things only got worse. I found myself thrown into an inescapable depression, despite the best efforts of other, wonderful friends, and I was never able to trust or love anyone so fully in the years that followed. During that time, all I can remember is unbelievable pain and confusion. My grades were slipping and my other friends were drifting away because I could not hold on to them; all of my energy was wasted trying to imagine what I had done wrong and what I could do to at least have her talk to me again, to smile at me when she walked by, or to at least stop pretending that I was just another object in the room. Sophomore year remains a black hole for me – I can recall very little of my academics, and though I made new friends, few of them stuck. This was the year that Oh! Gravity., the sixth Switchfoot album, came out, and after this dramatic turn of events, I fell to sitting by myself and finding refuge in lines like “All of my world hanging on your lies”. I became increasingly pessimistic about everything, and I lost any value I had had for myself. My way of thinking was that, if she couldn’t like me, how could anyone else? How could I? I think I’ve made my point very clearly: to say this was the low point of my high school career would be an extreme understatement. This person broke my heart, but also my trust, self-esteem, and self-worth.
As for my future, I can’t say. My hopes are that I remain close with the people I’ve met this year and the people whom I’ve had to leave in this last year. I want to be able to be a best friend again. I want to continue to record my life in writing and in photographs, and I want to continue to educate myself on anything and everything. I finally feel like I have a fair balance, for the most part, and I want to keep that, and make it stronger. Those are all my hopes; of course, there are little things, like get good grades, etc., but these are the things that I consider the most important because they have been a part of my life, a part of me, in the past, and they really feel right, so I need to work hard to keep them a part of me in the future.
I hope the new year brings you peace of mind, and that you can resolve the be optimistic and try to salvage any bad situation fate may throw your way. Take it from someone who has been there, it’s better that way.
But, as I was gathering photos from my past to compile for my scrapbook, I took a trip down memory lane. I was surprised to see how many photographs were filled with friends and smiling faces, and I realise that I let everyone around me down. It’s not my job to allow silly drama get to my head; no, I am the one who helps pull those around me out of its sticky claws. Friends, some who hadn’t even known me for more than a few months, tried their hardest to cheer me up, to remind me that life goes on, but I ignored them, and I stagnated in my own cesspool of self-pity and worthlessness. There has never been another time in my life during which I had been so self-centred and blind to the kindness of those who still remained by my side. I was actually surrounded by people who cared about me, but I was too wrapped up in the insignificant opinions of one girl to even notice.
That summer, though, everything changed. I needed it to. I changed my appearance dramatically, cutting and styling my hair in a way that was so different from anything I’d ever attempted before, and I bought new, thick-rimmed glasses that made me look like an entirely different person. I didn’t feel different, though. I went to China and made amazing friends and memories. It was truly the trip of a lifetime. I joined marching band, too, and even devoted my entire summer to learning a new instrument, and I became closer with many band geeks with whom I’d already been friendly, and met even more fantastic people. I got a job and started ballroom dancing! I remembered that I had a life to live, and that I didn’t need that one person to live it – I’d survived the first thirteen years of my life without her, after all. Grades, self-esteem, and social vitality all rose from the deepest depths, when I never thought they could.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that 2007 was not as awful a year as I’ve always remembered it to be. Instead, I learned how to fight for my self-worth, how to adapt, and that I didn’t need people who were going to hurt and belittle me in my life. Three of my best friendships, Dan, Jesson, and Andrew, were all kindled during that heart-wrenching year, and it is truly a blessing and an honour to be able to have them in my life, as cheesey as that may sound. Perhaps, if the dreadful things that passed in those early months of the year hadn’t, I would never have created these three strong, life-saving bonds. And I don't hate her. Maybe I need to be thankful. Maybe I need to say, “*********, thank you for breaking my heart, because, in your attempt to hurt, confuse, belittle, and destroy me, I learned some things about myself. I learned that I have power beyond your control, and I learned how to love other people and myself, and I learned that I can survive. And that is the best gift you ever have – or ever could have – given me. Thank you.”
I know that it’s a cheesey song, but it really is a confidence booster for me when these little self-esteem nightmares, rooted in this incident, start to set in. I always remember Gloria Gaynor’s immortal I Will Survive, sung with all the gutsy confidence in the world.
First I was afraid, I was petrified / Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side / But I spent so many nights thinking how you did me wrong / and I grew strong, and I learned how to carry on.
It took all the strength I had not to fall apart / kept trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart / and I spent oh so many nights just feeling sorry for myself / I used to cry, but now I hold my head up high / and you see me, somebody new / I'm not that chained up little person, still in love with you
Go on now go, walk out the door / just turn around now, 'cause you're not welcome anymore / weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye / you think I'd crumble, you think I'd lay down and die / Oh no, not I / I will survive/ as long as i know how to love I know I’ll stay alive / I've got all my life to live / I've got all my love to give / And I'll survive, I will survive.
As for my future, I can’t say. My hopes are that I remain close with the people I’ve met this year and the people whom I’ve had to leave in this last year. I want to be able to be a best friend again. I want to continue to record my life in writing and in photographs, and I want to continue to educate myself on anything and everything. I finally feel like I have a fair balance, for the most part, and I want to keep that, and make it stronger. Those are all my hopes; of course, there are little things, like get good grades, etc., but these are the things that I consider the most important because they have been a part of my life, a part of me, in the past, and they really feel right, so I need to work hard to keep them a part of me in the future.
I hope the new year brings you peace of mind, and that you can resolve the be optimistic and try to salvage any bad situation fate may throw your way. Take it from someone who has been there, it’s better that way.
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