I Wear a Bowtie Now. Bowties Are Cool.

So, at 1 am when I'm really not at all tired and am looking through some old things and stumble across this old blog, what better to do than write a new post? It only took me the better part of two years.

And, now that I'm looking at this blog with fresh, not tired eyes, I think maybe I should put some of the fangirling in a little more proportion to the actual books. So, a quick summary of the last year or so:

I survived my first (and probably my only) year of AP English last year, which was the first time I'd been challenged since PATH. I took AP Literature and Composition and we read quite a few short stories and poems, as well as The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, and Othello by William Shakespeare. We also had to do quarterly novel projects on novels of literary merit of our choice (I read Hemmingway's A Farewell to Arms, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut).
The Awakening was really short and didn't seem to have much of a plot, but my inner feminist loved it. So much. It was definetly a political book meant for interpretation and really can't masquerade as anything but that. I think libraries realized that when they banned it back in the days after its publication (1899).
Dickens was a trial for me. Parts of it I don't remember well because I would binge read while I had pnuemonia, and I usually had to force it down like I force down fish at dinner. But I kept up and was able to interpret t pretty well, although having seen the BBC miniseries before I read it helped so much. I just really hate Pip's character after a while (who doesn't?) and having Prettyboy in my head helped so much.
Ibsen's play was wonderful. I loved it. I want to read it again and again. We read it in class, but I loved it so much that I sat down on a Friday night, completely in Jenni-time, and just read the play. Maybe I love it so much because Nora gives me hope for one day escaping my father's tyranny...
Death of a Salesman was just okay. I didn't feel that strongly about it, positively or negatively. Kinda like how most of the characters view life. Meh. Bleh. Summer.
Othello was better than Romeo and Juliet like how my essays now are better than my awkward little sixth-grade-cookie-cutter essays that really said nothing worth knowing or even hearing. Iago is possibly my favorite villain ever, right up there with Bellatrix Lestrange and Moriarty (or Irene Adler, if you consider her a villain). He's just so great up until he goes crazy at Emilia. That's crossing a line. She was pretty great in that scene, and I proudly wrote an essay about her...even if I really had no idea what I was supposed to do for said essay. It worked. He's clever, she's not a bro, get new spouses, everyone's happy. But this is Shakespeare; Happy is something his final cuts tend to lack.
My novels for my novel projects were all amazing and I would recommend every single one of them. Hemmingway was classic (and he just loves irony). Huxley had a brilliant utopia/dystopia, and it makes the list of reasons why my life rocks (I don't live there). Ishiguro was similar, only I liked his story and style a lot more and he made me cry. A lot. Vonnegut was hilarious, but then I felt really bad for laughing because it shouldn't have been funny but it was. So it goes. ;)

I finished The Mortal Instruments just in time for the movies to come out, unfortunately. I don't think this movie is going to be any good. It makes me want to cry...especially with the second Percy Jackson movie coming out in the same month. Does Hollywood really not know when enough is enough?
That was a stupid question.

Aaaannd I'm reading Game of Thrones right now, which I vote to rename The Real Housewives of Middle-Earth. There's enough symbolism and foreshadowing that it would probably be harder to tell who's gonna die and how if I read it on Wikipedia. There's also the added bonus that pretty much everyone is going to die, because, like Queen Cersei says, "In the game of thrones, you win or you die." *ominous music* I don't think this will be a TV Show I'll be watching with my parents, however. Or while they're in the house. Or maybe even the country.

In the meantime, I'm also catching up on the new series of Dr. Who (you may have noticed bu the title, which is very true, btw). Thanks very much to my bunkmate from Blue Lake this year who pretty much forced me to. I hope you're proud, Erin. I hope you're proud. So far, I've had some major Doomsday feels/cries and I don't know if I can let 10 go. Or 11, especially now that I know the clock is nearing 12. Good luck, Peter Capaldi. Good luck.

And now it's time for my favorite part- Quotes!
"You were fantastic. And you know what? So was I." -9th Doctor, Dr. Who

Allons-y!

--Jenni

11/11/11 or THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

11/11/11.

I can't tell you how many events there are on Facebook for today. At 11:11, I wished to be J.K. Rowling's new best friend. I plan on wishing for a Pottermore account later today (22:11, 11 hours after 11:11)

In the meantime, there is a certain DVD that has entered stores across the world today. And now my childhood is officially over. I siriusly cannot wait to get home and make my mother take me to Best Buy. Ant then watch it three times tonight....or maybe not, my parents might get mad. But they aren't allowed in on the first showing cuz I know I'm gonna start bawling my eyes out. THEY WERE JUST ALL SO CUTE!!!

In that light, I went and found a few pictures that made me feel better. Two are Foxtrot cartoons, the others are all fan art. Just because....

Until the very end,
Jenni

Elegie for James and Lily

So...if you haven't guessed already, this is my tribute to James and Lily Potter, who were killed 30 years ago today. (sniff) They were so cute together! (double sniff) I wrote a little scene today at school about them, and it's the hardest one I've written so far. (starts bawling) I have a love-hate relationship with that sheet of paper. I love it because it's really, really tragic (have I ever mentioned tat I love tradgedy?) but I hate it because I like these characters! I mean, I genuinley like them, and they feel more and more real the more I write about them. And I do feel responsible for their deaths, because I was the one who wrote Voldemort's dialouge. Well, actually, that was J.K. Rowling, and I borrowed it, but still. I wrote it down. (No copyright infringment intended!)

And that brings me to another thing that grinds my gears. On Facebook, there's an app called Pieces of Flair (If you haven't tried it, check it out) and it's basically these pictures on virtual buttons. And of course, they have Harry Potter ones. And I get SO ANNOYED when I go and try to find James and Lily flair, because it always shows these Lily and Severus flairs instead! Now, I've got nothing against Sev, but honestly! Just because Snape loves Lily doesn't mean Lily loves him back! She married JAMES, for christ's sake! Her son's name is Harry JAMES POTTER, not Harry Severus Snape! (And I'd feel bad for any kid who had to go around with the name Harry Severus Snape.) I can se friends, but I think Lily and James are SEVERLY underrepresented here. And some people would argue that Snape risked his life to save Lily's. Oh yeah? Well, James DIED for Lily, so that she could escape. And if you noticed, Lily didn't accept Voldemort's offer, who had been persuaded by Snape to spare Lily. See, that's the thing; I believe that all three of the Potters are far more noble and brave than Snape. Snape did what he did ONLY because of Lily, but the Potters died for what they believed in, and to help make the world a better place.
They could be considered experts on how to save the world. They did a pretty good job of it (especially Lily and Harry)

And here is my quote for the week. It is actually an excerpt from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, when Harry and Hermione are visiting Godric's Hollow.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off---"...
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!""Stand aside you silly girl … stand aside now."
"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead ----- "
"Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy… "
Lily Potter, James Potter, and Voldemort before the consequential destruction of their bodies.
October 31st, 1981.

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

-Jenni

High School...it begins....

You know, I was really getting bored. So, one day, I decided to update this.
Because saying "It All Ends" on such and such a date is really depressing. (*coughthepeoplewhomadethelastHarryPottermoviepostercough*)

Speaking of Harry Potter, I would like to say that I'm hooked again. Yes. Again. I reread all of the books for the second time this year over the summer (not a very good thing to do with summer reading :/) but it was worth it. And now it's almost time for the final movie to come out on DVD... -.- I feel like my childhood is evaporating before my eyes. Ten years. That's how long it has been. Ten years since Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring came out, too. Deary me, I feel old.
I don't like it.

In other news, I (think) I am a Gryffindor. Pottermore opens tomorrow (EEK!!! SO EXCITED!!!) and I can't WAIT!!!!!!!!!!! I'm even getting up early. :)))))))))))))

Well, this summer I finished THE LORD OF THE RINGS (it was AMAZING) and I have to say, The Return of the King is by far the best part of the three. I didn't even mind the hobbits!
Eowyn and Faramir are so cute together. They're my LotR power couple.

Also over the summer- excuse me, over the month of August- I read A Wizard of Earthsea. Not enough to measure up to LotR or HP, but hey! It's only 200 pages, and it moves a lot faster than Emma. Which you will hear me rant about later. So if you need a book to read and you have about three days, look no further. The font's pretty big, too. Not to mention decent spaces in between chapters.

This brings me to a nonfiction book that I read, Eat, Pray, Love. Um, no comment. It was just weird. And I'm not completely sold on it, but it was good for nonfiction. I guess.

And now, for Emma. So we had to read a challenge book as the last part of our summer reading, and I chose this monstrosity by Jane Austen. What it really needs is not more refinement, not a movie, but a serial killer. Yes. A serial killer.
See, if there was actually an element of danger and tradgedy in the thing, it would be decent. And the serial killer could off the characters I don't like (in other words, most of them). Maybe they'd have something to talk about- I mean, honestly! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BLOODY SISTER THAT HAS A BAROUCHE LANDAU, OR WHATEVER IT IS, MRS. ELTON!!!
Unfortunately, I can't slap the characters. I am siriusly disappointed.

 This school year, after the horror that is Emma (you'll be hearing more about how much I hate it as time goes on), I had the pleasure of reading "A Great and Terrible Beauty" and "Rebel Angels" by Libba Bray. Another wonderful series, I'd reccomend it to all of my friends. It was effortless to get into and is NOT your typical Victorian-era novel. Ms. Bray even pulls a good one on the "normal" books fo that time period.
I love the protagonist, Gemma. She's witty and doesn't really care about being a lady, and she is really loyal to her friends. Not to mention next-to-impossible to beat. And she's got that red-hair+strikingly-green-eyes combo that I love. *See the link farther down for more on my redhead-greeneyes obsession*

If you get the time, check out my very first Harry Potter fan fiction piece by clicking here. I have two Harry Potter power couples:
-Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks
-James Potter and Lily Evans
This story is about James and Lily, and of course Remus is in it too, but there's really nothing about him and Tonks.
MAKE SURE TO REVIEW!!!!!!

My quote for this week (which is long overdue):
"Harry, you are so loved. Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong. Harry, be safe...be strong." - Lily Potter, talking to her son moments before her death, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011). What always gets me about this one is that she knows that James she knows that she's going to die, and that James is already dead, that Peter betrayed them, and that she is going to protect Harry no matter what, even more so now that James isn't there. And then Voldemort comes...and you know how it ends. And I'm crying the whole time, because, to be perfectly honest, they were so cute together. I hate myself for having to kill them in the end of my fanfic.

"'Will you stay with me?'
'Until the very end,'"
Harry and James Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (1st U.S. Hardcover Edition), The Forest Again.
It gets me every time *sniff* They shouldn't have died. DARN YOU, VOLDEMORT!!!!!!!!!!!! :'(

Until the very end,
Jenni (G)

A Magnificently Sublime Blog Post...Hopefully!

Part One: Doctor Who, Season 5, Episode 4: The Time Of Angels
So... when was the last time you blinked? Turned off the lights? Looked away randomly? Well, there might just be a Weeping Angel hanging around somewhere. Which means you would probably be dead now. And never get to see the rest of this blog post!
Anyways...there are these monsters that we need to get rid of (surprise, surprise) that are called Weeping Angels. They're gorgeous stone statues that look like they're weeping because they cover their eyes from the sun. Well, gorgeous until they try to kill you. See, when you're not looking, the angels are moving. *BLINK* Now you have a really creepy face staring at you and two stone hands tightly around your neck, and you can't breathe, so you die. That's what Weeping Angels do. So Dr. Who and Co. are trying to destroy these monsters because they just crash-landed in a spaceship on this random planet. They have one guidebook, but it was written by a madman (therefore almost completly not understandable) and there are no pictures, so the Doctor doesn't know what exactly to look for. In the meantime, Annie (who's part of the 'and Co.') thinks she saw a glitch on a recording that they have of the angels, so she goes back into the trailer where the recording is playing and starts staring at the screen. Now, this is four seconds of recording. (:24-:28 ish) The kreepy thing is that the angel has turned its head in the image, from the original position since no one was watching it. Annie stares at it, blinks, and it is now facing her, still peacful, but definetly moving. She tries to turn of the TV, but that doesn't work, and in the seconds that she looked away, the angel's pleasant face is occupying the center of the television. So she's gettting really creeped out, and she tries to unplug the TV. The plug is stuck, so she slowly raises her head back up to the TV screen, where the angel's head hasn't moved, but now its razor-sharp teeth are bared and it looks like it's screaming. So now, our genius Annie tries to back up, screaming for the Doctor, and open the door. Which she can't. And now, the angel, while a hologram, is IN THE ROOM, and Annie isn't screaming her head off yet. What an odd little girl.
Click here to watch part one. (The TV screen part starts about 15 minutes in)

PART TWO:
A more appropriate title would be Part Three, because I FINALLY FINISHED THE TWO TOWERS!!!!! And now, I'm on The Return Of The King.
Oh my goodness, I'm almost done!!!!
The Two Towers had Shelob, which is the giant spider thing that attacks Frodo and whom Sam defeats. As it turns out, Shelob isn't much of a spider at all! Just a thing... a mythological creature, for sure. She is no decendant of Aragog, unless the relation is very far away...and she's kinda a brat. Like, beyond just poisoning Frodo. She hurt herself, too. And she cannot withstand the power of the ELVES!!!!!
I would write more, but I'm running out of time...

Which brings us to PART THREE, weekly quotes! *SPOILER ALERT*
This week's quote comes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One (2010)
"Of course sir, I'm an Elf!" -Dobby
And then, twenty minutes later, Dear Bella has to throw that stupid knife and kill him >:( If it wasn't for that, I think I'd like Bellatrix more. And maybe be more sad when she dies.

-Jenni

Poetry is EVERYWHERE! *gasp*

Thankfully, Blogger is back up and running (unlike earlier) so I can do my post for these two weeks.
Soo... this blog post is going to have a ton of links on it. I love links.
I found a poem that we listend to last year in PATH, One Boy Told Me by Naiomi Shihab Nye (the lady who wrote Habibi- her poems are much better than her novels) Click here to watch. My favourite quote is either "Just think! No one has ever seen inside this peanut before!" or "Grown-ups keep their legs on the ground when they swing...I hate that."
Then I went to Billy Collins, because, with a name like that, he has to be funny. His poem (The Lanyard) started out kinda boring, especially since he has such a monotonos voice, but then it became a good source of humor as the poem progressed. This quote, which is one of my favourites from the piece, was very amusing with the blah blah blah air that he was giving off. "Here are thousands of meals, she said, and here is clothing and a good education. And here is your lanyard, I replied, which I made with a little help from a counselor." Click here to watch. I remember when I went to Camp Geneva (from like kindergarten to sixth grade- the pre-Blue Lake era) the one skill every girl had to have is to know how to weave a lanyard, and you should have known at least one person who could start and finish a lanyard for you. I rarely finished mine because I got too bored weaving. Not going to be one of my career choices.
'On a more serious note, I found a poem that I didn't like as much but that was also a more serious poem. And, as I was looking through some of the poetry, I found that this is my favourite of the more serious poems. But I still like funny peoms more. And the most amusing line in this poem was "And although we have travelled far we must not forget that primal lesson on patience, courage, forbearance; on how to love squid despite squid..." Click here to watch Marilyn Chin's The Floral Apron.
In the animated department, I do think I prefer the nonanimated versions because you can see the poets expression and you aren't more focused on the pictures than the words. I was sad because none of the peoms mentioned above were in the animated archives, but I did find one I liked. It's called New York, by Valzhyna Mort, a native of Belarus. My favourite quote: "And things you won't tell to a priest, you reveal to a cab driver," I liked this poem because it encompases so much of what we know New York to be, the good and the bad. Click here to watch.

So, now for this week's quote...firstly, there was a small glitch in my quote from last week...I said the wrong Orlando Bloom movie. Will Turner actually says "No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it," in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. (I wouldn't have realized if we hadn't watched it over the weekend) In the meantime, I had to come up with a really good one to beat out all those amazing ones above, so here it is, in honour of it being almost six years ince the movie was released (May 19, 2005).
"You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. You were to bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness!" -Obi-Wan Kenobi

And to accompany that line, click here to hear an awesome song from the soundtrack, whcich I am currently listening to like my life depends on it.

Try listening to the song while reading the line. And remember to listen to the WHOLE song, and may the Force be with you. Always.

-Jenni

April is Eaten By Jaws the First

Alas, as we hath walked through the valley of death, that we should be so unfortunate as to hath need to walk once more under the shadow of death...Goodbye, National Poetry Month. I will try not to forget you next year....
And until that happy day cometh, I propose that we all set aside our greif today...and CELEBRATE! :) It's May! Finally! Which means that there's only one onth left of school! (Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.) And i do intend on continuing to read poetry fro the rest of it...I don't know if any of you have ever found the "Shark Week" or "Alien" poems under Just For Fun on poets.org. Especially Shark Week...brings back memories of Jaws...*decapitated head pops out of hole in boat, hysterical screaming ensues* Maybe I'll actualy watch the whole thing next time... :/
I was looking at some of Christopher Rusk's other poems (he's the guy that wrote the poem about love and medicine) and he had two other poems on poets.org that I found, one of which I liked, the other of which was absolutely inappropriate. So he is no longer my favorite new poet.

On Lord of the Rings, our threesome finally got to Minas Morgul, and it actually sounds like a really cool place, not some weird green glowy thingy. And what I didn't get was that when all these troops were filing past our three "heroes", that it only took them what seemed like twenty minutes, tops, by the way J.R.R. Tolkien described it. And what's confusing me is that he said that there were also a lot of troops, so wouldn't it take a lot longer for all those troops to file past than twenty minutes? *sigh* Sometimes Mr. Tolkien can be so confusing.

This week's quotes come from two sources, since I couldn't decide which one to do....
"Music to drown by...now I know I'm in first class," -Tommy, from Titanic
"No cause is lost if there is yet one fool left to fight for it," - Will Turner II (Orlando Bloom), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2008ish)

-Jenni