A Desire to Make Things Better

Early last week a girl I happened to be following on Tumblr posted a query to her followers asking if anyone would be willing to edit an essay she had written. I, as you might know, have quite a bit of experience with writing and editing (or at least more than the average internet user), and I instantly thought that I could do so easily. Instead of informing her, however, I kept quiet; she seemed to be a relatively popular user, and of her many followers I was a random nobody.

She reblogged the query again an hour later, at which point I realized that, despite my expectations, nobody had responded. Since I really wasn't doing anything that afternoon, I nervously sent her a message, which she responded to a few minutes later, and before long I had her essay in my email box ready to be looked over.

Life on Mars and Other Things

Last year I managed to do pretty well with my regular treadmill sessions. I think I clocked almost an hour a day six days a week for the entire last six months, which may not sound like much but was definitely more than I had been managing before. After my brother's wedding in October, however, my treadmill sessions started to become few and far between.

Around New Years, someone I was following on Tumblr mentioned wanting to get back to exercising regularly, and I decided it was high time for me to return to regular exercise as well. I'd built up a small list of things on Netflix that I could watch while on the treadmill, so I couple of weeks ago I picked a TV show at random and started walking.

The Fault in our Stars

About a year and a half ago or more, my brother told me about an online video blog series he was following called Vlogbrothers; two brothers, John and Hank Green, would 'vlog' back and forth as a way to keep in touch. Their vlogs had quite a large following over time, and mostly included them either talking about nerdy things, discussing current events, or just overall trying to make the world a better place.

The community of fans call themselves 'Nerdfighters', and a full post about that is for another time.

I didn't start avidly watching the Vlogbrothers' videos until this summer, however, at which time John Green, the older of the two brothers and an award wining novelist of YA fiction, would continuously mention his upcoming book in his videos. Late last summer, he announced that he would be signing every pre-ordered copy of the book, titled The Fault in our Stars, and John proceeded to take on the enormous challenge of signing his name over and over, 150,000 times.

I started this blog with the intention of writing a review on The Fault in our Stars, but I'm not really sure what there is I can say about it. The book finally came out on the 10th, though I didn't start reading it until a week later (After I finished re-reading The Count of Monte Cristo). I finished it in about a day or two; John Green's writing is so straightforward and easy to read that many people could finish the book in one sitting (as long as they sat for a couple of hours; it's a 300-page book).

Not only is Green's writing style very comfortable, but his characters are likable and well-developed. Hazel Grace Lancaster, the protagonist and narrator of he story, is a 16-year-old girl with lung cancer, forced to wheel around an oxygen tank wherever she goes. She doesn't gloss over her cancer story, nor does she make it seem worse than it is. She has her own life, her own likes and dislikes, and instead of taking over her story her cancer is more like an amendment to it.

Augustus Waters, the boy she falls in love with, seems at first almost too good to be true. Not only is he smart and charming and instantly likable, he shows us over time his own weaknesses; he says in the first chapter that he fears oblivion, but it's only later that we realize how much.

If you want to know more about the book, I'd suggest reading the reviews by NPR or The New York Times; that, or read the book for yourself. It's a straightforward, 'real' tale of life with cancer, unmarred by perfect characters changing the world, but also not completely without hope. The book is written with Green's trademark hilarity but, as other reviewers have warned, the "laugh to cry ratio is pretty much 1:1."

Happy Chinese New Year!

This is the year of the Dragon (Jan 23, 2012 – Feb  9, 2013), according to the 12-year Chinese Astrology cycle! Factoring the 60-year elemental cycle, that makes this the Yang Water Dragon.

I hope you understand that today's blog is a total cop out. I was going to do today's week Tues/Thurs until I realized I needed to wish you Happy Chinese New Year today; essentially, regular posts coming on their regular days this week, excluding today.

Romances to Suggest

This is just a minor list of novels sitting on my self that have a romantic leaning (whether it's the main plot or not) that I would like to suggest. Some of these may be getting full reviews later. These are in order of how they appear on my shelf (by author's last name):

-Sense and Sensibility
A Jane Austen that I think everyone's heard about. It's a bit less famous than Pride and Prejudice, which is also on my shelf but isn't being listed because I think everyone knows about it. Though Austen's style may be a bit unfamiliar to some, it's a really good story if you can get into it, and I might just like it more than the other famous Austen, though mostly out of spite (they're both really good novels).

-The Wolf Hunt
A historical fantasy/romance by Gillian Bradshaw, highly recommended by me. This is an adaptation of the earliest known werewolf story, Bisclavret, which is a French epic poem about a man with the ability to transform into a wolf, who is betrayed by his wife, trapped in wolf form, and taken up by his liege king as a sort of pet until he is able to get his revenge. It's an awesome story, and the adaptation adds a bit of romance with a female protagonist; very historically accurate, from what I can tell, and, as I mentioned before, highly recommended.

-Enchantment
Probably one of the lesser known Orson Scott Card novels, which Card himself said was one of his favorites. A Russian-born American travels back to his homeland and gets trapped in an ancient Russian fairytale, a Slavic version of Sleeping Beauty in which he and the princess must fight the evil witch Baba Yaga while Ivan, the protagonist, struggles to figure out how to return to his own time. Very much an OSCard novel, with smart characters and an intriguing plot, but an unexpected romance all the same.

-Paper Towns
A big break from the previous titles on this list, Paper Towns in a modern day YA novel by John Green. The protagonist Quentin (known as 'Q') is called out for a night of adventure by Margo Roth Spiegelman, a girl who has always been an fascinating enigma, only to discover the next day that she had disappeared. He spends the whole rest of the novel trying to balance searching for her and keeping up with his own High School life, and the conclusion makes this definitely one of my favorite YA novels.

-The Fault in our Stars
The newly released John Green novel, about a girl dying of lung cancer, the boy she meets, and the adventures they go on. This one is getting a full review next week, but I'm adding it here because it's definitely a good read; be prepared to laugh and to cry, though.

-The Phantom of the Opera
Gaston Leroux, this one is being added to the list just because I don't think many people have read it. It took me a bit to get into, but it's very goof and definitely a recommend for everyone who loves the play/movie(s).

-Much Ado about Nothing
By far my favorite Shakespeare; Shakespearean in writing but hilarious and wonderful. Beatrice is a smart woman who has refused to marry; Benedick is a sarcastic bachelor who loves his 'freedoms'; both are tricked into falling in love after a series of conspiracies between their friends. Catherine Tate and David Tennant recently acted the lead roles in a stage version, which I would have given anything to see (still hoping for a Region 1 DVD release; fingers crossed!)

-The Importance of Being Earnest
Recommending this particular Oscar Wilde play because it'll probably be the easiest to get a hold of (Colin Firth and Rupert Everett did a version recently that was wonderful). Jack fakes the name Earnest when going into town to pursue the affections of his love Gwendolyn; his friend Algernon, after hearing this, goes to the country and pretends to be Jack's fake brother Earnest, to pursue the affection of Jack's young ward Cecily. Other wonderful Wilde plays include Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, and An Ideal Husband).

Thoughts on Love and Selfishness

This isn't at all what I meant to talk about today, but I read something recently that got me to thinking, and it would be sacrilege not to publish my every thought (that was sarcasm, btw). This is going to be short, and probably a bit aesthetically unappealing as I'm not going to bother finding a bunch of random, semi-related images to sprinkle around.

I just got finished reading a romance novel, and at one point the male romantic lead mentioned to the female romantic lead that, for at least one second, he thought he would be willing to let her die in order to spare her the pain of seeing him die. When MRL (I'm initializing) said this, my respect for him grew enormously.

I'm mostly talking about the Great Romantic Love today, the heroic love from romances and not real life. There seems to be a thought going around that this kind of love is completely selfless, where both romantic leads are willing to do anything in order to make their significant other happy, even risking their lives so that the other might survive. I gave it some thought a long time ago (and by 'a long time' I mean I think I was in Middle School), and I decided that I largely disagreed with this thought.

This came up again in High School, when we read Ayn Rand's Anthem for IB English in our Sophomore year. Ayn Rand, in case you don't know, created the philosophy of Objectivism, which essentially states that man's highest goal in life should be to obtain his own happiness. This idea, of course, chaffed with a lot of the students, though I found myself agreeing with it in at least some respects. Anthem itself was a sort of allegory used to explain Rand's philosophy.

A major part of the story is the fact that Equality, the name given to the main character by society, falls in love with a girl named Liberty, who he's not supposed to even know. A few students brought this up, wondering how he could be falling in love with someone if he's supposed to be thinking only about his own happiness, and our teacher tried to explain that the act of loving is mostly selfish, saying something to the effect of "he loves her because making her happy is something that makes him happy."

I completely understood that; when thinking about love and selfishness, my mind is almost always drawn to think about the obligatory 'dying in order to save your lover's life' scene in most heroic romances. The hero of the scene, helplessly in love with the main love interest of the fiction, would rather die than be forced to live in a world without him/her.

Which is nice until you consider that, by dying, the hero is forcing their significant other to do the very thing they (the hero) could not possibly stand to do. That's OK if the significant other didn't feel exactly the same way about our hero, but that's rarely the case in Great Heroic Romances. So, what; you can't bare to live with the misery of your significant other's death, but you don't mind is s/he had to live with that misery?

Sure, it sounds a bit narcissistic to assume your lover will be as broken up about your death as you would be about theirs, but essentially you're coming off as selfish either way.

This is something I've been thinking about; I just finished re-reading The Count of Monte Cristo earlier this week, which has a somewhat similar Great Romance subplot, and the life-for-a-life thing isn't rare in heroic fiction with romantic subplots. That's why, reading this other book, I really grew to respect the MRL, not just for all the awesome things he did in the story, but for being, at that moment, extremely selfless, wishing to spare the FRL more suffering (which kind of ended up being a major theme within the story).

BBC's Sherlock

I didn't always listen to their advice, but over time I've discovered that my family members have a wonderful taste in fiction. I spent years refusing to read Animal Farm purely because my dad suggested it, only to realize what a great book it was after all, and since then I've been trying to listen to all of their suggestions.

I'm not sure whether to attribute this to my eldest brother or his awesome wife, but some time back they informed me that I needed to watch Sherlock, an interesting sounding series being produced across the pond for BBC. It took me a while to finally watch it, but I'm glad I did; BBC's Sherlock is easily one of the best dramas being produced today.

A Movie about a Horse

We went to go see War Horse last Saturday night, because my mom wanted to see something and it was the only thing that looked interesting to her. My father and I were more hesitant, because the title itself seemed unimpressive, but it had Speilberg's name on it and we don't go out to see movies enough for it not to be a treat whenever we do. Committed blogger that I am, I vowed to write my review on it before we even got to the theater.

Sherlock Reactions: The Reichenbach Fall

My reaction to the third episode of Sherlock, split into two sections for both before and after seeing the episode. Remember, this reaction will be spoilerific, so if you haven't seen the episode yet I'd suggest reading my Sherlock 2-Season Review instead. You can also read my reactions for A Scandal in Belgravia and The Hounds of Baskerville.

Sherlock Reactions: The Hounds of Baskerville

This is actually the first reaction I wrote, as it didn't occur to me to do so until just after watching this episode. You can also read my reactions on Scandal in Belgravia and The Reichenbach Fall. Remember, this post will be spoilerific, so if you haven't seen the episode I'd suggest reading my Sherlock Two-Season Review instead.

Sherlock Reactions: A Scandal in Belgravia

My reaction to the first episode of the new season of Sherlock (BBC) - you can also read my reactions to The Hounds of Baskerville and The Reichenbach Fall. This will be spoilerific, so if you haven't seen the episode yet I'd suggest reading my Sherlock 2-Season Review instead.

Totally off topic, but that smiley face on the wall reminds me of an orange portal.

Phil the Flying Shark

I'm not a huge bragger; I don't find joy in bragging about things that I have or so on. In fact, despite being a generally happy person, I feel a bit awkward whenever I talk about things that make me happy.

I'm going to break that habit for a moment, however, to explain how incredibly stoked I am about my new pet flying shark.

Sorry for the low quality - cell phone cameras, y'know.

DeMille's Lost City

As someone who uses the internet frequently, I'm always picking up on random pieces of information, which works out as great fodder for irl conversations or wayward blog posts. Some of these facts or stories that I pick up are amazing, humorous, or bizarre. Sometimes it's all of the above.

In 1983, an amateur filmmaker, following a cryptic clue left in an old book, found an ancient city, complete with sphinxes and a 20-ton statue of the Pharaoh, buried beneath the sand dunes of not Egypt, but Southern California. I'm not making any of this up. The man who made the discovery was Peter Brosnan, the book was the autobiography of Cecil B. DeMille, and the ancient city was the complete set to his silent classic, The Ten Commandments.

Notes to Friends: Part 2

Part 1 can be found here.

Dear Treadmill,
I know we've had a sort of on-again-off-again kind of relationship, and I hope I'm not confusing you. To be blunt, you're really boring. I'll keep hanging out with you because I know I'm supposed to, but, despite how rude it may seem, I'm going to be texting Laptop the entire time.
Sorry,
Kenna

Dear Piano,
I hope you don't think I'm ashamed of you; I'm not ashamed of you. In fact, I make sure everyone knows about our deep love for each other! I'm just a bit embarrassed to be showing that love when others are around. Don't worry; I'll fit in extra practice time whenever I can, and when I'm confident enough we'll show everyone how beautiful you are!
With much love,
Kenna

Dear Pool,
In case you ever wondered why we stopped hanging out, it's because going to see you takes more effort on my part than I'm willing to spare. I hope that doesn't come off as rude, but seriously - I have to get all dressed up just to see you? Also, you're a bit high-maintenance. Sorry, but I don't think this friendship is going anywhere.
Sincerely,
Kenna

New Year's Traditions

I may be a week late, but Happy New Year everyone! 2012 is a year that I know many people have been looking forward to.

Personally, I'm not very big on New Year's Resolutions; everybody jokes about how we all forget them within a couple of weeks, and it's true. I agree that goal-setting is a worthy activity, but waiting until that specific day to start them seems a bit arbitrary.

As a family, we've also never been pretty big on the whole 'New Year's Eve' thing either. I hardly ever remember staying up to cheer on the New Year, or watching the ball drop in New York. A friend introduced me to the idea of eating black-eyed peas for good luck, but I don't think my family has ever done anything of significance for luck in the new year. Generally, I'd stay up late (as a normal teenager on break) and listen to our neighbors making noise before finally nodding off an hour later.