New Year's Resolutions 2011

This year, I hope to:

1. Pass Comps so that I can...
2. Graduate with a MLIS in May.
3. Read at least 50 books this year.
4. Travel somewhere super fun.
5. Decrease my debt.
6. Be healthier overall.

Google Instant Search & Hank Green

Is Hank Green awesome?



Yep!

Resolutions 2010: A Review

End of the year. How did I fare?

1) Read a Tolstory. Preferably Anna Karenina. Preferably cover to cover.
I really tried to do this. I tried on two separate occasions with two different translations and still could not make it a quarter of the way through. The second time I at least made it past 100 pages, but I could not get into it. Usually, if I'm not into the book within the first 100 pages, I let myself give up. Therefore, I gave up.

2) Be more aware of my budgetary constraints.
I did better on this. Made a move to better pay my way in the world and incur the least amount of debt possible. I was amassing a nice fall-back cushion when car woes made me poor in November.

3) Read at least 50 books in the year. I probably read close to that this year (if not more), but I didn't keep track. Therefore:
4) Keep track of the books I read during the year.
Did it! 66 total chapter books! And I kept track, too. Go, me!

5) Being more organized in all aspects of life, not just work and/or school.
Hmm. Not so sure I did as well with this one. Not sure what I meant to accomplish with this goal, either.

6) See more than one live musical performance by a favorite musician. This one will be the most tricky, I'm afraid.
Success!! It took until the end of September, but I saw Jason Mraz when he came to Searcy, AR this year. I wanted to see Dave Barnes and had a close opportunity to do so, but I didn't want to go by myself. Guess I'll just have to take some concert leaps and see some live music solo.

I consider meeting most all my resolutions a success! #1 was an obvious fail and I'm not really sure what #5 was all about, but #2-4 and #6 worked out okay. Might have to make resolutions for 2011.

2010: A Review

This year has been the Year of the Paper-Writing. I feel like that is all I have done this year. Other not-so-flashy highlights and things I learned:

* I must have traveled to Tulsa 20-some-odd times for class this year. The drive is loooong.

* I read 66 books this year, not counting the at least four or so I read five times a week during story time. The last book I read this year, I read it within four hours. Completely blew through it in one sitting. It. Was. Awesome. And. Insane.

* I completed 15 hours of grad school. Another six to take in the spring semester and Comps to pass in order to graduate in May 2011.

* I got a new position within the organization where I already worked. I love it.

* People let you down. I suppose it is human nature to fail other people, but it doesn't make it suck any less.

* Finding a craft to fit a story time theme sounds easy in theory, but it really isn't. Especially when you have to prepare for one hundred kids, which is about half of what I see on a weekly basis.

* I really love Converses and pajamas. If I could spend all day in Converses and pajamas, it would be a very wonderful day indeed.

* Finding teen crafts and activities is even harder.

* I'm starting to see a light at the end of my grad school tunnel. I hope it isn't a train (i.e., failing Comps and being pushed back until December).

* I want to go to Boston for a visit.

* My car has cost me a lot of money this year: four new tires and a new windshield only scratches the surface.

* Glee has lost some of its original luster.

* I want a more luxurious vehicle. Being as that I drive a lot for work, I don't think that is an unreasonable desire.

* Many kids I went to school with got married or engaged within the last year. Makes me feel really stupid... or really smart. The feeling changes depending on the day.

* Apple computers are AWESOME! Apple repair service is pretty great, too.

* Kindles are super fun. :)

* I like Ben Affleck as an actor. And a director. And who knew how versatile and awesome Matt Damon would become when we first saw him way back when? Not me!

* I wish I was better at _________. Fill in the blank.

* My niece is wondermas. And I don't like the way niece is spelled.

* I still really want to write a book, but I don't know what to write. I have characters, dialogue, and some scenes, but nothing to warrant a full book.

* I wish that I had seen more movies this year. In the theater or otherwise. I've watched a fair bit of television, but I truly feel that all I have done is write papers or do homework. And I'm sick of it. If I don't get to graduate this semester, I think I will go on a bender. I'm not sure what a bender would entail for me, but I think that is what will happen, unfortunately.

2010 was just another year. Nothing superbly fantastic occurred. I managed to post at least once a month, except for November, which is more months than I've done in the last three years. So, yay me!

Oh, Harry Potter...

During the late 1990s, when the Harry Potter books were in their infancy, I refused to read them. I was certain that they were full of satanic verses and theories.* As a church-going Christian teenager, the books were not for me. Plus, everyone expected you to read them and I enjoy being contrary.

In the summer of 2001 or 2002, after the fourth book had been published, my wonderful Grandma came to stay for a few weeks. She brought a hardcover edition of the fourth book with her for my sister and me to read. It languished in various corners of the house until, one day, I ran out of things to read (oh, the horror!!). Reluctantly, I picked up Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, certain that I would hate it. That I probably wouldn't even finish it.

I couldn't have been more wrong. I LOVED it. The characters, the description, the writing... wonderful, suspenseful, thrilling, incredible. I couldn't wait to read the others. I did have to wait, of course. And because library-going had become rare in that time, I saved up my money to purchase the books at WM. I got the first two in paperback (horrid for me, as I love hardcover) and the third in hardcover. I read them quickly, devouring the adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and the requisite, ever-increasing danger of Lord Voldemort. (Interesting fact: My copy of the fourth book actually went to Harvard when I lent it to a teacher. Harvard!)

When the fifth book came out, I had purchased it on Amazon and it arrived on my doorstep the day it was released. I purchased the next two books the same way. I would swallow the books in one gulp, it seemed, finishing the books within a day. It had become customary for me to re-read all the books before the new book came out, too.

Upon finishing the seventh book, I felt disgusted by what had happened. I had always pegged Snape as a bad guy. To learn that he had, in fact, been as good as Dumbledore claimed was disappointing. And I didn't want Harry with Ginny. I always felt he had more in common with Hermione (although, I see that he and Hermione are more like brother-and-sister than potential love interest). And finally, I was disappointed with how the prophecy was circumvented by making Harry an unintended Horcrux. It seemed to me, from the prophecy and the final books, that Harry should die in the process of killing Voldemort. For him to live and have the "Nineteen years later" epilogue seemed wrong. I remember thinking that Rowling took the easy way out; instead of living with the sadness of killing Harry off, she devised some way to keep him alive, even though it seemingly went against everything previously written.

Disgusted by what had happened in the last book, I packed up all my books and promptly gave them away.

I continued to watch the films as they had been released (the fourth and fifth films being major disappointments), but I did not re-read the books. In November, the first part of the film-version of the final book will be released. I finally felt it was time to re-read the books once again. So, in the beginning of September, I picked up the first book and read through the entire series within a month's time. As I have little free time, all the reading came just before bed or during lunch at work.

It was a WONDERFUL visit back to the land of Hogwarts. Nice to see all the old gang back together again. And it was nice to see that Rowling's writing was just as excellent as I'd left it. It was TERRIBLE to finish the final book. I wanted to start the entire series all over again. I wanted to spend more time at the Weasleys, more time at Hogwarts, more time with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and all their friends and enemies.

As I finished the fourth and fifth books, I rewatched their respective film counterparts and realized how much those two films completely butchered the books. However, I am looking forward to the final two films... generally, the films are entertaining, despite their maiming of the text. The fourth and fifth films were the least enjoyable of the series, though. Whether this is due to the dark nature of those books, I am not sure.

It will be hard to say good-bye to the Harry Potter film franchise, just as it was hard for me to say good-bye to the Harry Potter books this year. Things that are really great and wonderful are terribly difficult to leave behind. Good thing the books are widely circulated in print and digital formats so that I may continue to read them forevermore.

*The books are not satanic. While they are about wizards and witches, the books are more about the battle between good and evil, with Lord Voldemort and his Nazi-like ideas of one race (the pure blood Wizarding race!) being the Devil figure. Harry and his friends that fight against Voldemort are like the ordinary individuals who continue to rally against evil in the world.

Society = Fail

From The Advocate: School Official Wants Gays Dead

The article details the Facebook ramblings of a school official in the Midland School District in Western Arkansas. Clint McCance railed against the call to wear purple to support LGBT youth and the recent suicides that has been rocked the LGBT community and the world at large. His response is that the only way he would wear purple is if ALL homosexuals committed suicide. He goes on to comment that wearing purple honors their deaths, which are a sin, and honors that they killed themselves BECAUSE of who they are, which is also a sin.

Wow. He completely missed the impact of the recent suicides. Those children felt alienated for being THEMSELVES. They were BULLIED by their peers. We should remember that we ALL have feelings, whether we are gay, straight, black, white, green, purple, or red. Someone may not be like us... may be different than ourselves. This is no reason to ostracize someone. Our differences should be celebrated not attacked.

Those kids didn't commit suicide because they were homosexual. They committed suicide because they were bullied. Because they felt alone, like they had no one on their side. We, as a people, should be more tolerant and accepting of others. We can't fix every thing or everyone. We can't prevent every suicide. But we FAIL as a society when individuals are committing suicide because they are bullied by their peers.

To anyone who has been thinking of committing suicide: Don't. Things can and WILL get better. But things can't get better for YOU if you're not here to witness it. Hold your head up high and keep moving forward. As Robert Frost said: "The best way out is always through."

The through is rarely easy. But the getting there? Through the through? You will be stronger than you ever imagined.

It Gets Better.

One of the reasons I love John Green

Author John Green writes really awesome books. They're funny. They're thought-provoking. They're real. They're ENJOYABLE. In addition to writing great things, John and his brother Hank participate in video blogs, each taking turns posting a new one every other day. All of them are entertaining, some of them are laugh-out-loud hilarious, but some of them are even educational. Like this one, in which John puts an end to the question "Is Obama a Muslim?"

Walk On

Yesterday, when you were young,
Everything you needed done was done for you.
Now you do it on your own
But you find you're all alone,
What can you do?

You and me walk on
Cause you can't go back now.

You know there will be days when you're so tired that you can't take another step,
The night will have no stars and you'll think you've gone as far as you will ever get

But you and me walk on
Cause you can't go back now
And yeah, yeah, go where you want to go
Be what you want to be,
If you ever turn around, you'll see me.

I can't really say why everybody wishes they were somewhere else
But in the end, the only steps that matter are the ones you take all by yourself

And you and me walk on
Yeah you and me walk on
Cause you can't go back now
Walk on, walk on, walk on
You can't go back now

-The Weepies

Rooney Retrospective

Dear Rooney,

I first learned of you (heard you, saw you) when I watched The Princess Diaries in 2001. Other than that, your music was pretty hard to come by in those days. Two years later, when your first album was released in late May 2003, I drove to three different stores in two different cities (some 30 minutes or more in distance) in search of the album. It was before I had access to iTunes, so it had to be done. (It was good practice as I did it again in 2005 for Jason Mraz's Mr. A-Z album. Good music can be hard to come by sometimes.) I remember the day I first got the album so clearly not because I drove so much to get it but because it was my last day of high school. The seniors had graduated on the previous Friday, but we had to attend the following Monday and Tuesday in order to make up for snow days. I could barely contain myself all day. The thought of finally getting hands on two things that I had wanted for so long was nearly unbearable.

The year turned out to be a fantastic one for me, Rooney-wise. When I went off to college in the fall, I found out about you playing Juanita's in Little Rock in September. My roommate, a friend, and I travelled to LR to see you guys play. The opening acts were The Sounds and Palo Alto. It was my first concert. I had a huge test the next day and I studied all the way to LR. Even though I barely passed the test, it was worth it. I loved seeing you perform live and I really didn't care for the class.

In November of 2003, I got the chance to see you perform (again with The Sounds) in Fayetteville at Dave's on Dickson. I went this time with my roommate and my mom. We also met a friend that we had met online. He brought a couple of friends, too. This time, armed with a disposable camera, I took pictures of the show (which I still have). The show was awesome. Afterwards, I got one of the guitar picks that had been thrown out into the audience (thanks, Mom!) and got to meet you guys. You signed my album, which I still have tucked away somewhere. I also spoke with some members from The Sounds, who were hilarious in their descriptions of Arkansas weather (it rained heavily both nights I saw you play in Arkansas that year).

In April 2004, I got to see you open for Michelle Branch at the University of Arkansas. My sister and my friend came along this time. Our seats weren't close (at the November 2003 show, I touched the stage most of the night), but we had so much fun dancing in the aisles at the back of the stadium. My sister was exhausted on the way home and fell asleep in the back of my tiny extended cab truck. Rooneywas the anthem of my freshman year of college.

I haven't seen you live since 2004. I've kept up with you, though. I purchased Calling the World in 2007, once I graduated college and had moved in with my aunt and uncle in Texas. The album kept me company whenever I drove back and forth from Texas to Oklahoma, which was fairly frequently. And today, I purchased Eureka. Love what I'm hearing in the new songs, kids. Great stuff.

You guys are playing somewhat near to my location this summer. I would love to see you again, but I just don't know if it will be possible. Responsibilities such as work and grad school are hard to ignore. I would really love to be at the August 25th show, as you'll be opening for Hanson. The amount of wonderful music plus the fantastic venue is almost too much to pass up. We'll see.

In any case, I would like to thank you for defining and enhancing specific portions of my life with your catchy, dance-inducing sounds. You're freakin' awesome and you make life fun.

Sincerely yours,
tk

That Was Then, This Is Now

And yet so many things are the same. This report is several days old and is from Rachel Maddow at MSNBC. It brings to light a similar Gulf oil spill by a related company in 1979. For almost 10 months, the well leaked oil into the Gulf. Nothing could stop it -- none of the techniques being used now worked then, either. And the 1979 well was only in 200 feet of water! The only thing that stopped the leak was a relief well.



History repeats itself because we don't learn from our mistakes. When will we ever learn to take note of things that happen and strive to keep those things from ever happening again? Shouldn't we be focusing our efforts on building a relief well instead of trying a top kill or throwing garbage at something environmentally devastating?

Disgusted Does Not Even Cover It

It is absolutely disgusting to me that male individuals that I graduated high school with (and some older) are partying it up with underage females that mean a lot to me. It is more than disgusting. It is so much more than disgusting that there needs to be a new word invented. Pictures of underage females drinking alcoholic beverages while an older male individual has his tongue stuck out near her breast REALLY makes me angry AND ill. To see these images posted by the underage female on social networking sites makes me want to gag. Everyone in the situation knows better, but if you're in your mid-to-late 20's and spend your time helping underage individuals get drunk and whatnot rather than hanging out with people of your own age (or older), you need to reevaluate your life because it is in a sorry, sorry state. You DEFINITELY know better and if you have trouble maintaining boundaries in group settings, you need to remove yourself from such settings.

I understand the need to cut loose and drink and hang out with your friends and non-friends. Whatever. That doesn't bother me. When it comes to doing all of the above with underage females, I have more than a little trouble attempting to understand your actions.

I don't know why I give people so much credit. Of any age.

Public domain does not give permission to slaugther a classic!

I have voiced my opinion of Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on many occasions. I. Hate. It. I haven't read the book nor do I have plans to read the book because I consider it an abomination against the wonderfulness that is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Not long after the release of Zombies, the same company released a new version of another Jane Austen work, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Why a company or an author feels it is necessary to pair greatness with something as out-of-left-field as zombies or sea monsters (especially when Sense and Sensibility takes place inland and not near the sea!) is beyond me. It is truly beyond the beyonds.

People tell me that I should give Zombies a shot. That it is actually pretty funny. And some individuals make the argument that books like Zombies are opening up Austen's works to a new generation. But, truthfully, if this is the only way to get newer generations interested in Jane Austen, I'd rather no one else read her.

For an assignment, I had to evaluate selection tools in choosing materials for collection development. I found an intriguing article in Newsweek regarding the apparent disrespect of these new turns on Austen's works: "Not-So-Plain Jane". The following quote by the article's author Sarah Ball nicely sums up my feelings toward these awful mash-ups of literary classics.

"These books are objectionable because they strike out Austen's greatest contributions—seething satire, brilliant language, critique of classism—while helping themselves to the benefits of her name brand."

And don't get me started on the insanity of Abraham Lincoln as a vampire hunter. Like he had time to hunt vampires. His great height would have made him a horrible vampire hunter. Vampires could have leveled him easily. Come on, people!

Women's Herstory Month

"Emily Dickinson... books!"

Whoa... Behold the Awesomeness!

So, I stumbled upon something awesome and slightly chaotic today. Ta da!



Found via PopEater

"It's like asking someone to swallow the sun."

A very interesting speech given by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love.

Tired

This is going to sound ugly or inconsiderate, but I am tired of hearing about Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Saints fans feel as though this Super Bowl win has finally changed their luck or started to make things better after the disaster that struck in 2005.

People of New Orleans, I have six words for you: You. Live. Mostly. Below. Sea. Level. Below sea level! And your city borders the Gulf of Mexico, which is a hot bed of hurricane activity many months of each year. You have to take into account that a hurricane could come along and devastate your area. So, because you voluntarily live in New Orleans, you should make emergency plans in the event of a hurricane. Additionally, because you voluntarily live in a city that is at or below sea level and that borders the Gulf, you accept the danger of hurricanes. So, buck up, rebuild, and MOVE ON!

People that live in Tornado Alley seem to accept that tornadoes are going to happen. And after a tornado does happen, the people get out, clean up, rebuild, and go on with their lives. You don't hear them whining about it all over television or making remarks of how a sports team's win finally puts the area back on the map and/or rejuvenates the city/area.

So, people of New Orleans, while you're out in the streets celebrating Mardi Gras this month, take a moment to assess your surroundings. Stop whining about your hurricane woes. If you're going to continue to utilize this "Oh, poor pitiful us! We were trampled by a hurricane!" routine, I'm going to have to request that you move to higher ground and that the United States close all of New Orleans for good.

The end.

ETA: I am sorry that your city was obliterated and that many people died and are still missing. But stop complaining. And move somewhere else.

Jon Stewart = Awesome

Jon Stewart, awesome is thy name. Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh? There are no appropriate names for you two other than idiot.

I Really Don't Know About Some People... Pt 2

Bear Grylls. We've met previously. However, you have pushed the Holy-Moly-Oh-No-He-Didn't factor to new heights. I seriously do not know what to do or think about you. I mean, I thought you were completely off your rocker when you drank elephant poo juice, but this new survival technique really takes the cake. Giving yourself an nasty sea water-filled enema on a raft in the Pacific ocean is too much. In fact, the "too much" line was crossed about 80 million miles back (especially when you factor in that the water was filled with bird droppings!!) and yet you continue to soldier on.

I realize that you're trying to teach people a lesson and you even referenced a family that survived a lost-at-sea situation by hydrating via enema. And it's great if that is what you need to do. But, seeing as how you are being followed by a camera on a separate raft (or large ship-like boat), how can you really claim that the enema was something you needed?

You can't. And really, I think you have a strong obsession with poo. You're either drinking poo juice or shooting poo-filled water up your arse.

Honestly, you could have just described the general mechanics of an at-sea enema instead of actually performing one on yourself. I don't know why you felt the urge to bare your buttocks and shoot poo-filled water up your arse in the middle of the ocean while a person filmed you. You baffle me. I can't begin to comprehend your ways, Bear.

Please refrain from doing things like this in the future. I don't want to mention anything Bear-related ever again.

Books Read in 2010

1. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
2. American On Purpose - Craig Ferguson
3. That Was Then... This Is Now - S.E. Hinton (YA Lit class choice)
4. Paper Towns - John Green (YA Lit class choice)
5. Weetzie Bat - Francesca Lia Block (YA Lit class requirement)
6. The Postmistress - Sarah Blake
7. The Chocolate War - Robert Cormier (YA Lit class choice)
8. Catherine, Called Birdy - Karen Cushman (YA Lit class requirement
9. The Bumblebee Flies Anyway - Robert Cormier (YA Lit class choice)
10. Feed - M.T. Anderson (YA Lit class requirement)
11. Beyond the Chocolate War - Robert Cormier (YA Lit class choice)
12. I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee - Charles J. Shields (YA Lit class choice)
13. Tenderness - Robert Cormier (YA Lit class choice)
14. Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi (YA Lit class choice)
15. Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson (YA Lit class requirement)
16. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (YA Lit class requirement)
17. Gossip Girl: I Like It Like That - Cecily Von Ziegesar (YA Lit class choice)
18. Looking for Alaska - John Green (YA Lit class requirement)
19. In the Middle of the Night - Robert Cormier (YA Lit class choice)
20. We All Fall Down - Robert Cormier (YA Lit class choice)
21. An Inconvenient Truth: The Crisis of Global Warming - Al Gore (YA Lit class choice)
22. The First Part Last - Angela Johnson (YA Lit class requirement)
23. I Am the Cheese - Robert Cormier (YA Lit class choice)
24. Sleeping Freshman Never Lie - David Lubar (YA Lit class requirement)
25. An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
26. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan
27. Up in the Air - Walter Kirn
28. Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt - Beth Hoffman
29. Going Bovine - Libba Bray (Teen Book Award Committee selection)
30. Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler (Teen Book Award Committee selection)
31. Roar of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred Taylor (Children's Lit class requirement)
32. The Cay - Theodore Taylor (Children's Lit class requirement)
33. Joey Pigza Loses Control- Jack Gantos (Children's Lit class requirement)
34. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater (Teen Book Award Committee selection)
35. Belle Prater's Boy - Ruth White (Children's Lit class requirement)
36. Hold Still - Nina LeCour (Teen Book Award Committee selection)
37. Bud, Not Buddy - Christopher Paul Curtis (Children's Lit class requirement)
38. Eleven - Patricia Reilly Giff (Children's Lit class choice)
39. The Giver - Lois Lowry (Children's Lit class choice)
40. The Everafter - Amy Huntley (Teen Book Award Committee selection)
41. Anastasia Krupnik - Lois Lowry (Children's Lit class choice)
42. The Agony of Alice - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Children's Lit class choice)
44. Bone #1, Out of Boneville - Jeff Smith (Children's Lit class choice)
45. If They Didn't Have Me - Ulf Nilssen (Children's Lit class choice)
46. Linger - Maggie Stiefvater
47. The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
48. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
49. Life as We Knew It - Sarah Beth Pfeffer
50. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee >> Happy 50th Anniversary!
51. The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green - Joshua Braff
52. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
53. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
54. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
55. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
56. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
57. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
58. The Feast of Love - Charles Baxter
59. The Distant Hours - Kate Morton
60. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation - Lauren Willig
61. The Masque of the Black Tulip - Lauren Willig
62. The Deception of the Emerald Ring - Lauren Willig
63. The Temptation of the Night Jasmine - Lauren Willig
64. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily - Lauren Willig
65. The Mischief of the Mistletoe - Lauren Willig
66. Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins

There are many books that I started and never finished. There are also MANY children's books (picture books) that I have read multiple times for storytimes this year. These half-finished and picture books are not included in this count.