Banned Books

Photo Cred: The Daily Dot

All right so today is the day in which I tackle, or attempt to anyway, Banned Books. I have to tell you this list is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read! For those of you that are unfamiliar with this topic the Banned Book List is a compiling of different literary materials that include all genres of literature; from to fiction to non-fiction, biographies and fairytales, and everything in between! Some of the more notable additions to this list include, but not limited to, The Bible, The Diary of Anne Frank, Of Mice and Men, The Communist Manifesto, Catcher in the Rye, and many others.

In truth there isn't even one Banned Books list, there are in fact several and they all have variations to them. But there are several novels on each list that are considered classics that always seem to make the cut. Now I attended a private Catholic high school and grade school and guess what every English /Lit teacher I ever had always seemed to be teaching us books from this list. I read Catcher in the Rye sophomore year of high school, Of Mice and Men we did my freshman year, not to mention the Canterbury Tales!

These classics that are considered offensive or including inappropriate materials or topics are some of the better written books. They're classics for a reason and cover topics that should be discussed and studied freely. I truly enjoyed Of Mice and Men when I was a freshman, it was a well-written piece of literature that I'm glad I was given the opportunity to study in a classroom setting. Because literature affects each person in their own individual way and studying/discussing books as a group gives you the chance to open up your mind to different perspectives and ideas.

The Banned Books list has always been a source of amusement and annoyance in my world. As an avid reader and writer I constantly struggle with my stance on banned books or restricted reading materials. While I do think that age ratings, much like a movie rating, are a good thing I never understood the point of trying to ban something simply because one small group was in some way offended.

But really, have we gotten to the point in society where even a free giveaway must be policed because, again, one small sect disapproves of the materials being given away. In a generation where texting, emailing, Netflix, TV, computers it's become a rarity that anyone just sits down and reads anymore. Why read the book when the movie is just around the corner? So when someone finds something they want to read, want to lose themselves in I think that's something that should be celebrated!

So yes a school can limit what they want to expose their students to, maybe it's not appropriate for the age group or goes against their beliefs and principles. But how can parents try to limit a business from giving items away? No one is forcing your kids to take the free item, no one forces anyone to take the item. It's a giveaway and it is solely the individual person's choice to take it or walk right on by, that choice is something no one else has the right to take away.

***Read more at: The Daily Dot***

Two Jobs

http://31.media.tumblr.com/062a3aa28fcb62c3df79838afdae74ab/tumblr_mzjecjYwYX1rkdafao1_500.jpg

Writing, while it is my passion, it is also something that doesn't always come naturally. It's not something I do on a daily basis, although I know I should. There are days when characters just don't speak to me, I can't see the errors I should during the editing process, it's a job and like any job sometimes I just need a break.

But the amazing part of this job is that inspiration can literally come from anywhere. I'll think of something to drive a plot forward while I'm washing my hair. I'll read a word or phrase in a book, an article, on Facebook that kicks my brain into gear. I think the most influential aspect of my process though is sound, music in particular because it influences my own feelings/emotions.

I don't care how long it takes. I'll listen to a particular song a dozen times or more in an effort to capture the right feel of a scene, to make everything work as well as it should. Because when writing can make a reader feel emotional that's when you know it's good.

So if I can make even one person feel awkward, uncomfortable, pain, sadness, joy, excitement or anything at all then I know I'm doing my job right and doing it well. 

Did I Miss The Memo?

Did I miss the memo? Since when does spending four years in school and getting a degree make me a baby? Sure maybe I'm not working in my field that I studied for but I'm working! I'm an adult and taking charge of my life by at least working to support myself rather than depending on someone else to pay my bills and my lifestyle. Because it's just not me!

I've been working since I was fifteen years old, I held two jobs while I was an undergrad and still managed to maintain a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. I know how to work hard; I managed to stay in school and graduate on time which in this day and age seems to  be a feat in an of itself. When I started school it was right around the time of one of the worst financial periods in our history since the Great Depression and I still managed to stay in school. I don't appreciate the insinuation that I may be a princess or a brat, don't pity my parents because I still live with them. Don't pity any potential future husband because he will have to support me! Because that's not how I work.

I'll admit that it kind of stinks that I spent four years in school and yet I'm not really utilizing my degree in the ways I had hoped. But that being said I chose my major knowing full well that my career choice, my passion, was not an ad I would find in the classifieds of employers looking to hire. In fact it's pretty non-existent that you see an ad for creative fiction writers, so I work. I'm a car girl and just seemed to fall right into place in a dealership not far from my home. I like my job and I'm good at it; I don't plan on it being my career but it's my job now so I'll give it 110%.

Now I understand I went to school and studied English, I have a BA in it. But once again, did I miss some sort of memo that gives other permission to belittle my degree? So because I didn't get a degree in medicine, or physical therapy, or some sort of trade it allows others to turn their noses up at my degree? Believe it or not guys I worked hard for my degree, and all you other English majors can agree, it's not exactly as easy as everyone else seems to think. I read Shakespeare, I know how to think critically and dissect stories that I read, I spent an entire semester studying Chaucer! CHAUCER!

My degree is something that I am proud of, something that I earned! So I do not appreciate being talked down to just because I chose to study English. I don't enjoy being told that I picked wrong when I declared! Or that I'm a fool because I would like to one day get my MFA in Creative Writing! That's the fast way to tick me off and put me on the offensive and if you haven't gone toe to toe with before I give as good as I get, especially when what I'm fighting for I have a passion for.

So please someone, if there was a memo sent out that declared an English degree to be akin to a degree in comedy I'd love a copy of it. Otherwise keep the side comments out of my earshot; they're not appreciated.

Agents of SHIELD

So my blog is a little late this week and I've been waiting to post this until after Agents of SHIELD tonight. And wow! Let me just say ABC & Marvel have taken me for quite a ride!

I literally am left speechless after tonight's episode! So many twists and turns, so many unexpected betrayals and turn of events! There's just … wow!

But this is what the Marvel universe is all about I guess. Once you think you know it all and have everything figured out … When you think you know who's who and which team everyone plays for … that's usually when Marvel says NOPE! Not today! Try this one on for size!

And considering everything that has happened tonight I am so glad I only have to wait until next week for an episode! But dear lord is it really changing to 9 o'clock? That's so going to clash with Supernatural! I need to work on my scheduling!

Source: http://abc.go.com/shows/marvels-agents-of-shield

Think Before You Review ...

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."
- Ernest Hemingway

Honestly no truer words were ever spoken about a writer. Especially for a writer that is offering up their hard work to someone else to essentially read, critique and rip to shreds. I'm an unpublished author and I desperately want to join the ranks of those that are published. But I know that when that day comes, if I put my work out there in the world, I will of course be subject to the same reviews that all my favorite authors are subject too.
I've read some of these reviews, on apps such as Goodreads, websites like Amazon and B&N, seen posts on Tumblr and Facebook. While some reviews have merit and come from a genuine place of critique and objectivity a large majority of them make my blood boil.
For instance completely writing off any series, story, or author because the two characters you 'ship' don't end up together is an opinion that is uniquely your own. Now while others may share your sentiments and agree with your opinion, it is not however a justified review of a book. Or perhaps the author threw in a plot twist to up the ante and make the story more exciting and interesting to the reader. Honestly those plot twists are fun to write, you keep thinking to yourself 'no one will see this coming'. If you didn't like the plot twist, well too bad, it's there for a reason and it serves a larger purpose to the story.
Moving on to characters, for anyone that is not a writer and simply enjoys the thrill of reading and a new book characters are probably some of the most difficult aspects to control when writing. Characters soon become their own person and sometimes, as hard as you try, you have no control over them. They take on a life of their own and sometimes they tell you, the writer, where they want to go next and what's going to happen. Trust me it is just as much a shock to the writer as it is the reader. But that being said the author has a plan for their characters, they each serve a specific purpose to the overall storyline, whether it's to be a martyr, to be a love interest, or to just get the ball rolling for the main character. They all serve a purpose!
Now there are many other review aspects that I can go into but it seems to me the trend of these so called 'reviewers' is to complain when the characters don't do what the reader wants. "Shippers" really make my blood boil because for some reason it seems to be a thing now if the main characters of any story don't end up in love, in lust or in bed together before the end of the book. I don't seem justifying the hatred of a book or story because 'so and so' didn't end up with 'what's her face', if that's the case and how you want to base your opinion stick to Disney movies; they always have a happy ending.

The Blacklist

I think I've found a new favorite TV show! Granted I'm coming in a little late and episodes have already aired, that being said thank god for Hulu!
Started watching last night and watching James Spader has made me miss what I loved so much about Boston Legal. I'm not a Pretty in Pink type of girl. Actually I've never even seen the movie the entire way through. When it comes to Pop Culture I always seem to be in a world of my own, I find the things that I like and follow them regardless of what other's like or think.
But then again I was always that kid at recess that would rather read than play kickball. I'm not really coordinated enough for sports anyway; though apparently archery is the exception to that rule and that is after I only had one lesson at a shooting range.
Sometimes I'm a frontrunner ... I really think only a true fan of Supernatural watches the show for the show! And a real fan remembers the disclaimer that was on the screen for thirty second prior to the premiere of the pilot. Do you remember it? Because I sure do. Plus a real fan remembers that Supernatural originally aired on a Tuesday night, it's been bouncing around ever since, nine years later it's back on Tuesdays nights.
But I digress ... The Blacklist. A criminal mastermind that comes in out of the cold, supplying secrets to the FBI in exchange for a few creature comforts. Now I have my theories about this show, why Red came in out of the cold on such a specific day. Why he's choosing so meticulously who he works with and whom he will reveal his secrets to. But I'm a firm believer in not divulging spoilers, plus I could be completely wrong. But for the moment I think I'm just going to enjoy the ride and see what comes of Raymond Reddington.
And to anyone else that loves criminal mastermind, mind games and trickery, this is the show for you.

From Page to Screen

Okay so here it goes …
And in this week's post guys keep this one question in mind 'Is my nerd showing?'

Here's the deal recently the world of YA fiction has been blowing up, series are getting adapted into movies and hitting the big screen. Let's just get the obvious out of the way and say that this is AMAZING! Authors have put their blood, sweat and tears into these stories. People have worked for years and years to get to this point. Characters that have become almost like family or friends to them are becoming tangible, they're being brought to life. The world's that have, until recently, only existed in the author and the reader's mind are coming to life. Concept becomes reality and that is just truly an accomplishment unlike any other.

But the flip side to that accomplishment is opening your life's work up to even more hate and criticism. Now of course critics are expected to be very critical and even at times harsh, but that's their job! They're supposed to critique these things and while reviews from critics are supposed to be objective human nature does not always allow for that. But it's the viewer's choice, the reader's choice, everybody's choice to take the reviews at face value or ignore them all together and form your own opinion.

It seems to me though that lately the critics aren't even the ones to watch out for, it's the fans. Fans that have read the books and have fallen in love with the characters, the worlds, the author in one way or another. And I agree the fans of the books should be critical, they after all have given years to these series! I myself gave Harry Potter more than ten years! More than a DECADE! Out of that I got seven books, eight movies, three heroes and I am part of a generation that is unlike any other. As a self-proclaimed Potterhead I'm part of the original "fandom." A fandom that basically all others strive to become, the following and the success that only one franchise has successfully claimed and kept the crown of having the most loyal fans. As a Harry Potter fan from the start; I read the first book in the fourth grade and followed the entire series to completion in 2011.

And yes I am guilty of being critical of a series that I love so much, an example would be Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie. Of all the movies in that series I felt this was the movie that was least like the book. There were plot points missing from the movie that I just wish had not been cut; I still enjoy the movie but in terms of my own rating system it's not my favorite of the bunch.

That being said I spent the last few days scrolling through different tags on Tumblr, where a majority of the ranting and raving seems to happen, and found every type of fan review possible. Those that praised the book to movie adaptations, those that hated them and justified their reasoning behind their hatred. But then there were those reviews in which the writer simply felt the need to nitpick and gripe over every little minuscule detail that was changed or omitted from page to screen. These are the reviews that bother me the most and hopefully others as well.

Now the reviews I spent my days reading focused largely on The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. I chose these three because they're not only some of the most current adaptations but they are also ones that I myself have both read the books and seen the movies. They're not the only YA books I've read, I'm up to date on Twilight, obviously Harry Potter, Hush Hush, The Gallagher Girls series, etc. and I'll admit I have not yet read Insurgent or Allegiant; so if I'm short on a few details that potentially come back in later books I won't comment on those changes either.

There are still plenty of things I can share my opinion on, such as many viewers apparent hatred of the fact that Christina (Zoe Kravitz) is not significantly taller that Tris (Shailene Woodley) in the Divergent movie. The point of a casting of a particular actor/actress for any adaptation is that they capture the essence of the character, the life that you felt from them in the book and needs to be translated onto the screen. Now Zoe Kravitz playing Candor turned Dauntless Christina I enjoyed very much and chopping a couple inches off her height is not in the long run a big deal! It does nothing to affect the overall performance of Zoe or the portrayal of the character.

It's little details like this that fans hang onto so hard that it blinds them and makes them hate the conversion. Jennifer Lawrence is a natural blonde, therefore she was a terrible choice for Katniss Everdeen. Hair dye people! That is a fixable problem! And JLaw really does Katniss justice. All the Shadowhunters have accents; are we completely forgetting that the country they all originate from is Idris? Smack dab in the middle of Europe? I think I would've been disappointed if they were completely Americanized considering while Jace, Alec and Isabelle live in New York they rarely socialize with its inhabitants. The Shadowhunters have always held, in my opinion, and old world air about that that makes them mysterious and seem almost as if they were from another world entirely. In a way though they really are.

Now I'm up to date on Twilight but I'm not even going to touch that one, because let's face it a blog about Twilight could be it's own post all together. But seriously guys let's not focus on the fact that Effie's dress was a different color at the Reaping from the book to movie. Madge? I'm sorry but she's not a major character and if you haven't read Mockingjay yet, trust me overall she's not necessary to the series itself. Madge Undersee's job was to get the Mockingjay pin to Katniss and as long as Katniss ultimately gets the pin it really does not matter how she gets, just that she does. Seeing things from the Gamemakers point of view? It's necessary to telling the story; Madge is not!

City of Bones' Simon, no he didn't become a rat and yes I was looking forward to that but it's not a deal breaker that Robert Sheehan remained human throughout the entire movie. If I were to nitpick it would be more about the ending of the movie and the current location of the Mortal Cup. The filmmakers dug themselves into a nice little hole with that one, getting out of it will be interesting. But really I've read a review and the reviewer is angered over leaving out Church! A cat! People it's a cat! Church is awesome but what role does he play other than tour guide? Even Peeves got cut from Harry Potter and Peeves was in every book in several different ways, he was a tormentor, an ally, an enemy; part of Hogwarts!

Things get changed from page to screen, pieces get cut and things are added. It's part of the process, making something flow on the page is different from making it live on a screen. What is described in several paragraphs of exposition and detail can be done in seconds on film. And once again these are all adaptations! The stories are made to fit their new format while trying to remain as true to the original as possible. I highly doubt the writers, producers, directors and actors go into these projects with the objective to butcher much loved books and anger the existing fans. The point of these is to please the existing fans while bringing on new ones to the franchise.

So yes there are some cases in which I would love a 17 hour long retelling of the story, with no detail left out but that's simply not reality. I go into a theater and look at the movie for what it is and where it came from, if I can leave that theater and have the same or similar feeling I had reading the books then I'm happy. If the characters had the same energy and feel that they did on the page, I'm good. But for the love of god don't change the endings! They're written the way they are for a reason!

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/0QLOq 

                                       

Above are some quotes from the different blogs I found on Tumblr reviewing these movies. These quotes are taken from larger pieces but are otherwise unedited. The blog URLs are listed with their related quotes beneath them. 

The Divergent Waiting Game

      Now for one of my more nerdier posts, shamelessly so in fact, and largely in part driven by this past weekend's box office release of Divergent based on the novel by Veronica Roth. A series in which for once my sister and most of my friends have on up on me, I think I am in fact one of the last ones to get into the series and read the books. That being said not only did I fly through a majority of the book in less than a day I also saw the movie on opening day with Caroline. 

     Now was a fangirling and bursting with excitement to see the movie on opening day … well if I'm being truthful here no I wasn't excited to see it. Yes I did want to see the movie. Yes I did want to see it sooner rather than later. Yes I did want to see it while it's still playing in theaters. However I did stay up until nearly two in the morning the previous night finishing the book, I did get up to be at work bright and early and the only showing that my sister and I could get tickets for was well past ten o'clock at night. So no I was not particularly excited to see the movie under those circumstances and by the time the previews began to roll I was ready for bed.

     But thanks to pacing and story, action and suspense the movie by itself rallied me and I made it through the 2+ hour movie more energized than when I had walked in. And there's something to be said about seeing a movie on opening day, midnight premieres are even better, because there's an entirely different atmosphere in the theater. You sit in a seat surrounded by true fans, by real fans that both respect the film on the screen and everyone around them. You're not interrupted by side conversations, no one is on their phones, emotion is collectively shared by everyone in the theater. It's truly a great group to be a part of and vastly changes the movie watching experience.

     That being said … and I highly recommend seeing the movie … here's my issue, very slight issue … Okay that's a lie! It's a big issues, at least for me and my OCD. 

     Now I very much enjoyed Divergent and want to read Insurgent, Allegiant and complete the series. So I figured why not head out and just buy the second book? It's very popular right now and almost impossible to get from a library, at least in the immediate future. So I planned to buy the paperback version of Insurgent and then eventually get my hands on Allegiant. I'm old school and I refuse to upgrade to any kind of tablet or e-reader until absolutely necessary. But I can't find the paperback version of it ANYWHERE!

     I had this same problem when I started reading The Hunger Games books; but in that case the paperback versions of Catching Fire & Mockingjay had been pulled from circulation in order to be re-released later on and keep the hype up for the forthcoming movies. I could've made it easy on myself and simply purchased the hardcover version of the book, the boxed set even and get them all at once but paperback simply happens to be my preference. In general they're much easier to carry around, to handle and to read. So yes I could've made it easy but I have a preference and that's a personal choice  I know. However it's impossible for me to believe that I am the ONLY one that has this preference, the only person that prefers a simple paperback to a clumsy hardcover.

   

4 Years of College + English Degree = Teach? Is that my only option?

     I'm still trying to figure out why whenever I tell someone I have an English degree they automatically assume my career dreams are to be a teacher? Let's be honest, I don't have the patience to teach. I mean I really don't have the patience for it and if I did I would be teaching college level when people actually want to be in my class and do well. I have great respect for anyone that does teach, I think it takes a lot passion and drive to be a teacher. But that's just not me … and that's okay!
     I got my degree focused in Creative Writing and found my place on the Fiction track. Now let's face it you rarely find posting on career sights, or in the classifieds, or employers looking for Creative Writers. It's just not a common job posting you really see when doing your job search. And for anyone that looks at me skeptically and thinks to themselves "Creative Writing what's she going to do with that?" believe I know you're thinking it and a few of you have even voiced it. I can tell just by the look on your face that you think I'm a fool for spending four years in school to gain a degree that does not guarantee job security, and your skepticism and doubt is nothing I haven't encountered before. But I'm a tough girl and I know how to stand behind my degree and my dreams.
     Because yes I may be working in a job that I did not study for, I work in the automotive industry, which if you ask anyone in this industry it's really not a job people look to get into. You kind of stumble into and find your niche; well guess what I like my job! I'm good at my job! And if I can't be making money in my dream career then I'm glad to have found a job that I enjoy and can do well, it's better than getting out of bed everyday and dreading going to work because it's not where I want to be.
Ultimately I don't want the car business to be my career, I have dreams of my own in regards to my writing and that is where I eventually want to end up. It's getting there that will be the issue. But for all the doubtful nay-sayers, all those that think the only thing I can do with an English degree is be a teacher, to everyone that thinks I'm fooling myself about job security … I know all of this!
     All of these reasons are the reasons why I am not fooling myself by being unemployed with my head in the clouds! I found a job that I like and I work on my writing on my own time. I have a plan to one day be a published author with writing credits. I hope that one day I will be able to support myself solely on my writing, but realistically should that day ever come it is a long way off into the future.
And to anyone that doesn't know what this process is like, how difficult this journey can be please I implore you to think before you pass judgments. Like anyone fresh out of college the job market is difficult, paved with potholes and contingencies; can't get a job because I have no experience and the jobs I can get I'm too over qualified for. Believe me all of us are stuck between a rock and a hard place. But I refuse to be the one to turn my nose up at a job just because it's not what I went to school for or think that I'm "overqualified" for anything! A job, any job, means work experience, it means networking connections, it means potential. And that's really what it's all about.
     So for now I'm a car girl, I kind of always will be a car girl, but one day I will be an author! I'll make that transition from writer to author. Just you wait and see!

Sports Night 2014 - BLUE TEAM WINS!

Sports Night 2014

Step Right Up To Blue



     I know I've said it before and I guess I'm going to say it again. But only because I am incredibly proud of my sister and her team. And I know this blog post is a day late, but hey better late than never. Plus I'm still trying to get my life back in order after the whirlwind that is St. Mary's Sports Night. Not even having been a participant in this year's competition I feel like I was.

     I did everything possible to support and assist my sister and her captains, her team, in every and any way that I could. I chaperoned practices for hours on end, helped teach Blue Karaoke a stunt, cleaned up glass when they accidentally broke a mirror on the gym floor. Everything from taking and ordering a few dozen sweatshirts, making sure every guest Caroline invited was decked out from head to toe in Blue Team spirit gear. I gave up my days off to help with building her entrance prop and touching up the mural.

     I made more trips to AC Moore and Michael's in a month than I ever had to make when I was crafting for Tri Delta. Believe me that's a lot of trips. But in the end it was all worth, even if they hadn't won both teams performed amazingly. The show was great and it was great to be in the stands and be able to know not one or two, but a majority of the girls on both the Blue and the White team. Being a spectator can be just as much fun as being a participant.

     I'm glad that my sister had as much fun with Sports Night as I did when I was at St. Mary's. I'm glad she had as much fun as our mother did when she was on the Blue Team at St. Mary's. In our family Blue Team is a legacy and I hope to continue that legacy well into the future.



Family
Post Blue Team Victory

Blue Team Overall Captains

"We Love Our Overall"

Blue Overall Captains
Entrance

Blue Team Overall Captains & White Team Overall Captains

 Blue Karaoke Routine

Blue Karaoke