“My sin, my soul.”

I was flipping through “Lolita” again which I last read in 2011 and holy guac, the opening paragraph is really the most beautiful thing. Especially considering the subject matter of the novel. I’m going to type it out here so that this blog can be imbued with its perfection.

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta. She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita. Did she have a precursor? She did, indeed she did. In point of fact, there might have been no Lolita at all had I not loved, one summer, an initial girl-child. In a princedom by the sea. Oh when? About as many years before Lolita was born as my age was that summer. You can always count on a murderer for fancy prose style. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, exhibit number one is what the seraphs, the misinformed, simple, noble-winged seraphs, envied. Look at this tangle of thorns.

WOW. The significant cultural influence of this book I might attribute to human curiosity of the dark and twisted. We’re intrigued by weirdos and things we don’t understand.

If “Lolita” is Exhibit A in my argument, Exhibit B is Jake Evans, a teenager who killed his mother and sister with a gun. His call to 911 has been posted on YouTube:

It’s all sort of morbidly fascinating.

AUDIOBOOKS

For the first time ever, I’m trying to listen entire to an audiobook. The audiobook of “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte to be exact. Now I know why I prefer reading books. Audiobooks are pretty cool but I’m more engaged when I’m reading words on a page than hearing a disembodied voice read out those words to me. Reading is so much faster too, six chapters of Jane Eyre would took two hours of listening to get through (though, to be honest, I cheated and read a couple of chapters and skipped ahead on the audio). The problem is that I keep tuning out, how I’ll survive the tertiary education system is beyond me because it’s basis is pretty much having people talk at you, all day, everyday.

I figured I should read “Jane Eyre” after enjoying the 2011 film, the BBC 2006 miniseries with Toby Stephens (who is Maggie Smith’s son!!!!! And who briefly dated Elizabeth from the 1995 BBC “Pride and Prejudice” miniseries!!!!!!) and now the webseries which I’ve mentioned previously (post here).

If anyone is interested, the audiobook is available to listen to on YouTube, the reader does an impressive array of accents:

Peace out.

Things That I Thought During ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire’

Ahoy mates, there are probably spoilers ahead!

I never learn to avoid buying extra large drinks before watching a movie… This is why the website http://www.runpee.com exists but I don’t want to be that person whose phone lights up the entire cinema during the most tense part of the movie – attracting the eyes of moviegoers like moths to a flame except the moths are very angry at the flame.

First of all, what’s the story with “The Hunger Games” and century gothic? In the first movie I missed most of the text at the start because I thought it was yet another advert before the movie started. Like, why is such a popular franchise relying on a basic font? Anyway, I thought the movie was great even if it was continuously bleak and tense (maybe that was the point but it had me leaning into my friend’s shoulder for a third of the film), and the totalitarian society of Panem seemed very realistic – in my head I could easily envision something equally as horrific as the Hunger Games happening in the future because of our indifference to suffering and I saw echoes of our obsession with celebrity culture in the film. This movie made me feel things, I almost cried quite a few times.

The actual “games” were what I was really interested in seeing and they didn’t start ’til around halfway through the film but when it happened it was as action-packed as you could want.

Peacekeepers or stormtroopers?

Also, why is everyone bringing Jesus into their movies? ‘Man of Steel’ really made that clear (in Jor-El’s speeches, in Clark’s age etc.) and this movie followed suit in a scene where Katniss was carried up in to those flying monster claw machines right at the end of the film (you’ll know it when you see it).

It was a long movie, more than two hours, but it didn’t feel dragging… I wanted more at the end. All in all: lots of close-ups of sad faces, Jena Malone is wonderful (and the baddest of the badass), Caesar Flickerman has very white teeth (Do I need to comment on Stanley Tucci? He’s consistently enthralling) and Josh Hutcherson is good looking and hella endearing as Peeta. Josh Hutcherson, I need you in my life.

“Let us bask in television’s warm, glowing, warming glow.”

Australia’s Free-To-Air TV is A+ tonight, which means a horrible time for me trying to decide what to watch. It means that my blog gets a post entirely about my television history this evening. It also demonstrates how much I love television. Take note, I’ve decided to forego using apostrophes when referencing titles because I am a lazy person.

I had to eschew watching Elementary because there was no way I could miss Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary episode. Which I don’t love enough to have gotten up at 6:00AM to watch it live. I really enjoyed it because I love good banter and twists and taking liberty with historical fact. Then, I had to skip An Adventure in Space and Time (the Doctor Who thing which sort of recreates the creation of Doctor Who, which will be aired again on the ABC tomorrow at 1pm) in favour of Crazy, Stupid Love. I decided to give Anchorman and Aliens a miss though; Aliens I’ve seen too many times and Anchorman I feel like the one time I saw it was enough. Comedy blockbusters are usually a miss with me, I don’t know why… I don’t have anything against laughing (despite idolising April Ludgate and Daria) and I’m not a comedic purist or anything but The Hangover, Adam Sandler movies, Will Ferrell movies etc. don’t make me laugh much. Actually, This Is The End was great but I think 50% of the reason I was so amused was because actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves is something I don’t grow tired of.

Anyway, I have been avoiding I Am Sam for so many years now because I know it will just make me sad and because I don’t want to feel sympathy for Sean Penn but it got me good during a Crazy, Stupid Love ad break (I can perfectly time my channel switching in synch with ad breaks, it’s a gift) when I became transfixed watching one scene in court where Sean Penn (don’t know the character’s name, it might be Sam, but maybe not) is being aggressively questioned. I hate courtroom scenes in movies, they’re always so good at drawing sympathy… It’s a very clear individual vs. the system scene and of course I’m going to identify with the individual. Also, Ryan Gosling is a PERFECT MALE SPECIMEN.

“The world is changed.”

Things I thought while watching ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’:

1. Elijah Wood is the ideal Frodo (even though he was much younger than Tolkien wrote Frodo to be according to Wikipedia). And it doesn’t hurt that he has the face of a beautiful cherub and eyes you could go for a swim in.
2. Frodo frustrates me so much especially when he’s being a scumbag to Sam… Even though it’s all the ring’s doing. He and Sam’s bromance is the least interesting part of the LOTR movies for me. If you had to take a shot every time Sam and Frodo stare deeply into each other’s eyes throughout the trilogy you would be at serious risk of alcohol poisoning.

Can you feel the love tonight?

3. Cate Blanchett is really good at being absolutely terrifying as Galadriel. Her freak out is the second scariest part of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, the first being when Bilbo goes postal in Rivendell.

The stuff of nightmares.

4. I detest Boromir a lot. I get it, I get it, he’s only human but STILL. At least, until he dies and redeems himself with that regretful speech. Speaking of Sean Bean death scenes…

5. ARAGORN/ELESSAR/STRIDER FOR KING, PLEASE. I bet that Viggo is as princely in real life too.

Also, I always thought archers had a pretty weak game in comparison to characters who use swords or superpowers but archer characters are always so interesting. And I present to you, my preferred order of fictional archers: Legolas, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Katniss Everdeen, Robin Hood (foxy fox version), Robin Hood (foxy human version from the BBC series), Susan Pevensie.

Love, Yours Truly.

I’m Just an Envious Guy

Hey.

Sometimes when really great things happen to my friends my happiness for them is tainted by a hint of envy. Sometimes the ‘hint’ is actually a MASSIVE AMOUNT OF ENVY, which really blows. I’d like to be fully supportive of my friends when good things happen to them but I don’t know how to stop myself from thinking, “I wish that had happened to me.” Ugh.

Speaking of friends, I caught up with some old ones yesterday for lunch and it was very cool. It feels like it hasn’t been such a long time since we met. I think that the older you get, the harder it is to make new meaningful, lasting relationships so hold on to your friends, people! You will need them.

Sorry for all the negativity but I’m having a bad couple of days, I give it a C-. Maybe I’ll watch Lord of the Rings… Extended editions, Aragorn always makes me feel better.

Peace.

Short Film: Signs

Appalling quality but an original office romance with minimal dialogue.

Short Film: Vicky and Sam

Smart, funny, sweet and a little bit crazy.

Being nice and wanting people to think you’re nice are different

I find myself having to repeat this to myself often, it’s become something of a mantra; being a nice person and wanting people to think that you’re nice are different! Don’t stand up for an elderly person on the bus because you don’t want to be judged, stand up for them because you want them to be comfortable – because they deserve a seat after surviving in this difficult world for so long. Don’t give to charity for the bragging rights, give to charity because you feel a sense of compassion for people less fortunate than yourself. Life should be a constant journey for each individual to try and better themselves, to be better than they were the day before. By keeping this thought at the forefront of my mind, hopefully, I can be a better me.

Short Film: The Ghosts

Cinematic and cool, this short film follows a gang, ‘The Ghosts’, who shake up a small town after their leader falls in love with a girl from suburbia…

Short film: Cargo

Father! Daughter! Zombies!

Jane Eyre Web series y’all

Jane Eyre Web series!

Anyone interested in the Emmy award winning series, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries? Created by Hank Green and Bernie Su? The adaption of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, ‘Pride and Prejudice’? I stayed up for four hours when I first discovered it, trying to catch up to speed, hoping to finally reach the episode where Mr Darcy appears!

If you are, I would recommend checking out this Jane Eyre web series adaption. Lower budget, darker tone, just as chill.

Stream of consciousness

I don’t think about the sky much, or as much as other people seem to, according to the sheer volume of photos in the Instagram ‘sky’ hashtag. It’s raining where I am and the sky is white and if the sky is blue, why is it white? Or is the blue sky just completely covered by white clouds?

I need sleep. Instead of sleeping though I’m watching/listening to the DVD commentary of ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’, Daniel Handler is in character as Lemony Snicket and has a very soothing voice and I would very much like to open his brain and have a poke around… Not literally. The cynical funny commentary reminds me of the ‘Welcome to Night Vale Podcast’, I wonder if the creators are Lemony Snicket fans.

Anyway, I like the movie, but I would’ve loved to see one movie per book for all thirteen books. Ahhhh, ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’, I used to write down all my favourite quotes from the books in a notebook and I would buy gimmicky (and unofficial) companion novels to the series. I read the first book of Lemony Snicket’s new series, ‘Who Could That Be At This Hour?’, but sadly, for me it didn’t hold a candle to ASOUF. Which is probably my favourite series ever. Followed closely by the very wholesome, Anne of Green Gables… What an odd pairing of favourites.

I will now practice my French. Je suis très fatiguée parce que hier, je suis allé faire une longue promenade. Hopefully, what I said was that I went for a long walk yesterday and now I am tired. My legs are in pain but it’s a good kind of pain because it’s the kind of pain that allows me to justify eating one more slice of pizza because I deserve it after working out.

My battery is now on a saddening 0%,

BYE.

Short film: Moving Takahashi

Beautiful shots and the dude reminds me of Ryan Gosling in the way he acts. GREAT.

Young and Sweet, Tell Me What To Read: YA Literature

Matthew Black from The Little Engine that Couldn’t is hosting a blog party all about Young Adult Literature this weekend! I’m sort of nervous and not completely sure how this works but LET’S GO, or ALLONS-Y! If you’re into that.

Below is a list of YA fiction that I’ve read that I really enjoyed and I think you might too (assuming that you’re reading this post because you have an interest in YA literature). I’m sure that many of these have come up on your radar before but hopefully one or two haven’t, or maybe you’ll reconsider a book that you had previously disregarded. Each recommendation will be accompanied by a quote from the book because who better to pitch you the book than the authors themselves?

(Let me just preface this list by letting you know that there will be no John Green on this list. While I did enjoy reading, ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ and some of John’s other books, I want to shift the focus to other compelling authors of YA literature). 

1. Someday this pain will be useful to you by Peter Cameron

“I wish the whole day were like breakfast, when people are still connected to their dreams, focused inward, and not yet ready to engage with the world around them. I realized this is how I am all day; for me, unlike other people, there doesn’t come a moment after a cup of coffee or a shower or whatever when I suddenly feel alive and awake and connected to the world. If it were always breakfast, I would be fine.”

While slow in terms of plot, the writing is beautiful and very ‘Catcher in the Rye’ (which I didn’t include in this list but maybe I should’ve, Holden Caulfield is the OG of YA fiction troubled protagonists).

2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

“Going outside is highly overrated.” 

Science fiction. Gaming. Gratuitous references to the 80’s. Lots of fast-paced fun.

3. Just One Day by Gayle Forman 

“And that’s when I understand that I have been stained. Whether I’m still in love with him, whether he was ever in love with me, and no matter who he’s in love with now, Willem changed my life. He showed me how to get lost, and then I showed myself how to get found.” 

A YA romance following one day in the lives of two characters together in an unfamiliar city. You might have read Gayle Forman’s book, ‘If I Stay’, which is another pleasant, light read.

4. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

“My words are unerring tools of destruction, and I’ve come unequipped with the ability to disarm them.” 

To me, Maggie Stiefvater’s writing is as great as her last name is difficult for me to spell. Paranormal mystery that at times, reminded me of ‘The Secret History’ by Donna Tartt, which should be enough reason for you to look it up! Her series about werewolves, starting with ‘Shiver’ is great. Don’t let the werewolf thing put you off.

5. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

“There are five people you meet in heaven. Each of us was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on earth. This is the greatest gift God can give you: to understand what happened in your life. To have it explained. It is the peace you have been searching for.”

There are many great lines that I wanted to include from this book and while this isn’t my favourite, it clues you in to what the book is all about. I’m not sure whether this is a YA literature book, but what is YA fiction really, I feel like the lines have become blurred. But I digress, I think that this book is of interest to anyone; it’s sweet, a quick read and thought-provoking.

6. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

 “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.” 

If you’ve read the novel, you’ll know why I chose this quote. If I had a mantra this would be it. I read this for the first time a long time ago and even now I  hold it dear, and I owe my fascination with greaser culture to this book. The story is riveting and the characters are so vibrant and this novel is proof that young people can achieve greatness; S.E. Hinton had this published when she was 18 years old.

7. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

“Body and soul. Two different things” 

Another romance, and I saved this for last for a reason… So that no one would see this at the top of the list, roll their eyes and close the tab. This is my list and I genuinely found this to be a good read. Part science fiction and part romance, Stephenie Meyer has interesting ideas. It might be a bit slow starting out and I’m sure that if you read into it too much you could become convinced that Stephenie Meyer is trying to convince all girls to become submissive idiots… But when I read it I feel engaged with an alternate reality and I think that’s an admirable achievement.

Link to the original blog party post if you missed it: http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/young-adult-blog-party-anyone/#comments

Foreign Characters in Books + Food Descriptions

What’s with that? Why do authors always use food words to describe non-caucasian characters? Almond shaped eyes, coffee/caramel/chocolate coloured skin? Weird.

WAHEY

This blog is looking alarmingly serious as of late, let’s remedy that.

I’m not a fan of proper grammar… I’ve been trying to fake it but I don’t think I’m going to make it. My return to consistent lower case letters broken ONLY BY THE OCCASIONAL OUTBREAK OF CAPITAL LETTERS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS IS IMMINENT!!! Who am I, a more excitable seeming e. e. cummings? Nope, if I was I would definitely write better.

Also, I don’t think e. e. cummings listened to Drake and I listen to him regularly and try to rap/sing/yell along because it makes me feel like I have some form of gangster cred.

Holy guac, I just tried to remove what I assumed to be a dead spider from my window sill and it turns out, it wasn’t dead! In conclusion: we battled, it conquered my pillow (gross!), it conquered me, I don’t know where Mr. Spider is anymore, I fear for my life and I may be poisoning myself after the amount of Mortein I just generously sprayed in my room. I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THE BUG LIFE, THE BUG LIFE CHOSE ME 😦

X

Short Film: NOAH

In the war of procrastination vs. productivity, short films are a major weapon of procrastination. You can watch Noah at this link if the insert doesn’t show. It’s a really interesting short film, following the break-up of a teenage couple through a computer screen. There are a few seconds of nudity in the video, so if that’s not your thing, be wary. I often procrastinate by watching short films and will be posting up links to a few more during the week!

Fan fiction

Initially I thought fan fiction was something shameful and embarrassing to be involved in; whether it be reading or writing. Strangely, I didn’t feel the same way about fan art, which is sort of a similar practice. Looking into the subject recently though, I’ve changed my mind. While a lot of fan fiction is horrendous, there are works that you find and you wonder, how has this not been published? Recently, in Brisbane, George R. R. Martin made his position on fan fiction clear, deeming it “lazy” (I’m too lazy to find the article for you all but if you’re interested, this is why Google exists). I understand his viewpoint and I might be more sympathetic to it if I was talented enough to have a creative work that people were appropriating in a way that I found it ridiculous. However, I feel that fan fiction is a positive thing, it’s a way for fans to engage in worlds that they have limited access to. The main reason that I don’t condemn fan fiction anymore because anything that encourages people to be creative shouldn’t be vilified. While fan fiction has previously been disregarded as legitimate creative work, its recent movement into mainstream culture (you know what I’m talking about), just demonstrates that fan fiction is a powerful cultural phenomena that will not be ignored.

Dami Im is Australian

I just want to weigh in on this quickly. It’s disappointing how many people seemed to have the mindset that Dami Im didn’t deserve to win the most recent series of X-Factor “because she’s Asian”… That’s really something that I saw that had been written by some gem in a YouTube comment. Really, if we’re going to be close-minded, no one who has one any series of Australian X-Factor or Australian Idol or any talent show has deserved to win because none of them have been Aboriginal. Yeah! INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS. THINK ABOUT IT.

However, I’m not trying to encourage this sort of thinking, I think that anyone who calls Australia home is Australian. It’s just upsetting that white imperialism is still prevalent in our society. Especially when these people forget that it is very likely that they only reason they’re living in Australia is because of the unfair and degrading application of ‘terra nullius’ all those years ago.