Happy Birthday Punya!



I would like everyone to know that the timestamp on my blog is somewhat off since I'm currently in Pacific time. But I believe it is Punya's birthday where she is, and although I'm not sure she reads my blog, I thought I'd wish her a happy birthday now.

Interesting Fact About Cherie #1

I seem to remind most boys my age of their mothers. My clothes, the books I read, my general maturity. They say guys date girls who remind them of their mothers, but I don't think this has helped my love life at all.

Louvie the Lori Takes Flight

Louvie may have thought he escaped blog notice once I graduated, but I still have so many pictures... Here you see Louvie preparing to rocket off the ground at the thought of his approaching trip to Japan. Click the picture for the best view.

Give Me a Sign!

If it seems like there's more posts on the first page, it's because there are. I'm going to try posting everyday. Or at least more frequently than before. But the downside to this was that my posts would disappear more quickly and once they're archived I always feel like they're less likely to be read. But if having more posts on the page messes with your internet connection, let me know. I like to respond to my lovely audience. Also please comment from time to time if you are reading. It's good to know someone's there.

That said. I've been thinking of birthdays recently. Around May 21-25 I usually have a panic attack that I've missed someone's birthday. This is curious since I don't actually know anyone with a birthday on these days and cannot remember ever having known anyone with such a birthday. I did forget my little brother's birthday this year which makes me feel like a horrible sister, but otherwise I've yet to forget another. My friend Punya's is May 30th. My mother's is a couple days after on June 1st. Tim's is June 25th. and my own (which I've yet to forget) is July 20th. Sorry if that list was boring to read, it's mostly to help me remember.

Useless Knowledge of the Week!

Here's a picture of a samurai crab. Look at its back; the markings look like the face of a samurai. The Japanese believed these crabs were reincarnations of ancient warriors, and biologists have speculated that the markings were genetically encouraged because people would refuse to eat the crabs that looked like samurai. However, the crab itself is rather small and not much of a meal, so the face might not have anything to do with that.

All my amazing knowledge comes from the book my sister's reading entitled: The Ancestor's Tale and Wikipedia.

Cherie News: Movies, Pikas and More*! (*Possibly...maybe later there will be)

Movie Review: Spider-man 3 (maybe spoilers?)

I went to Sacramento today and saw Spider-man 3 with my sister. My hopes of Mary Jane being killed in the first few seconds were dashed on the rocks (sorry if that spoiled the movie for anyone), but I was otherwise entertained. I've heard some others (namely Sam an my mom) complain there were too many villains, but I felt they managed to fit it all in well and it didn't really seem disjointed. Besides, evil people are cool.

Spider-man, unfortunately, is not cooler as a bad guy. He's actually incredibly pathetic as a villain and you want to look away at how much he's humiliating himself. But, to be fair, I'm pretty sure that was the point. I think the stage direction to Tobey was "Act like as much of an @#$ as possible." If that was the case, he executed it beautifully.

There were also plenty of special-effects and a reasonably good story, about as much as you can ask for in a sequel. Not the best but not the worst. The ending leaves a few loose-ends, but that's possibly if they ever decide to make another. I would give it a star rating, but I always feel those are rather arbitrary. If I had to grade this movie I'd give it an 89% solid B+. I laughed, I cried, I saw some of my favorite character (the editor of the Daily Bugle) and was able to forget some of my own mundane life for a little over two hours.


Pika, pika?

You thought Pokémon was fictional but it would seem that Pikachu isn't. Gone are the days when Pikachu was just another unidentified rodent. This pika hare is now suing for his rights and a share in the multi-million dollar business that has become his likeness.

One pika who wishes to remain anonymous voiced his plight. "Used to be people would say 'what is that thing?' But now I can't even walk out on the rocks anymore without the other animals shrieking 'pika, pika!' and then laughing! And that's not the half of it! One kid caught me one time and tried to plug me into a light socket! Please, people, that's not healthy. I don't push humans off a cliff after seeing one Sumperman movie."

So for anyone trying to make their pika have electrical super-powers please educate yourself on real pikas or "whistling hares" and remember that they're an endangered species.

Separated at birth?

Shout Out: to Tim and Mag who got married today. Now all the other married couples (except Kelly and Mike) are gonna be jealous of Tim and Mag's newfound blog stardom, but what's a girl to do? I just can't control this overwhelming audience.

Don't worry, Mag, you're far prettier than this lego girl. I only chose this pic because of how much the guy looks like Tim...

Book Review: Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House

What could possibly make Jane Austen's novels better than they already are? The answer: blood. The series of Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron mixes regency England with modern crime dramas all while teaching the readers fascinating tidbits about Jane's life, her family, and her social milieu. The books may be fictional but Barron has done actual research and throws in several historical truths, usually in her footnotes.

Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House is the sixth book in the series. I admit I could not read the fifth (Jane and the Stillroom Maid) because it involved the Illuminati, and all such plots seem over-the-top to me. This, book, however, reminded me of everything I like about the series. We got to see Jane's relationship with her brother Frank, a naval officer; meet a mysterious and dashingly handsome Frenchman; and get put in the thick of espionage and betrayal during the Napoleonic War.

This mystery, and all the others, of course, never happened, even though Barron pretends that she is merely editing old journals of Jane's. It is not just my own knowledge of Jane's real history, however, that reveals the fictional nature of the stories. Barron, while a good entertainer, does have certain stylistic flaws. Among these flaws is her tendency to refer to "the reader," clearly forgetting that she claimed these are supposed to be Jane's private journals, and thus, that authoress would never have intended for them to have been read. Barron also has the unfortunate habit of inserting lines straight from A&E's Pride and Prejudice. As good as that fine rendition of the novel was, it seems to show a lack of self-confidence to simply copy and paste dialogue. The truly irksome part is that Barron can write good dialogue of her own in a passably good imitation of Austen herself, so there's no need to resort to such lazy tactics.

Other than these quirks, Barron does tell a good story. I'm not the world's best puzzle-solver, but I have yet to guess the complete answer to one of her mysteries. Sometimes I admit that I still don't completely understand them at the end, but I'm not sure whether this can be blamed on Barron's writing or my unwillingness to put in too much mental effort. All the same, Barron will certainly never be another Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But that's not really the best part of these novels. What I truly enjoy is the historical fiction and the development of Jane as a living and breathing character with problems to which the modern reader can relate. It is something for an Austen fan girl to see even an imaginary version of her idol. No longer is this woman shrouded in the shadows of a mundane life that had few records and only one portrait drawn by her own sister. To meet Austen has always been a dream of mine. But to see how she might have lived (even if it is mixed with some adventurous though highly unlikely events) seems to be the next best thing.

Tiger/Pig Follow-Up and Scrabble Madness!

See! I told you they'd grow to look like their mother! A friend of mine found this pic for me so thank you Josh!



Here you see what I do when left entirely to my own devices with a Scrabble board.



Also, here's some random news. I found the high school I attended on Newsweek's list of the best public high schools. It's at #668 out of 1,200. I'm going to go feel superior now.

I would also like to announce that my friends of the month are Becky and Brian for letting me stay with them for a week! A big thank you to their dad as well. That's also their Scrabble board in the picture.