Code Monkey & Blog Vacation

I can't relate to this song as well as some of my friends, but I still thought it was hilarious. There are better vids of it but this one cracks me up because I thought the lyrics were misspelled on purpose, but the description says they're not.

Ironically it fits the song perfectly.

However, this anime music video version is EXTREMELY well done. You'd never know the anime wasn't made for the song.



Also I'm going down to San Diego to see my step mother and little brothers. They do have internet (most the time...), and I may blog, but I want to concentrate on spending time with my family. So from tomorrow (the 19th) to the 30th, I won't have to blog. HOWEVER, I owe you all a dancing punishment when I get back. The idea was kindly provided by Sarah. I shall do a dance to an annoying song and video record it. The video recording is my addition, though. It would be hard for you to enjoy it if I didn't.

Favorite Least Favorites

Have you ever had a craving for something that actually repulses you? I am currently consuming spam eggs and ketchup. Part of my brain said I wanted fried spam. The other part asked why? Part of my brain opened the can. The ENTIRE brain was repulsed by the congealed fat. Part of my brain fried it and ate it anyway. I also hate ketchup with eggs and am eating that as well. Might think I was pregnant, but I know that's not possible.

Pretties: Audiobook Review

In this second book in Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, Tally is finally one of the Pretties. She becomes a member of a popular clique called the crims and falls for the leader, Zane. But she's plagued by half-remembered memories and soon the people from her ugly days do more than haunt her: they come back in the flesh.

No offense to the models on the cover, but they're not how I imagine Pretties. The guy has a caveman brow, and his eyes aren't as wide as they're described as being. The girl's okay but not breathtaking. I suppose it's ironic that I'm critisizing their appearance, considering the whole series is about the nature of beauty. But I actually think the girl on Uglies is stunningly beautiful and these two cannot compare. Perhaps that was the intention.

Anyway, I thought that this story was a great follow-up to the previous book. Even after being made a pretty it's clear that an important part of Tally's previous personality still remains. I read in another review the the pretty talk was annoying, which it was, but I got used to it.

I don't have enough comments on the audio part this time to give it a seperate section. I used a playaway format again but was frustrated by the buttons being changed. Still,to be fair, most the stuff I complained about was fixed in this different playaway. It was just annoying to have finally adjusted to the old one just to have to adjust to a new one.

Book Club

Warning, I'm about to reveal the ending of the book.

But first I'd like to say that I initially thought Zane was somehow David. Clearly wrong on that.

I didn't really want Tally to be turned into a Special at the end. Something about the predictability of it bothered me. When I first discovered Shay had become a Special, it was my hope that would be the conflict in the next book and Tally would be left a pretty. But I can't say I didn't see it coming, and I didn't guess that it would be Shay that would change Tally.

Plus I think I can see where Scott Westerfeld is working all this into a theme of evolution and the good and bad of changing as you mature. On one hand Tally is gradually inheriting more power, which is like a metaphor for adulthood. On the other hand, the ability to abuse that power, becomes more and more apparent, like when she encounters the tribe that worships Pretties because they're some anthropologist's experiment. I can see this power and abuse being stepped up when she becomes a Special.

My New Favorite Patriotic Song

I love Hugh Laurie.

Angry With Myself

Worse than having to make a pie is knowing that I forgot something so stupidly easy as a blog post I can make at any time of day. Once again I plead with you all to give me any punishment that does NOT involve cooking.

I Love My Little Brother...

And he makes good lego films. But the fact that this one is the least disturbing of his recent films is somewhat troubling. Though the ending is brilliant.

Dollhouse Canceled!

Now I remember why I hate television and would never pay for it. It's because they persist in canceling perfectly good shows. Sure sometimes authors don't finish their series (or take a million years to do so), but in my experience good book series are not left uncompleted at anywhere near the rate that good TV shows are canceled.

Lost, Fingerprints, and Sherlock Holmes

I had to get fingerprinted for my volunteer job at the library but I got lost looking for the Police Station. I did finally find it, though after two hours of looking. Coming back I dropped by the library to pick up a hold and return some materials. I also checked out a bunch of audiobooks. I searched both the adult and teen sections but something in the style of Goldilocks, found nothing to my liking and then checked out a bunch from the childrens' section.

One of them was Sherlock Holmes. I wonder how he'd feel about being in the childrens' section. I guess it really is elementary after all. But as I was listening to it on my way home I was annoyed with the first story. I woman has lost her suitor and Holmes does find him, though the situation is such that she's not likely to want him anymore. Still, Holmes does not even attempt to tell her the truth. He claims she wouldn't believe him. But he never even tries! It isn't an indifferent matter either. The woman basically loves a man that she will never see again, but Holmes didn't see fit to tell her what really happened. This bothered me as it seemed entirely based on his prejudiced opinion of women in general rather than any rational judgement. He might be able to tell a person's profession from the wear of their glove, but it's clear Holmes still has a lot to learn about women.

Ancient Egypt, Distorted Rooms, and Renoir, Oh My!

One of the sarcophgi in the Irethorrou exhibit

So my sister and I had a great time in San Francisco, and I hope my friend Louvie did as well. We arrived Friday morning, found the hotel, and then hung out at a mall called the Metreon until Louvie arrived. I have fond memories of the Metreon but I was a little disappointed to see the mall was being renovated so NONE of the electronics stores that used to define the mall were open. But they still had resturants, the movie theatre, and an arcade, so we played a few games in the arcade and looked at the tiny bookshop (the only shop still open) while we waited for Louvie. We also saw this awesome star in the Metreon's video game walk of fame:

After Louvie arrived we checked into the hotel, ate some sushi at the Metreon, and then jetted off to the de Young musuem on San Fran's awesome public transit. We saw the King Tut exhibit which was really cool. They set it up to make it seem a little like you were walking into a tomb with these big wooden doors that opened automatically into this dimly lit room. A little cheesy but fun, and I appreciated the attempt at showmanship. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the exhibit but I found the picture below on Wikipedia. It's a coffinette I saw in the exhibit that carried Tut's liver.

But I was particulalrly interested by a tiny sarcophagus which was one of two that contained two mummified fetuses that scientists theorized were the still born children of King Tut and his half-sister Anaksunamun.

I was so tired by the time I got back to the hotel, I just passed out, but my sister and Louvie went out to a resturant again after that.

The next day Louvie had an interview to go to (the reason he was visiting) and my sister and I went to the Exploratorium where we saw many various science exhibits and played around in this distorted room:

It's a giant Chrissy and tiny Cherie! I'm sure my sister wishes this were the real natural order of things.

Then on Sunday we managed to cram in one last museum, The Legion of Honor, where they have an actual mummy (as opposed to the Tut exhibit). This mummy was a priest named Irethorrou.

But aside from the mummy the Legion of Honor has a lot of awesome art! I'll have to go back if I'm ever in San Francisco again so I have more time to appreciate it.

I was ecstatic to see this famous painting by Renoir, probably just as excited as I was to see a real mummy. Possibly even more excited since I wasn't expecting t. It's called La Loge (The Theatre Box) and I've seen it dozens of times in reproductions or books while researching impressionism. I'm a huge Renoir fan and this is a very well-known painting by him.

I liked this statue of Baccus and Ariadne but mostly I put it here because I'm really proud of my camera work in capturing the dramatic lighting.

I was really impressed by the book in this statue. The pages that the boy has his fingers between look so real. And you can also see Louvie and my sister in the background so that will allow me to remember why I was at this museum in the first place when I'm old and senile.

San Francisco Part 3!

My sister and I are going to San Francisco again for the 3rd time in the past few months. I'm going to see my old college friend, Louvie, but I'm also really excited about the King Tut exhibit that we're planning to see tomorrow. Though it amuses me that they advertise with the iconic funeral mask that is actually not included in the exhibit because it was proclaimed a national treasure of Egypt and will never leave the country.

This, of course, also means I will not be blogging Friday-Sunday. Since I let you all know in advance, as per usual, I cannot be punished.

The IRS Will Al CaPWN You!

No Sleep You Tube Response

I'm running on no sleep so I'll make this short. I thought about doing an actual YouTube response to the video below. And I still might pertaining to my giant collection of gift boxes. But I just wanted to say to the people it might actually mean something that the most thoughtful gift I've ever received was the surprise party my friends threw for me in college. I've always loved surprise parties but that is the only one anyone has ever thrown for me. You guys rock!

NaNoWriMo Vs. NaFiRoyBIMSCom

I feel guilty not doing NaNoWriMo. I've always thought I should do it. Someday, hopefully I will. But the thing is that the writing part of the novel has never been a problem for me. Considering that I have two completed novels and the beginnings of a third and my current life goal is to FINISH REVISING SOMETHING, I think I'll be doing NaFiRoyBIMSCom. Again. I failed at it last year but maybe second time's the charm, right? All the same, my sincerest best wishes and admiration for all of those actually doing NaNoWriMo. See videos below if you have no clue what I'm talking about.

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian: Book Review

In this last chapter of the Percy Jackson Olympian saga, the heroes of Camp Half-Blood make their final stand against the Titan Kronos and his armies to decide the fate of Olympus and the world. Faced with a fatal prophecy, sacrifice, and betryal, Percy is forced to question what truly makes a hero and whether Olympus is truly worth protection.

One word describes this book: Epic.

When I read this final book of the Percy Jackson series I felt most like I was reading a Greek epic poem updated for modern times. It still had the humor and camp of the rest of the series that I've enjoyed, but it's easily the darkest of all. The entire book is basically one huge battle scene. Normally that would be a bad thing for me, and I still felt like I had to catch my breath from time to time, but I do feel this book was amazingly well done.

I LOVED the identity of the Last Olympian referred to in the title. I never would have guessed who it was, but it was PERFECT. Admittedly, I was skeptical at first, but it gave the book a beautiful depth and meaning. It is the Last Olympian who helps Percy see what's worth fighting for.

I was also satisfied with the resolution of the romance and the ending as a whole.

BOOK CLUB

This is the section where I'll discuss the details of the book as if I were in a book club. Great if you've read the book, but if you haven't, beware the spoilers and zombie soldiers.

What I really like is how Riordan doesn't pull his punches. This book really dealt with death and war in a realistic way. Even when he killed secondary characters I got choked up every time, which both shows his skill in building up the characters and in making you care about a character who's not the main character. For example, both Beckendorf and Silena's deaths choked me up and I don't usually get choked up over characters I don't know all that well. But Riordan managed to make the circumstances so tragic. When Beckendorf sacrificed himself to destroy Kronos's ship and when Silena turned out to be the repentant spy I almost cried. I definitely got a lump in my throat when Percy declared Silena a hero in spite of how she had betrayed them. It also wasn't like a forced forgiveness like I've always felt the forgiveness of Edmund in the Chronicles of Narnia was. I truly believed that Percy was right; Silena did believe she was doing the right thing, and she sacrificed her life in an attempt to set things right. It beautifully mirrored what happened to Luke at the end.

I was also very happy that Percy and Annabeth ended up together. The kissing underwater definitely a great romantic use of Percy's powers. It was a little convenient that Rachel ended up the oracle and therefore couldn't be with Percy. But it was still good.

While I was glad the series had a definite ending, I was happy to see the new prophecy. I've watched interviews with Riordan where he promises that the first Olympian series is done, but there will be a new series, and I'm looking forward to it because I was glad that I'll be able to see how the changes in Camp Half-Blood will take effect. I was so excited that they finally bult cabins to all the gods. It changes things so much.

But by far my favorite part of this book was Hestia. Riordan read my mind again. Not only have I always wanted a story with hippalektryon, but I've always loved the goddess Hestia. Most people would think that's strange because she so rarely features in mythology at all and she's the goddess of the hearth. Hardly exciting. But I loved her because of those things. Hestia represents home and family, both things I love, and she is not renowned for cruelty like the other gods often are. She's also a mystery. Since she doesn't get in the same scrapes as the other gods, she's rarely talked about.

Hestia was the perfect last Olympian. At first, even with as much as I loved her, I thought it strange that Riordan didn't choose a more grandiose god to be the last Olympian. But in the end it was elegant and perfect. Hestia would be the only one who would never leave the hearth of Olympus. And she was the perfect goddess to guard hope for Percy since protecting home and family were at the center of Percy's hopes, and those are what he was driven to protect in the end.