Doodles

I don't draw a lot anymore so the random sketch is about as much as I ever do but during my East Asian Lit class I decided to draw a character from my fantasy novel and I also did a couple very rough sketches of scenes from the story. My perspective is horrible but whatever. And if you're interested, you can read my class notes about historic Japan.

I'm a Redhead?

When I was younger I used to want different colored hair but since then I've long been very happy with my lovely dark-brown locks. I think I've even reached a point where I'm willing to let people call my hair black. I've never had anything against black hair, it's just that I never really thought I had it. However, I realize that my hair's so dark that I may as well call it black. Anyway, my hair is most certainly not red (though it has been known to have a maroon cast in certain lights). So imagine my surprise whe I noticed a bright auburn strand. Now, I've always known there are a lot of different colors in my hair but I've rarely come across a whole strand. So I took a picture. Click to enlarge. It's the strand at the top across my index finger while I have some of my normal hair for comparison.




* * *

And in strange random news, apparently some people don't understand the idea of virginity...

Revirgination?

New Obsession Book Review:
Artemis Fowl

I haven't done a book review in a long time and what better time than late at night when I should be doing homework? Neverthless, I will endeavor to be brief. Besides, it suffices to say that this is my book of the week, if not the month. I admit I was skeptical when my sister first told me about the Artemis Fowl series. Fairies and computers shouldn't mix in my mind. I normally find the combination of magic and technology to be rather vulgar. But I do like listening to audiobooks, and I'd run out of good ones, so I reserved Artemis Fowl from the library (as it is perpetually checked out, something I ought to have taken as a sign). Anyway, the first few pages (or rather minutes) didn't grab me particularly. Artemis seemed too perfect; it seemed the author was setting himself up for failure. How do you make someone relate to an evil genius after all? Certainly I like villains, but if Artemis had no flaws, then he wasn't human. Characters without flaws are also annoying since you never worry about their safety. Unfortunately flaws in evil geniuses normally involve insanity or some obsession with vengeance or world domination. Artemis seemed too well put together for any of these things. And he is. I soon came to appreciate the beauty of his character. He wasn't perfect. Just close enough to be absolutely awesome and make you wish you were him. The author manages to keep you in suspense while still keeping Artemis his confident self. By not revealing all of the 12 year old criminal mastermind's schemes, you have the sense that Artemis has a plan, and a good one, but cannot normally fathom what it is. This keeps Artemis in control but it also keeps readers interested in finding out what happens next. By the end I was rooting for his evil scheme to gain riches he didn't even need to succeed.

Then there's the Irish accent. I'm a sucker for Irish accents. I know, you're saying, Cherie, Artemis is only 12! That was another reason I didn't pick it up at first. In spite of Harry Potter, I still couldn't see myself enjoying a book where I couldn't have a good fictional crush. But that's in the first book. He was born in 1989 and is thus only 4 years younger than me, which makes him 17 and only one year away from adulthood. Besides, in my fantasy world he's old enough.

Cherianity

For those of you who don't know, I've started my own religion. Not a cult. No Kool Aid is involved. As a matter of fact, not much of anything is involved at the moment. My theory is that once I have 100 converts, I'll have godly powers (for details of how this works, read Terry Pratchett's Small Gods.) The reason I thought I'd make note of this is to keep track of my converts. It's getting to the point where I'm in danger of forgetting. I know gods don't forget but I don't have my powers yet.

Anyway, the grand total of my converts so far is 6. One is a 3/4 god, one requests to be known as henchman #5, and I finally have a priest. The priest's duties will probably be serving cookies and milk at noon. The rest have not asked for particular powers, though one wants to be able to sleep a lot. Since my religion involves nap time as well as abolishing mornings that should be quite easy. In case of religious persecution I've not listed my converts' names, but if they are sufficently proud and unafraid of others, then I'm more than happy to do so. I also feel as if I am forgetting a convert. So write to me if you converted and your prayers haven't been answered lately.

* * * * *

In other news my friends of the week are: Ishani



and Becky!

Woot!

My blog is at the bottom of page 2 if you search "cheriemarie" on google. *Makes faces at people on the eight pages behind.*

I also found that there isn't any porn or even scantily clad girls if you search my name on google. Always nice. Although, there is a picture of a tombstone...

* * * * *

2nd Fictional Crush of the Week: Ponder Stibbons. Magical British Nerd. Is there any better combination? Though I was only attracted to him when I saw the actor they had playing him in the TV movie of Hogfather. Here's a clip from YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU8hpyOY1o4

For those uninitiated in the wonders of Discworld, Ponder is the youngest wizard of the group who doesn't have any pointy red hat and who is also clearly the brains of the operation. Incidently, this clip also has my favorite scene from the entire book, and the movie, where Death saves the little match girl.

Will I Be Smushed By an Asteroid...?

...Between the ages of 44-50? Apparently there's a 1.3 percent chance. Kind of crummy time to go. Not early enough to save me from Grad School apps and not late enough to make me feel like I've had a good run.

http://men.msn.com/articlepm.aspx?cp-documentid=1628365&GT1=8991

I also just noticed this article is in the "Men's Lifestyle" section. Perhaps I'm saved and the asteroid only targets men?

Friend of the Week Is....

Lucy! Once again, if someone wants this fine honor, they need only comment on my blog.

Fun Questions...

While doing the graduate application for McGill University I came across the question: "Language spoken most frequently at your permanent address?" Well, it's a good thing I'm using my Tennessee address, because if I used my Dad's address, I'd feel torn between admitting that Taiwanese is the language must frequently spoken at my Dad's address and the fact that this does not in any way accurately represent my own languge abilities at all as no Taiwanese is spoken to me.

Another Decision Made for Me

Today I was going to test my new digital camera against my old one which had been miraculously working fine ever since I handed it over to my little brothers. But upon stepping outside with it and attempting to turn it on the "High Camera Temperature of Death" screen reappeared confirming my belief in the camera's evil nature and thus deciding me on the spot that no matter how much I liked it, it is definitely broken and I will be sticking with my new camera. I won't say that I always love it when decisions are made for me, since that's not true. But I like small unimportant decisions to be made by default, because if I make them, then I constantly wonder if I made the right decision. For this reason, I like my laptop, even though it's slow and has less memory than all the newer computers, because I didn't pick it out. It's simply there. I am happy in the idea that this new camera will become a similar fixture in my life. I'll be able to take it with the good and bad when there isn't a better decision to be made by me. Certainly there are better models out there, but I didn't buy the camera, so it's not my fault that I don't have a better one, much like it's not my fault that I'm not taller or a different race. Perhaps some will think this way of thinking odd or silly but it's just the way I am.

Here are some pics showing the last problem I've been having with my new camera that I was working on today. These are some magenta flowers in front of my day's house. Neither of these pictures quite captures the color accurately, but the bottom one (after some tinkering with the exposure) at least doesn't look as violently pink as the top.

Must Resist...

...urge to buy a mouse for my laptop just so I can play "defend your castle" more efficently.

Link for anyone lacking in time-wasting activities:

http://www.xgenstudios.com/play/castle/




* * * * *
Cherie's Fictional Crush for the Week: I watched the movie Emma for a second time because I didn't really remember much from the first time. I begin to even wonder if I watched it all the way through before, because I really enjoyed it, and I don't remember being that enamored of it the first time. Perhaps the book was still fresh in my mind since it was not one of my favorites. I intensely disliked Harriet for being spineless and without an opinion of her own. Anyway, I particularly liked Mr. Knightly. I wasn't really attracted to the actor, but he did an excellent job portraying the character, and by the end I wanted to give the man a big hug along with Emma. But what of Mr. Darcy, you ask? Well, any of my dear fictional men will know I'm far too fickle to have my attention held for long. It's rather ironic actually since I'm so attracted to constancy in a man. But I'm sure my interest will turn back to Darcy at some point as it never entirely leaves him.

It Can Take Good Pictures!

I've been agonizing over whether my new digital camera is worth keeping for weeks, but today it certainly showed its potential. Here are some amazing close ups that I got and I know my old camera wasn't great at close-ups since the focus was automatic. I learned that zooming into a small object is sometimes (although not always) better than physically getting closer and I have a much better appreciation for my camera's zoom in general. My sister had recomended that I try it more often before, but I was dubious since the zoom on my old camera was admittedly horrendous and on the screen of my new camera the zoomed in objects look blurry. This is misleading, however, since once I took the picture, it was crystal clear. Now, while this means the screen's not the best or most accurate, it's still no worse than the last one and as long as the picture's good it's not too big of a deal.

Yup, that's an ant inside that flower to show how small it is.

Hello, Mr. Bumblebee!

I'd been having trouble with my camera picking up certain colors and began to wonder if it was colorblind but it picked up these flowers beautifully. It still has a little trouble with the flowers in front of my dad's house, though, but I'll keep messing with the settings to see what I can do.

* * *

My friend of the week is: Becky!!! How did Becky earn such a high honor you ask? She was the first to comment in my blog for 2007. But if you're lamenting this lost chance, fear not, I shall feature a friend (or friends of the week) from now on of anyone who comments in my blog. Furthermore, if you do comment, I recommend checking the comments afterward because I frequently (although I confess not always) respond.



I'll also give a shout-out to my Mom who shall be Mom of the Week (and all subsequent weeks to follow) since she did comment before Becky.

Schools with the Letter W

I already submitted my application to Wisconsin Madison last month and I am 99% complete (I just need to mail out one more form) with the Washington application. By no apparent design I seem to be favoring schools that start with W. Or maybe they just happen to be the ones with the soonest due dates...

Oh Jane...

I'm reading a biography on Jane Austen, and I've never related with her more. When she was twenty five her parents suddenly moved to Bath, and she had to leave her childhood home. She was constantly moving for next decade after that and she never had any real independance of her own, even after her novels were published. She often had to stay with relatives or friends, and I know all too well what it's like to be an eternal guest. With the way my life is going now, I have every reason to fear it will follow a similar path to Jane's. Certainly it would be great if I could write something half as good as her novels, but it was during this period in her life that she almost stopped writing entirely.

The GRE is...

...a schoolyard bully who beats you up, takes your lunch money, and then steps on your face while you're down. But that's okay. I have resigned myself to schoolyard bullies and the GRE, and I at least shall never again have to deal with either. I took the GRE for the second and last time today and did only 10 points better on the math, inexplicable since I was just as panicked and felt as if I ran out of time sooner. To my sister, I know you told me to remain calm, but that's nearly impossible for me to do when encountering both math and a testing situation at the same time. But at least I didn't do any worse even though I was certain that I would. However, I did do 40 points worse on the verbal which is equally inexplicable since I felt much better this time and knew the first word for certain which is more than I can say for last time.

BUT it is over. I wish I could say as much for my grad school apps...

Pictures of the Week: A Mexican Chinese Tapestry

My Dad took me to a park in Old Town where there's an old Spanish house and I saw a Mexican tapestry done in the Chinese style which I found to be a rather interesting juxtaposition of cultures. The other pic is the courtyard of the house. I haven't had many comments in my blog lately so I guess people have better things to do for the holidays but if you have some time, tell me what you think of the pictures from my new camera. I just don't feel it's as good as my old one but I may just be cranky because I have to learn a whole bunch of new buttons. Otherwise it should be better because it's got more mega pixals and whatnot.

Best of 2006: Blog Extravaganza!

Rather than going to a drunken, riotous party (or any party at all for that matter) I have decided to write in my blog the best things about 2006. This is partly to keep me from moping because my sister went home today, but also to hopefully start a tradition that will make me try to actually remember good things that happen to me, because at the moment I'm pulling a blank; though I know good things MUST have happened to me. My year wasn't that horrible. One particularly good thing I can recall is coming home to Gilpatrick House after my studies abroad. It seems like such a long time ago that I can barely believe it was 2006, but I know it must have been.

If there has been any good in my time at Denison during 2006, then it has predominately come from Gilpatrick and the people living there. It was the perfect place for me to come back to in order to ease slowly back into the American lifestyle. A cozy Victorian style house could almost make me believe I hadn't gone so far from my life in France. I even recall upon entering seeing a 3D puzzle model of Notre Dame chathedral, that although it was not intended to, made me feel particularly welcome. Later I would make friends with the puzzlemaker, Becky, and monopolize her window seat for the better part of the fall semester. It was in Gilpatrick that I first played Dread Pirate, the best board game ever, and found a group of peers that, like me, preferred board games and snacks to drunken revelry. A group of my fellow Gilpatrikians: Ishani, Brian, Becky, Sam, Louvie and Bethany (the only non Gilparikian but she makes a lovely cake) were also the first to ever throw me a surprise party which had to be the highlight of my summer.

Outside of Gilpatrick I have had at least one incredible experience in 2006 that I have already documented in this blog; that is finding Lucy, my childhood friend and former next door neighboor. I think this may also be the most and only truly incredible thing to happen to me this year.

I fear 2006 may have been the year of mediocrity for movies. I can only think of one that I was truly inspired to watch again and perhaps might even recommend for others. It's A Good Woman which is based on an Oscar Wilde play called "Lady Windemere's Fan." As I'm a fan of Wilde's work, particularly his satire, I could at least enjoy the story of the play. The acting of the vetran actors was also quite good. Although I felt as if Scarlett Johansson 's done better, and her acting seemed a bit flat. But maybe it's just the character that I didn't like. I don't think the innocent, somewhat whiny girl suits her personality. Anyway, there were plenty of really good characters to make up for it.



Books are far easier for me to keep track of than movies because I keep a list of every book I read, and I start a new list each year. My 2006 list has 36 books on it (12 of which are audiobooks and 2 of those audiobooks were just me listening to the last two Harry Potter books again). However, I'm proud that one of the books is a novel in French. Sure, as a French major it should be more than one, but I did mostly poetry this year.





































*Anyway, because of this list, I can also confidantly say that the best books I 've read this year are the Tiffany trilogy by Terry Pratchett. Tiffany's my hero, and I'd like to grow up to be just like her, except that she's younger than me. The first two (The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky) have an obscure vocabulary word each that Pratchett makes a joke of throughout the book. The latest (Wintersmith) doesn't continue this trick, but I still remember laughing out loud while reading it, which is mostly what I ask for in a book. The second book had a character I disliked vehemently, but you're supposed to dislike her, so I suppose that's fair. In the third book Tiffany's 13 and does subcumb to a little bit of teen angst, but she does so in admirable moderation. And you have to love the Feegles: little blue, mini-Scotsmen that live in hives and for brief shining moments can even make me believe I can speak with a Scottish accent. The Wee Free Men is actually going to be made into a film (I heard by the director of Spider-Man, Sam Raimi) and slated to come out 2008. I sincerely hope they do a good job, but of course the book will always be better.

Well, that's all for 2006 that I can dig out of my foggy ol' brain at the moment. Though, I'm personally terrified of what 2007 will bring with my imminent graduation I wish everyone else a wonderful New Year and can only hope I get by myself.

Now for the Other Boy...

Typical me not to really talk about my Christmas but it was just good in its simplicity which makes for very little of interest. My sister flew in Christmas Eve and that was really the only present I needed to be happy. Though the Christmas money and early present of a digital camera from my Dad are certainly greatly appreciated. On Christmas my little brother Curtis got a lovely model VW van from Santa and my brother Dennis got a stuffed polar bear. I may have slept through the happy discovery of these gifts but I stayed up as long as Santa and thus was quite tired. Once I did get out of bed, my dad, my sister, little brother Dennis, and I went to the beach and watched the surfers and then hung out in a park.

Now onto some, hopefully, more interesting reflections. Famous people. Many people like to entertain the thought of meeting famous people but mostly I shy away from the idea. This is due to three fears: (1) They will not like me. (2) I will not like them. (3) Both. Then there's also the problem that I'd have no idea what to say and probably end up mummbling something stupid and shuffling off. So it is that I'm perfectly happy to go without meeting any of my favorite authors. I feel I enjoy their books far more if I don't consider what kind of people they are. This isn't to say I think they're bad people, but rather that I have developed a very peculiar personality over time that does not necessarily mesh with everyone.

There is one exception. Not in the sense that I would seek to meet this person as I once had a possible chance and passed it up with very little regret, but if I had to meet a celebrity, (I know such terrible decisions happen everyday) then I would probably like to meet Daniel Radcliffe, the boy who plays Harry Potter. Now, this isn't because I find him attractive. Certainly he is attractive, but I am far more attracted to many other celebrities. I would be happy to meet Daniel because he's so charismatic and seems like the type of person who could put anyone at ease and is genuinely interested in what others think: traits I look for in anyone. As an avid Harry Potter fan I've watched many interviews with Dan and am always impressed by his optimism and energy. Think me a hopeless fangirl if you'd like, but I'll protest all the way.

So to counter the picture of Draco, here we have Harry:




By the way, for any of you who don't already know, the title of book 7 is now out. But I won't spoil it for you if you'd rather not know it. You can easily look it up on the internet if you do want to know it.

Maybe I'm Just Mean...

...But I really enjoy the music by Draco and the Malfoys. They're a "wizard rock" band who, as you can probably tell, sing Harry Potter themed songs (or rather Draco Malfoy themed...)

I particularly like "My Dad is Rich." Very mean song. ... Hee, hee, hee ...

Link: http://www.myspace.com/dracoandthemalfoysusa



I already sent some of you the Whomping Willows' music but here it is in case any of you want it again/didn't get it. It's also cruel as well as deliciously demented with a pretty good melody to boot in my opinion: http://www.myspace.com/thewhompingwillows

YES!!!

Originally Disney was planning on making a rather dubious sounding "modernized" version of Rapunzel. It sounded like the same kind of blasphemy Miramax inflicted on Ella Enchanted. But now, thankfully, they seemed to have realized what a stupid idea that was and they're finally going to make normal Disney film based on my favorite fairytale. I think the release has been pushed back as well but if it's on par with Mulan, Aladdin, Beaty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid etc. then I'm more than happy to wait that long. I have been waiting for a decade or more already so a couple more years is fine.

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapunzel_%28film%29
http://imdb.com/title/tt0398286/plotsummary

To be honest I'm not nuts about the concept art, but if it's a good story (with good songs) then I really don't care. I was dubious of the art in Hercules before I saw the movie, after all, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Why Do Women Make Such Good Men?

In cosplay, at least, (which is where people dress up in costumes of various characters) girls who aren't particularly voluptuous (so that rules me out) make excellent male characters. I've already sent most of you pics of the girl who dresses up as Link, and now I've found this women who dresses up as Snape. I suppose costume design is just more popular with women, but I wish there actually was a man who looked as good in these costumes as these women do. For the woman who dresses as Snape, I admit you can tell she's a woman in some of her more dramatic poses and when you see her face full on. But at certain angles, you can completely believe she's a man, which is a strange compliment because I think she makes quite a handsome man.

Anyway, here's the link to the Snape pictures: http://logospilgrim.com/
(click photos, then scroll down and click "The First Gallery", then scroll down again and click on any or of the 28 galleries to see a bunch of pictures.) The picture below is just one of many but one where I thought she particularly resembled Snape.




And here are the Link pics for anyone who doesn't remember, didn't get them, or wants to see them again: http://images.cosplay.com/showphoto.php?photo=703577
(there are more pictures on the link)