Monday, 27 June 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Monday, 13 June 2011
Atonement
I've just started reading the book Atonement by Ian McEwan and I absolutely LOVE it. I don't know why but I just feel overly excited about reading more- it's like I can tell that this is going to be a book that I'll want to read over and over again. I mean, I have had this feeling before but usually when I'm about half way through a book, not midway down page 6. Yeah.
If you're not reading anything at the moment then I think you should join me in reading Atonement basically...because it's crazy good so far! I really want to share this extract from the book with you, as I think it is just so true:
'Pretending in words was too tentative, too vulnerable, too embarassing to let anyone know. Even writing out the she saids, the and thens, made her wince, and she felt foolish appearing to know about the emotions of an imaginary being. Self- exposure was inevitable the moment she described a character's weakness; the reader was bound to speculate that she was describing herself. What other authority could she have?'
Brilliant, isn't it?
An update on the Timbuktu story- apparently Armageddon is a place too*. These people are just screwing with me.
Also a random quote of the day: "I don't know what we're doing, BUT I'M GOING TO JOIN IN ANYWAY!" (Sensible advice there... (And yes, I am quoting myself...I'm just that cool...))
Now this isn't an obligation of any sort but, if you do enjoy these blog posts and you have friends who you think may also enjoy them, then I encourage you to tell them about this little creative space in this dim, dusty corner of the worldwide interweb (because it's kind of hard to get new followers in the blogging universe (as I'm sure you may know from experience.)) Awesome =)
*It's in Israel.
If you're not reading anything at the moment then I think you should join me in reading Atonement basically...because it's crazy good so far! I really want to share this extract from the book with you, as I think it is just so true:
'Pretending in words was too tentative, too vulnerable, too embarassing to let anyone know. Even writing out the she saids, the and thens, made her wince, and she felt foolish appearing to know about the emotions of an imaginary being. Self- exposure was inevitable the moment she described a character's weakness; the reader was bound to speculate that she was describing herself. What other authority could she have?'
Brilliant, isn't it?
An update on the Timbuktu story- apparently Armageddon is a place too*. These people are just screwing with me.
Also a random quote of the day: "I don't know what we're doing, BUT I'M GOING TO JOIN IN ANYWAY!" (Sensible advice there... (And yes, I am quoting myself...I'm just that cool...))
Now this isn't an obligation of any sort but, if you do enjoy these blog posts and you have friends who you think may also enjoy them, then I encourage you to tell them about this little creative space in this dim, dusty corner of the worldwide interweb (because it's kind of hard to get new followers in the blogging universe (as I'm sure you may know from experience.)) Awesome =)
*It's in Israel.
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Timbuktu
Yesterday, I made a rather large discovery. This was not a ground breakingly amazing new discovery. No. This was, to most people, common knowledge. I was, clearly, not one of those people.
Firstly, I think I need to give you an idea of some other mistakes I've made in the past. You will probably notice the pattern in that they are all geography related faux pas. Well, there was that time when I thought that Denmark and Portugal were seaside towns on England's coast, between Cornwall and Devon. And that time when I thought that Islam was a country and that the religion had originated from there and, therefore, been named after it. Or that day when I found out that Egypt is, in fact, not its own country, but a part of Africa instead. Yeah, I think you're getting the gist.
So in Britain (I'm not sure about other countries) when we want to say a place that is very far away, as far away as possible (other than Australia) people often use Timbuktu as an example. So if someone asked me where my friend was, and I was feeling sarcastic, I might reply with "Timbuktu" (and a cursory roll of the eyes.)
Bearing this in mind, I think you'll agree that this use of the place is relatively misleading. I, however, was very mislead indeed. I was under the impression that Timbuktu was a made up place, another word for the edge of the world or something similar. I'd imagined it as the very last stop at a train station, completely empty of people and just full of lost things (I think I may have been influenced by the Room of Requirement slightly on this one.)
However, I was watching Charmed (a TV series about witches and girl power for those of you who, sadly, don't know (I recommend it, it's awesome) when they accidentally banished a demon to Timbuktu. One of the characters then proceeded to go and get him and bring him back. The fact that the character was able to do this made me question my previous ideas of the place and I soon found out that Timbuktu is a real place.
An actual real place in Africa* where people live and work and play. And I didn't think it existed. I thought this place was imaginary. In my defence if you type 'is Timbuktu' into Google the suggestions are 'a real place', 'a place' and 'real.' I am clearly not the first to be mistaken by its undeniable reality. Still. That's not good.
In conclusion I am useless at geography and should never be left to go anywhere alone. I'd only get lost.
On a completely unrelated topic, you may have noticed that on my blog I managed to add a 'reply' button, so I can reply to your comments. The thing is, I don't know if you actually get notified when I reply, so even though I've replied to lots of your comments, you might not have realised. So I just thought I'd bring that to your attention. Awesome. Hope you had a good day and I'll see you soon =)
*It is now on my list of places I want to visit, along with Canada, Italy and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Firstly, I think I need to give you an idea of some other mistakes I've made in the past. You will probably notice the pattern in that they are all geography related faux pas. Well, there was that time when I thought that Denmark and Portugal were seaside towns on England's coast, between Cornwall and Devon. And that time when I thought that Islam was a country and that the religion had originated from there and, therefore, been named after it. Or that day when I found out that Egypt is, in fact, not its own country, but a part of Africa instead. Yeah, I think you're getting the gist.
So in Britain (I'm not sure about other countries) when we want to say a place that is very far away, as far away as possible (other than Australia) people often use Timbuktu as an example. So if someone asked me where my friend was, and I was feeling sarcastic, I might reply with "Timbuktu" (and a cursory roll of the eyes.)
Bearing this in mind, I think you'll agree that this use of the place is relatively misleading. I, however, was very mislead indeed. I was under the impression that Timbuktu was a made up place, another word for the edge of the world or something similar. I'd imagined it as the very last stop at a train station, completely empty of people and just full of lost things (I think I may have been influenced by the Room of Requirement slightly on this one.)
However, I was watching Charmed (a TV series about witches and girl power for those of you who, sadly, don't know (I recommend it, it's awesome) when they accidentally banished a demon to Timbuktu. One of the characters then proceeded to go and get him and bring him back. The fact that the character was able to do this made me question my previous ideas of the place and I soon found out that Timbuktu is a real place.
An actual real place in Africa* where people live and work and play. And I didn't think it existed. I thought this place was imaginary. In my defence if you type 'is Timbuktu' into Google the suggestions are 'a real place', 'a place' and 'real.' I am clearly not the first to be mistaken by its undeniable reality. Still. That's not good.
In conclusion I am useless at geography and should never be left to go anywhere alone. I'd only get lost.
On a completely unrelated topic, you may have noticed that on my blog I managed to add a 'reply' button, so I can reply to your comments. The thing is, I don't know if you actually get notified when I reply, so even though I've replied to lots of your comments, you might not have realised. So I just thought I'd bring that to your attention. Awesome. Hope you had a good day and I'll see you soon =)
*It is now on my list of places I want to visit, along with Canada, Italy and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Monday, 6 June 2011
Productive Doodling
So I was just doodling on my hand the other day and it looked kind of cool so I took a couple of piccies. I couldn't decide which of these I preferred so I give you both.
(Also credit must be given to 'DarkUFO' who solved the problems I've been encountering whilst trying to download these images- if it wasn't for him/ her I still wouldn't have been able to post this.)
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Rainy Days
Today has been a really good day. I've felt far more positive than I have for the rest of this week and, after an enjoyable day at school, I got home feeling creative and inspired. Why, you might ask. Did I read something thought provoking? No.* Did I have a small amount of homework and lots of my favourite lessons? Nope. (But I'm sure blogging is more important than art homework.) Did I take a 'happy pill'? Definitely not! It's actually been because it is raining**. And rain is my favourite type of weather (other than snow, obviously.)
Most people think it's pretty weird that I prefer rainy days to sunny ones, and winter to summer, and December to any other month- though I am biased as it contains both Christmas and my birthday- but I just love it. I could say it's because after rain everything looks greener and brighter and fresher. Or that there's no rainbow without rain. Or that it is refreshing and cleans the landscape. But, whilst all that is true, it's not why I think it's so great.
I actually just love the thing itself. Rain. The sound it makes against the window (that pattering that manages to be comforting instead of irritating); the feel of it when you have no umbrella and a long trek home and you can just get absolutely soaked and it is so free and awesome and you're so wet that it doesn't matter if you get even wetter; the fact it makes the whole world blurry and no one can quite see each other properly through the downpour; the license it gives you to sit inside and write blog posts and read books and watch TV without feeling guilty; the way it catches your eye through the window, no matter what you're doing; and, most importantly, it makes me feel enclosed but in a snuggly, warm way, not a scary, claustrophobic way.
I think my lazy, hot chocolate drinking, writing, reading, slightly anti-social self is just perfectly suited to this weather. I like burying myself down into the sofa, finding the perfect position and remaining there for hours, so long, in fact, that a cat decides to come and sit on me as if I am part of the furniture. Rain allows me to indulge myself with this lifestyle, therefore, it is my ideal climate. And snow...well, that's another story (or should I say blog post.)
*I've actually just finished Paper Towns by John Green which was both thought provoking AND absolutley brilliant, but that wasn't the reason for this mood.
**Thumbs up if you'd already guessed this due to the not-so-subtle title.
Most people think it's pretty weird that I prefer rainy days to sunny ones, and winter to summer, and December to any other month- though I am biased as it contains both Christmas and my birthday- but I just love it. I could say it's because after rain everything looks greener and brighter and fresher. Or that there's no rainbow without rain. Or that it is refreshing and cleans the landscape. But, whilst all that is true, it's not why I think it's so great.
I actually just love the thing itself. Rain. The sound it makes against the window (that pattering that manages to be comforting instead of irritating); the feel of it when you have no umbrella and a long trek home and you can just get absolutely soaked and it is so free and awesome and you're so wet that it doesn't matter if you get even wetter; the fact it makes the whole world blurry and no one can quite see each other properly through the downpour; the license it gives you to sit inside and write blog posts and read books and watch TV without feeling guilty; the way it catches your eye through the window, no matter what you're doing; and, most importantly, it makes me feel enclosed but in a snuggly, warm way, not a scary, claustrophobic way.
I think my lazy, hot chocolate drinking, writing, reading, slightly anti-social self is just perfectly suited to this weather. I like burying myself down into the sofa, finding the perfect position and remaining there for hours, so long, in fact, that a cat decides to come and sit on me as if I am part of the furniture. Rain allows me to indulge myself with this lifestyle, therefore, it is my ideal climate. And snow...well, that's another story (or should I say blog post.)
*I've actually just finished Paper Towns by John Green which was both thought provoking AND absolutley brilliant, but that wasn't the reason for this mood.
**Thumbs up if you'd already guessed this due to the not-so-subtle title.
My Favourite Quote
"We are not nouns, we are verbs. I am not a thing - an actor, a writer - I am a person who does things - I write, I act - and I never know what I am going to do next. I think you can be imprisoned if you think of yourself as a noun."
— Stephen Fry
I really love this quote because it just seems so true, and, of course, Stephen Fry is such an epic, insanely intelligent being. I think people like to categorise themselves as 'The Artist' or 'The Nerd' and play up to this false generalisation, which limits all of the things that they could actually achieve if they could just let themselves. You don't have to be 'The Nerd' to get A*s and you don't have to be 'The Popular Kid' to be confident around others. People are far more complex than they give themselves credit for and they (or rather, we) should let all aspects of ourselves shine, or at least give them a chance to do so.
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