"Doing good is more important than fighting evil."
-stolen from Donatello, the TMNT
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Wisdom from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Stolen Quote #23
"Doing good is more important than fighting evil."
-stolen from Donatello, the TMNT
"Doing good is more important than fighting evil."
-stolen from Donatello, the TMNT
Friday, September 24, 2010
Mockingjay, I Hate You
The last book of the Hunger Games series was a disappointment.
It wasn't just that I thought Katniss ended up with the wrong guy. I mean, real life happens like that, right? But she had to end up with Haymitch, the drunk who was a few decades her senior. And that was even after he killed her mother in a drunken rage. I suppose it's a good lesson in forgiveness. But did she learn anything? She just became a drunk herself and married him because he was the only one willing to try to repopulate District 12 after it was burned to the ground. It certainly made me re-analyze every conversation with Haymitch in the last 2 books when he finally confessed, in the closing pages of book 3, that he'd always been attracted to Katniss.
When Peeta was killed in battle by a mutt that was a 12-foot tall mockingjay with a lizard tail and eyes remarkably similar to Gale's, I thought, "Well, I suppose it's best they didn't end up together, anyway."
And Gale wasn't such a jerk after all. I was grateful for that development above all others. He showed such kindness, and such composure under pressure. He downed people with his arrows and then prayed over their bodies. Every time! It brought in an element of the spiritual that I wasn't expecting. When Peeta died, I thought, "Oh, good! Katniss and Gale will end up together!" But in the end I respected Gale's choice to become a celibate monk, roaming from shattered district to shattered district, spreading the message of the Gospel. Go, Gale!
The stolen kiss between President Snow and President Coin, leader of the Rebel movement, was unexpected. I couldn't decide if it was a genuine kiss or not. I mean, I think it was, but then she stabbed him through the heart so that she could take over power. And that kinda muddied the waters a little. The peek we get of her tattoo, the one that was probably a profile shot of President Snow, or "George, my Love," as she calls him, decided for me: She really did love him. It's a sad tale of tortured love.
But the part that disappointed me the MOST was that Katniss was still a whiner. I tired of her seemingly endless indecision and self-pity. Not saying I would have handled it better, but I hope I wouldn't have married a drunk in the end as a way to run away from it all. Ah, who am I kidding? I would have ended up a drunk, too.
Suzanne Collins, couldn't you have answered some of the questions you brought up in books 1 and 2? No? Did you know YOURSELF what the answers were? I'm starting to think that you didn't. Bummer.
It wasn't just that I thought Katniss ended up with the wrong guy. I mean, real life happens like that, right? But she had to end up with Haymitch, the drunk who was a few decades her senior. And that was even after he killed her mother in a drunken rage. I suppose it's a good lesson in forgiveness. But did she learn anything? She just became a drunk herself and married him because he was the only one willing to try to repopulate District 12 after it was burned to the ground. It certainly made me re-analyze every conversation with Haymitch in the last 2 books when he finally confessed, in the closing pages of book 3, that he'd always been attracted to Katniss.
When Peeta was killed in battle by a mutt that was a 12-foot tall mockingjay with a lizard tail and eyes remarkably similar to Gale's, I thought, "Well, I suppose it's best they didn't end up together, anyway."
And Gale wasn't such a jerk after all. I was grateful for that development above all others. He showed such kindness, and such composure under pressure. He downed people with his arrows and then prayed over their bodies. Every time! It brought in an element of the spiritual that I wasn't expecting. When Peeta died, I thought, "Oh, good! Katniss and Gale will end up together!" But in the end I respected Gale's choice to become a celibate monk, roaming from shattered district to shattered district, spreading the message of the Gospel. Go, Gale!
The stolen kiss between President Snow and President Coin, leader of the Rebel movement, was unexpected. I couldn't decide if it was a genuine kiss or not. I mean, I think it was, but then she stabbed him through the heart so that she could take over power. And that kinda muddied the waters a little. The peek we get of her tattoo, the one that was probably a profile shot of President Snow, or "George, my Love," as she calls him, decided for me: She really did love him. It's a sad tale of tortured love.
But the part that disappointed me the MOST was that Katniss was still a whiner. I tired of her seemingly endless indecision and self-pity. Not saying I would have handled it better, but I hope I wouldn't have married a drunk in the end as a way to run away from it all. Ah, who am I kidding? I would have ended up a drunk, too.
Suzanne Collins, couldn't you have answered some of the questions you brought up in books 1 and 2? No? Did you know YOURSELF what the answers were? I'm starting to think that you didn't. Bummer.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Taylor Swift
I tried to hate her. She's just another teenie bopper, I said to myself. But she's got talent, I finally admitted. And she's got some great songs!
I broke down and bought 2 of her singles: You Belong with Me and Love Story. On top of that, I fell in love with Jon Schmidt's Love Story Meets Love Story, which is (clearly) based on Taylor Swift's original song.
Sadly, Taylor Swift isn't album cover to album cover genius. That might be an impossible standard, though, so I didn't hold it against her when I wasn't impressed with either one of her two then-available albums, as a whole.
I just read in last week's Time that Taylor Swift's new album is out. It's called Speak Now and this is what Time had to say about it:
So I shouldn't have been shocked, then, when I watched the video for "Mine" and thought, "Seriously? You thought we wouldn't notice that this is the SAME SONG you released 2 years ago? Only it's NOT AS GOOD?" And, sadly, it doesn't have a tune.
I showed it to my 8-year-old daughter who loves the 2 Taylor Swift singles we own, and loves the music videos for them even more. She said, "I like it, but not as much." Yeah, cause you've heard it all before?
Taylor Swift, this song is a disappointment.
I broke down and bought 2 of her singles: You Belong with Me and Love Story. On top of that, I fell in love with Jon Schmidt's Love Story Meets Love Story, which is (clearly) based on Taylor Swift's original song.
Sadly, Taylor Swift isn't album cover to album cover genius. That might be an impossible standard, though, so I didn't hold it against her when I wasn't impressed with either one of her two then-available albums, as a whole.
I just read in last week's Time that Taylor Swift's new album is out. It's called Speak Now and this is what Time had to say about it:
If the single "Mine" is any indication, Speak Now will be more of the same lovesick rockers and ballads as 2008's Fearless. It may well not matter, though: Swift has cornered the market on teenage romance.
So I shouldn't have been shocked, then, when I watched the video for "Mine" and thought, "Seriously? You thought we wouldn't notice that this is the SAME SONG you released 2 years ago? Only it's NOT AS GOOD?" And, sadly, it doesn't have a tune.
I showed it to my 8-year-old daughter who loves the 2 Taylor Swift singles we own, and loves the music videos for them even more. She said, "I like it, but not as much." Yeah, cause you've heard it all before?
Taylor Swift, this song is a disappointment.
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