Book Blogger Rebellion

New Girl

2012-02-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

So with the new semester, some people left my school and some people joined it. I go to a really small school, so things like this are a big deal. And there's this new girl that looked like someone I could be friends with. She has the same look as my friends, and even sat with my friends on her first day.

But then she started to hang out with a group of girls at my school. They're kind of... odd. Not that I have a problem with odd people, most of them are really nice girls that I have no problem with. But one of them, who I will call Obamaniqwa is an immature, annoying... person. It's not just me that thinks this. If she was nice, I would tolerate her, but she's not. She's mean. Even her friends don't like her, which, you know, is never good. I texted her today, asking for new girl's number, and she wrote back a very mean thing, claiming that new girl was the one who told her to say it, but the people who were around her when she texted me this said that new girl did no such thing. But who knows.

So the new girl is hanging out with Obamaniqwa and her nice friends, but Obamaniqwa has an influence on her. If I just moved to a school where everyone already knows each other, I'd probably leech onto somebody too, but new girl made a bad decision.

I've tried to talk to new girl, but Obamaniqwa has clearly influenced the way new girl acts around people. All of my friends say they think new girl is, well, let's say "mean" after today. Here's a list of things new girl has done that are what I would consider mean. 1) She doesn't make an effort to talk to people outside of Obamaniqwa and her friends. I would be shy too, if I just moved to a new school, but the problem is that if you try to talk to new girl, she's not even nice. 2) I waved to her today, said hi, and she just turned around and ignored me. Like, we made eye contact, so I know she saw me. 3) She was flirting with my best guy friend, who has a girlfriend (and everyone knows it) all day today.

If I had just moved to a new school, I would try to be nice to everyone and not already cause problems my first week there. If new girl keeps it up, the only person she'll have at this school is Obamaniqwa. We're a tight-knit bunch at my school, and if somebody's not nice, they're not going to be welcomed very warmly. New girl so far seems very full of herself, like she doesn't have to be nice to people. Maybe that's Obamaniqwa's doing, or maybe, hopefully not, but maybe, new girl is just a bitch.

I'm going to continue to try to make an effort with new girl, and hopefully she'll come to her senses and not let Obamaniqwa make all the decisions for her. I could always use another friend.

Hi.

2012-02-01T22:02:00.001-08:00

49 days until The Hunger Games movie.

o.0 ~ :) ~

Also, happy 2012.

In Which I Am a Fan

2011-12-20T13:29:00.000-08:00

Even if you don't know about Hayao Miyazaki (which, if you don't, go watch everything directed by him and produced by Studio Ghibli right now), you should watch this. I am uber excited for the next Studio Ghibli movie: The Secret World of Arriety. I can't wait to get that feeling of watching a Miyazaki movie. Everything is so well-done, and they try to still do original (first on paper, then scanned) animation as they can, in a world where ~~pretty much everything~~ almost everything is done only on computers and tablets. And they're deep. And lovely and wonderful.

*giggles* *waits*

(No one paid or asked me to do this, blah-blah, blah-blah, blah-blah. I just LOVE them muchly.)

Project for Awesome 2011

2011-12-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

After sitting back and kind of ignoring Project for Awesome last year, this year I decided to get involved.

This video kind of explains what the Project for Awesome is, and if you're still confused, here's the actual website. The website explains, gives you a place to submit your video, gives you a place to donate, and shows you videos and causes you can help.

Lanna and I will be putting up a post highlighting some videos we loved, as well as the two videos I did this year, on our blog. But if you don't feel like going there, here's some videos done by people within our community:

Harmony at Harmony's Radiant Reads
Elizzebooks
YA Rebels
Karen at OCD of Books
Robyn Schneider
My Rachel's Challenge video and my Sevenly video

If you made a P4A video or you just have one you want to share, please leave it in the comments!

--Julie

Nicole's Song of the Day: Dig That Crazy Santa Claus

2011-12-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

I've been in a Christmas mood lately.

Song: Dig That Crazy Santa Claus
Artist: The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Album: Dig That Crazy Christmas
Year: 2005

I have a thing for jazz Christmas music. I love it. It's bloody awesome. And this entire album is EXCELLENT. If you're looking for something to put you in the holiday spirit, I highly recommend it. I've been blasting it as I wrap presents.

Avatar: The Legend of Korra Trailer

2011-12-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

There is no words to describe what I am feeling.

Actually, there are. Pick from any of the following to label me with:

- excited
- ecstatic
- thrilled
- anticipatory
- happy
- dancing
- ready

I'm in the middle of rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender with a group of my friends, and now this, and it looks so good, and... gah.

I. Am. Ready.

Nicole's Song of the Day: Free Your Mind

2011-11-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

I've been singing this a lot lately.

Song: Free Your Mind
Artist: En Vogue
Album: Funky Divas
Year: 1992

That's the only embedded version. (But that's okay, because I love Kelly Clarkson - I think I like this version more than the recorded version.) I love, love, love the message to this song.

Anybody else remember this song?

Holiday Blues

2011-11-23T09:01:00.001-08:00

So yesterday I came down with a severe case of what I'm calling The Holiday Blues. It was when I realized that today I'd have to clean the kitchen like 17000 times because of the severe amount of cooking that will take place in said kitchen, and the day after that I'd have to go see my family. I love my family, promise, it's just that there are certain people (a couple, haha) that myself and my immediate family attempt to avoid at all costs.

Then, I remembered, comes Christmas (if you celebrate it, of course), and I am no where close to being finished with shopping. And the stores are already playing Christmas music and it makes me want to smash the speakers with a mallet.

I am not really in the holiday spirit. I'm hoping that changes soon cause blerg.

Nicole's Song of the Day: Into the Night

2011-11-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

So I want to keep this blog functioning and alive for when people want to post (also, it's fun) but I couldn't figure out how until fifteen minutes ago.

Commencing: Nicole's Song of the Day.

Song: Into the Night
Artist: Santana (featuring Chad Kroeger)
Album: Into the Night (Single)
Year: 2007

I'm addicted to this song. I'm not sure why. I just kind of adore it in every way possible.

Have you heard it? Do you like it?

I spend way too much of my time on Tumblr.

2011-11-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

It's true. (Personal. Inspirational. WORD.) And I was trying to figure out why. What appeal does Tumblr hold that so many other sites don't?

I think part of it is it's simplicity. A giant dashboard. Easy to click buttons. Simple layouts.

And part of it is the community. It's easy to make friends, follow people you like, go through the dashboard. (It's a nice dashboard, too, unlike the Google one for Blogger.)

And then there's just it's overarching prettiness and talented people. There's so many gorgeous graphics and so many epic writers.

And then I just spend a lot of time fangirling. That helps, too.

Y'all should follow me if you're on it. Just saying.

RIP Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

Go watch this. Long, but worth it. I'm about to watch it a third time.

--Julie

I'm a minimalist who just happens to own a lot of stuff.

2011-09-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

I don't like stuff. I REALLY don't like stuff.

Most stuff takes up an unnecessarily large amount of room and a lot of it people don't need. You don't need 100 t-shirts. Or ALL THE NOTEBOOKS! that are on sale. Or dozens of cat statues. Or twelve different Coach bags. Or six different pairs of Converse.

I don't like having stuff. The less stuff I have in my room, the better. That was one of the reasons I loved repainting my room; I went though all the stuff I had and got rid of anything that wasn't useful or sentimental. I don't own a lot of extra stuff.

Unfortunatley, I still own a LOT of stuff.

Stuff isn't bad, necessarily. Everything I own I use or has sentimental value to me. (Or is a poster, because I can't stand bare walls.)

This still means I own a lot of stuff because I USE a lot of stuff.

This is highly inconvienent.

For instance, I own a lot of DVDs. With online streaming and the ability to upload things, it seems silly, but I like the ability to carry them around. So they take up some space. And we all know I own a LOT of books. But I use them all.

And I own quite a few pairs of boots, all of which I love. But I use them all, so it's okay.

I don't mind people having a lot of stuff. Stuff is GOOD.

I just can't stand people having a lot of useless stuff.

Hence why I am REALLY good at cleaning my room. I don't have anything I don't need!

This is My Brain on Many, Many, Many Important Deadlines

2011-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure colleges want you to be super smart, have your brain nearly explode trying to get in/pay for college, and then be super smart again.

THANKS FOR THIS AWESOME PRE-TEST COLLEGE.

--Julie

Drama

2011-09-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

My school has a ~~poor excuse for a~~ drama club. We put on plays. It's pretty fun. Except...

We can only put on plays that are 30 minutes long.
Number 1 means that we can't do wonderful plays like "Into the Woods" or "The Wizard of Oz" or pretty much anything else.
Number 1 also means that we have to choose from a catalog of short plays. They are all mediocre.
We have to follow the uniform guidelines when choosing costumes. Nothing too extravagant.
Anyone can join, and you don't have to audition for parts.
Most of these 30-minute plays don't have enough parts for everyone in the club, so we have to add to the script and make up said parts.

I'll stop making this into a whine post now. The point of this is that I'm very excited for high school next year! The drama class there will be all-out plays, with extravagant costumes made by a costume crew, with tickets and people and actual auditorium. Also, I won't have to wear uniform! Let me tell you, you might think uniforms are great, but why don't you try wearing a polo shirt and khaki shorts and pants every day! One of the high schools in my area recently produced "Guys and Dolls," and I really enjoyed it. I'm pretty pumped to be a part of that next year.

Advice For College Bloggers: How To Survive School And Still Get Sleep

2011-09-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

It IS possible. I know, I know, I was suspicious, too. Except I'm living proof that you can do everything you want to do and get eight hours of sleep a night.

A Bit About Me:
Y'all know I'm Nicole. I run WORD for Teens, where there is a post up every single day without fail, except on Fridays, where there are two posts. I take great pride in this. I am also a double major in Journalism: Public Relations and English, which means I have a shit ton of reading and writing to do every night. I also am the publicity person for Dumbledore's Army, an advocacy group, on campus and this semester I've added writing book reviews for the local school paper to my to-do list. I also have a boyfriend, watch movies with my friends, like to take random walks around campus, eat three meals a day and get eight hours of sleep a night.

Oh, and play Sims Medieval. I like Sims Medieval.

And yes, I get it all done.

Here's How:
My life is divided into what four categories: homework, social life, blogging, and me. (School clubs fall under 'social life,' except the Oracle, which falls under both homework, social life, and blogging. But that's just because I have to write and read YA books for it.) Here are the top tips I have from these four categories as to how to run your own life. (If, of course, it works for you.)

Homework
College sucks. You get a ton of reading and writing and you hafta get it all done and all the teachers want you to prioritize that THEIR class comes first and oh! don't forget the giant projects you have due, because there's bound to be one or two of them a semester, plus the essays and the presentations.

Relax. You can survive this.

1. The syllabus is your friend.
Teachers work their asses off making the syllabus so that all the students can see what they have to read and when and when the project is due and where they can be contacted if they need an extension or have a question and 99% of students never look at them. This is silly. If you have the syllabus, you'll have to know what needs to get done every night as well as what's coming up. No stress!

All of my syllabuses - syllabi? - up on my bulletin board.
To the far left, my WORD guinea pig calendar. And $2 that
a friend left in our room.

2. Planners are also your friend.
Or whatever it is you use to write down what you have to get done. It's all a matter of whatever works best for you. I used to use index cards and tape them to the top of my computer and list my homework on them. My roommate uses sticky notes and sticks them on the wall next to her bed. I use planners to write it down.

My homework planner (left) and
social life/clubs planner (right).

3. Prioritize your work and plan ahead.
That reading that's due tomorrow may take less time than the essay due three weeks from now, but you'll still have time to do the essay. Get whatever is due next out of the way first and - if you have some free time - work on outlining the big projects. The key isn't getting it all done in one weekend; it's doing it bit by bit over time.

My big dragon calendar. I write down the deadlines
for all BIG projects and essays here.

4. Just get it done!
You don't want to do homework. I don't want to do homework. In those hours between or after classes, before dinner or clubs or events or fun, you're just going to want to sit on the computer and troll Tumblr. Instead, use that time to just get your homework done - it's dull and boring, but it'll be out of your way for the rest of the weekend. You can derp around on Sims Medieval or read a book while your friends scramble around Sunday night to get it all done.

5. Take a break.
But don't do homework ALL the time. You do need room for sleep and food and social life. If you have too much reading and don't think you'll be able to finish an essay on time, email the teacher for an extension. (More than two days before it's due, please.) If you spend all your time working on homework and not doing anything else, it means there's something wrong in how you're working on it or the classes you're taking. Consider dropping one or switching out or talking to the professor.

Notice that I don't have anything in here about studying. Studying is for mid-terms and quizzes and tests and finals, which are EXCEPTIONS to the rule. (Also, I don't study. When I do, it's for finals; I schedule in a day of studying with a break every hour to take a walk. Usually on a Sunday, as Sundays are dull anyway.)

Social Life
Social life is important in college and in life in general. Interaction with people is a MUST if you plan to survive in the real world.

1. There is always time for real people. Not everything is about homework or the Internet.
It's important to socialize. You don't want to be an outcast and friends are fun. You may have to push people off until the weekend, but ALWAYS make room for some fun, or you'll end up a quivering ball of stress nerves.

After doing homework one night, I
went to a friends' room and we made
Mr. Potato Heads. It was quite fun.

2. Don't feel obligated to do anything - and when you do do something, do it with some intelligence.
I do not party. I have friends that party. But they're smart enough to do it on weekends so they don't go to class hungover or whatever, and they try to avoid random hookups. Have a safe person; know what you're doing. And don't let ANYBODY pressure you into doing or going somewhere you don't want to go.

3. Go to poetry slams. Or a theater event. Or something new.
If you're not comfortable partying, then fine. But try something! Go with your friends to a poetry slam. See an event the local theater is putting on. Go to a coffee house and chill for an hour. Go to a open mic night. Hell, just go to one of the random events that they're bound to be putting on on campus and just chill! (Poetry slams are always fun.)

4. Your boyfriend might be hot, but your friends are hotter. Or something.
Friends are important. You may love your shiny new boyfriend (or rusty old boyfriend, or girlfriend, I'm not fussy) but your friends are just going to be pissed if you spend all your time with him/her and none of your time with them. They shouldn't come before him/her, but they should be on the same page. You should spend as much time making out with your boyfriend as you do watching movies with your friends.

5. Clubs are fun. Also time consuming. Balance it out.
Clubs are fun! Lots of fun! But if you don't think you'll have time, don't join all 40 that you want to. And on the ones you do join, decide whether or not you really want to run for e-board (because there is a lot of work involved). They're there for you to have fun. Join them, meet new people - but if it becomes too much, don't be afraid to take a step back.

Blogging
You've got your homework under control now. You know how to keep yourself organized, when it's due, and when to do it. (And when not to.) Now how do you keep up on blogging?

1. Planners are your friend.
See that picture with the syllabus up above? That cute guinea pig? Yeah, that's my WORD calendar. I write in whenever I have a post scheduled and I can see where I need filled as well. I also keep sticky notes on my desk with a list of what I have coming up so I know what's going in.

A screenshot of my desk. On the right side are the sticky notes
on my desktop - the bottom for club stuff the top for fun stuff,
and the middle for WORD stuff. And on the right, this blog post
in progress!

2. Schedule ahead. Prioritize. Have fun.
Set up blog posts ahead of time. That's a great thing about blogs; you don't have to write something and post it right away. And as for what you're setting up - set up some fun, nonsensical posts if you haven't read a book. It'll keep content on your blog going and keep people reading. (I do this ALL THE TIME. Six days out of the week on WORD I usually don't have a book review; I aim for one a week and fun stuff on other days to make up for it.)

3. Twitter is your friend.
Twitter is my social networking guilty pleasure during the school year. However, if you use it right - as in not sitting there talking to people for hours instead of working - it can be a real help while blogging. You can find people to guest post, talk to authors and get some stuff to blog about and stay generally updated on interesting things going on in the blogging world.

4. TAKE A BREAK.
You don't have to blog every day! I do because I like nonsensical posts and am far too much of an overachiever not to try it, but it doesn't mean you have to. Take every Sunday and Thursday off. Find somebody to guest post once a week or once a month. Hell, do three solid weeks of guest posts only. Or just announce that you'll be back in a month or so.

Blogging is supposed to be FUN, not work. So even if it's important to you, don't worry too much about it. When in doubt, let it slack off.

Me Time?
Yes. You. You'll be throwing yourself into school work and blogging and friends. But what about you?

1. If you have a job, make sure you want to keep it.
I'm the first person in the world who will tell you to go make as much money as you can. But I also don't have a job this semester, nor do I want one; it's too much work on top of everything else. If you feel you have time for one, that's great - if not, don't take one, or quit the one you have. It's okay not to have a job during college. (That's what summer is for!)

2. Take some time to chill by yourself.
Take a long shower. Or a walk. Or just spend an hour or two playing Sims. (Or Snood. Or Tetris.) You should reconnect to yourself during everything else you're doing.

3. Yes. I do want you to exercise.
I know, I know. It sucks. But I don't care if you join the equestrian team and get your exercise that way; do SOMETHING for your body. Don't become a sack of potatoes. My personal preference is yoga. It's relaxing for the mind AND the body AND is a workout. You can't lose.

4. Eat and sleep.
Eat food. (Healthy food, preferably, but if you can't grab a salad, don't skip a meal. Fried chicken IS delicious, after all.) And sleep is important. Eight hours if you can manage it; getting to bed early is always easier than waking up late for class. Take it from me.

If you're wondering how you can do all four of these things: look straight into the computer, take a deep breath, and relax. It's all about time management. As long as the homework is done, you can work on any of the following three - and trust me, contrary to popular belief, homework shouldn't take ALL WEEKEND! ALL NIGHT! ALL OF YOUR LIFE! If you've got yourself organized, trust me - it'll get done.

I have faith in you.

Happy homeworking!

The thing about college is...

2011-09-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

... you're always told you're not going to have a lot of free time. That you're going to be busy socializing and hanging out with friends and doing homework and sleeping and studying (ha!) and doing all sorts of things so you won't really have time to read and things.

This is a blatant lie.

I mean, sure, that's how it is for some people, and for me, most of the time.

But then you get a weekend like this one - a long weekend, where your friends go home, and it's raining nonstop, and you've spent a lot of hours with your boyfriend, and you still have time to spare, and all your homework is done, and it's too early in the semester to study -

- and then you wonder why you left your Pokemon games at home, or why Zoo Tycoon wasn't packed, or where that book you started to read but then put to the side to do your homework is now because, let's face it, you need to pass the time until your friends get back or until classes start again in some manner, and you can only sleep for so long.

Or you can just go on Tumblr. Or blog.

Those work, too.

So, It's September...

2011-09-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

I have a hard time accepting the fact that it's September. I mean...where did my summer go?

A week from today I go back to high school for the last time. I don't know if I'm ready to be done with high school and to start making really important decisions. As much as I dislike my school and most of the people there and as ready as I am to leave the "friends" I've made...I just don't feel ready to handle this.

I still sleep with stuffed animals and I can't bring myself to say goodbye to some of the dolls I had when I was a kid. I watch Disney movies frequently and refuse to let anyone touch my Shel Silversten and Roald Dahl books. How does all of this mean I'm almost ready to move out on my own and pick a school and a place to live?

Anyone else finishing high school in 2012? Or just finished high school?

--Julie

The Avengers

2011-08-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Wow. We haven't posted in over a month. That's sad.

On that note, I am RIDICULOUSLY excited for this.

Anybody else?

A Door Closed, Another Opened

2011-07-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember me posting about starting the first season of Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) a while ago. Well, now, during Camp NaNoWriMo, I rewarded myself with an episode of season two, and I finished it. And holy wow. The ending was bittersweet, but I love this anime so much. It's one of my favorites. (Note that the manga is completely different, but still amazing, my friend tells me. I don't plan on reading it-- it's too long for me and has lots of story arcs and so different from the anime . . .)

Now I'm almost finished with the Ouran High School Host Club anime, and it's also one of my favorites. I have two more episodes to go. All I can say is: Someone better kiss!

I'm done with one of these and almost done with the other, and I'm not sure what else I'm going to watch (two maximum.) I only have so much time and I already watch Pretty Little Liars, so I'm thinking I'm going to go ahead and watch InuYasha: The Final Act, subbed. The dub was supposed to come out early this year, but . . .

Anyway, have any of you heard of Durarara? The first episode of the dub was on Adult Swim a while ago, and I watched it. It was pretty good, but then I read the summaries of all the future episodes, and I don't think I'm going to watch it, even though said friend tells me I should.

Thoughts?

Suck-fest.

2011-07-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

Growing up is the worst thing ever.

You're going through things even you can't understand, and so are your friends. Everyone's terrified about growing up.

Combine this with romantic angst, friend angst, and just general, y'know, angst?

Not fun.

Sigh.

The Truth About The Friend Zone

2011-06-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

One of my friends posted this on their Facebook wall with the phrase "Story of my life." attached to it. I, being the nosy body I am, clicked over, saw what it was and started reading the comments.

I have a collection of both guy and girl friends and their opinions on the friend zones always differ. I've heard girls complain about being stuck in the friend zone with boys (it does happen!); I've heard boys complain about being stuck in the friend zone with girls; I've hear girls complain about being stuck in the friend zone with girls and boys about being stuck in the friend zone with boys. I've heard two friends who liked each other complain about being stuck in the friend zone of respective friend.

Part of me wants to headdesk and just tell them both - girl or guy - to tell the other how they feel. When asked, that's usually the advice they give. But would I do the same thing?

Things I do not agree with: this.

Part of me FULLY believes that if you like somebody, you should tell them. But on the other hand, did you ever stop to think about how you got in the friend zone?

If you're looking for a girl like me or who thinks like me - which most of my friends do, and my friends are, for the most part, hot nerds - you want to get to know the person a bit before jumping into a relationship with them. They're hot, sure, and they seem cool, but you're not quite sure. Maybe they have some hideous disease you don't know about or secretly have seven toes on each foot.

And that's where, I think, most good relationship start - as friends. Jumping into a relationship is all good and well, but the best relationships are based on friendships.

But then what happens when you end up at the friend zone? That point where you two have been friends for so long that she/he comes to you for girl/guy advice and you feel obligated to give her a response?

Here are my thoughts on the friend zone:

It's a sucky place to be.
It's also an imaginary place to be.

So long as you have the ability to talk, you will never be stuck in the friend zone.

If the girl/guy likes you, should they speak up? Probably. But if they're anything like me, they're either a) super shy when it comes to expressing their emotions or b) waiting for you to make a move because they think that's what they should be doing (chivalry and all that). I did both when it came to my current boyfriend. (Granted, our period of just friendship was sort. He's very Darcy-like. I couldn't help it.)

So yes, maybe you're waiting for them to make a move. But don't complain about her being lazy (like I've seen in the comments) or about them needing to make a move (because maybe they're just as scared as you are). If they're friends with you, there is something they like about you. Maybe it won't be a romantic relationship for everybody, but there's a start there somewhere.

Just speak up.

That's all you have to do. Let her/him know. If they let you down? Yeah, it's gonna hurt. But you're already friends with them, and if you were friends with them just in an attempt to date them and no other reason - well, that wouldn't have been a very good relationship anyway, and you can walk away from them with just the stinging heart. In some cases, they may not like you like that, but you end up with a great friend. (Just ask some of my guy friends. In some cases, the girls really don't know you like them... sorry, Scott.)

But maybe they do like you. Maybe they were scared or nervous or thought that you weren't interested in them. And all you had to do is let them know and suddenly-

So yes. The friend zone does suck. And most of [insert group here] doesn't understand how [insert other group here] thinks. But maybe they're just afraid of getting hurt themselves, or nervous, or they just don't know.

The truth about the friend zone is that it's a place you put yourself in. If you like somebody and spend all your time waiting for them to realize it, chances are, it won't happen. You have to stand up and tell them. Sometimes you'll get rejected.

Sometimes, you'll find a new romance.

You know what I love?

2011-06-20T16:20:00.001-07:00

Summer vacation.

And Tangled.

And sleeping.

And working out.

And all of you.

--Julie

Black Butler Fandom

2011-06-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for an amazing anime/manga . . . I give you: Black Butler. Also known as Kuroshitsuji. It's hilarious (as shown above) and kick-ass:

I finished season one (!!!) and have yet to start season two. I don't plan on reading the manga, but my friend says it's just as squee-worthy.

Chess: The Musical (And Other Things I Really Shouldn't Listen To)

2011-05-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

I like musicals. This is not news to anybody who knows me.

But as much as I love the great stuff (Les Miserables! Hair! Wicked!), I love some of the stuff that other people sneer at.

Chess is one of those things. But I can't help it. The songs are so catchy and the singers are fantastic! (Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Kerry Ellis, Josh Groban!? Hellz yeah.)

I've listened to the cast recording of the live concert version of it all the way through at least once a week since I first got the album a few months ago. I'm addicted.

I was also thinking of how many of my musical loving friends make fun of me for it.

But I'm okay with that; I can listen to whatever I want so long as I enjoy it and don't rub it in their faces. Like the following:

Alas. Judge me as you will.

Happy Rapture Day!

2011-05-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Where I live, it is 2:15, meaning there is 3 hours and 45 minutes left until the rapture. Until then, I am going to go break into my parent's booze stash, post confessions and angry rants on the internet, and become increasingly depressed that I'm going to die a virgin.

What are you doing on rapture day?

(Note: I'm not really buying it'll happen.)

Counting Down

2011-05-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

In 3 days, Boy will turn 7.

In 6 days, I go to Six Flags.

In 9 days, we have Boy's birthday party.

In 16 days, I take the SATs...again.

In 18 days, I have my last major project due.

In 22 days, I go to Pittsburgh.

In 27 days, I take the first of my two regents.

In 28 days, I take the last regents I will ever have to take.

In 28 days, I will be done with school and officially be a senior in high school.

I could keep going and take you through August, but I've gotten you to June 16 and I'm bored of counting down.

Are you counting down to anything? When does school end for you? Anybody else taking the SATs June 4?

--Julie

Adam Lambert was in Wicked?

2011-05-15T03:47:00.000-07:00

So I have this crazy obsession with Wicked. And next week I'm going to see Wicked on Broadway, so I obviously have the exciteds. I learned something new today - Adam Lambert was in 2 productions of Wicked - the touring production for 6 months then the Los Angelos production where he was in the ensemble and understand for Fiyero. Crazy stuff!

I love his voice - so when I figured this out I was super excited (and then totally wish I had a time machine to go back to one of the performances where he actually performed)

Now.... Here's a song for ya to see.

The Millennial Project

2011-05-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

My friends Katherine and Julia and I are working on a NEW PROJECT.

If you were born between 1986 and 1997, you can help, too.

The Millennial Project is a way to define and defend our generation. We're often the generation that everybody looks down upon as wanting instant gratification, as being too narcissistic, as being overly demanding.

Yet there's so much more to us than that: our tech-savvy, our acceptance of people that are different from us, and our overall intellect. We are a generation who is already nostalgic despite being in their young 20s or late teens.

And yet we've never even tried to define ourselves.

The Millennial Project is an attempt to answer these questions: How do you define yourself? Where do you see our generation going? What do you consider to be your talents and/or abilities given to you by the circumstances you've grown up with? What do others fail to understand about us? Who are you?

So check out the website and if you're interested, you can send me an email. More information on the differences between Generation Y (the generation before us) and the Millennial Generation should be up soon, along with an official submit form and what not.

Doctor Who

2011-04-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching the Season Six premiere of Doctor Who. (I streamed it from England. Side note: YOUR TELEVISION IS PERFECT. I'm moving to you. You're perfect.)

I DON'T KNOW. WHAT IS THIS!? IT'S SO PERFECT.

Julia and I have been texting back and forth since the episode ended trying to figure out what's going to happen. I need to live in Steven Moffat's brain. Screw that, I just need it to be Saturday.

Has anybody else seen it? (I won't talk about it on the post just in case you haven't.) Isn't it - just - GAH.

In Which I Make a Plea

2011-04-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

So, I bet most of you have seen me talk about this contest. And my short story. And ask you to give it 5 stars.

But on the off chance you HAVEN'T seen my begging, here's my short story: http://inkpop.strutta.com/entry/164865

It's ALMOST in the Top 20. Once in the Top 20, editors at Harper Collins read those entries and pick a Top 5. Those in the Top 5 get a chance at being published. Legit.

So all you do is click the log in button in the top white bar. It'll ask to connect to your facebook and it's totally safe to do so. Then it takes you back and you give the story 5 stars. And you can comment if you want.

At this point, I don't care if you actually read it, but it'd be nice if you did.

And I'll stop begging once its safely in the Top 20.

Thank you!

--Julie

Why People Suck and the National Day of Silence Doesn't.

2011-04-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

So today in Computer Apps II, the worst class of all time, my horrible teacher who is horrible started reading the announcements. They are usually boring and nobody pays attention, so I didn't really care until she mentioned something.

My teacher read that tomorrow (April 15) is the National Day of Silence, and it is to support bullied gay and lesbian teens. You're supposed to wear red on this day (I totally am), and basically just do what you can to get the word out about bullying and why it is wrong and stuff.

My extremely liberal friend Jackie and I looked at each other and started talking about how it is awesome how our little hick school would be involved with this awesome event. Then something I hate happened.

One of the hicks in my class (there are so many, we live in Hickville, USA) wasn't paying attention to the teacher and asked if she could reread the announcement. She did, and when she said it was to support gay and lesbian teens, he shook his head and said "that's so retarded" to his other hick friends.

I didn't say anything to him, because with only 67 people in our graduating class, we should try to get along, but I vented to Jackie about how stupid and wrong he was.

I hate how people can be so ignorant of other people's choices and beliefs. I am not gay, but I support LGBTQ people one-hundred percent. I am surrounded every day by people who are so close-minded and ignorant that I don't know how I am able to function.

Even some of my friends don't like gay people. One or two of my good friends are extremely Christian. One of them even told me she thought gay people were gross one time. And I didn't understand why I was friends with her, since she is obviously a horrible person, right?

Then I realized it's not really her fault. My family is barely religious at all. But my friend goes twice a week. She has learned her whole life that homosexuality is wrong, and that is why she think's it too. And those hicks have been raised by their hick families who undoubtedly say crude comments about gay people all the time. Even my stepfather (who is awesome otherwise), has said horrible things about LGBTQ people.

So I guess I'm just trying to say that I am thankful I have been able to have my own opinions. I luckily was raised in a home where I had a lot of independence and I am so happy for that. If you have learned that LGBTQ people are wrong, that's your opinion. I don't hate you for it, or automatically think ill of you. I just think it sucks.

Remember that tomorrow, April 15, is the National Day of Silence. Show your support by wearing red and visiting http://www.dayofsilence.org/index.cfm for more info.

So.

2011-04-11T17:02:00.001-07:00

I am beyond ready for summer. I'm ready for the beach and the lake and even the heat that I hate oh-so-much. CAN WE JUST SPEED UP LIFE PLEASE?!

The Post Office Quest of Fail

2011-03-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

I really hate the post office. Right now, especially. For those of you who live outside the USA, I am jealous of you and your postal services. In America, the post office is basically a privately run company that just happens to be owned by the government. You see how this could be a problem when it comes to everything running smoothly.

Yesterday, I had to walk all the way from the post office to my house (that takes over two miles), with a package that was over thirty pounds and was about half the size of my body. My arms are still sore from that.

Fast forward to today. I wake up and my mom knocks on my door and brings in an Amazon package. "They gave me this at the post office when I was sending out some things." She says, setting the package down next to me on my bed. She then leaves and I rip open the Amazon box excitedly, knowing it must be books.

And books are what happen to be in the box. Yay. So later that day, I walk the quarter mile down my driveway and open up my mailbox. Along with boring stuff for my parents, two more books and some swag is there for me. Yay. Also, there is a little pink slip from the post office.

Whenever I get one of these, I want to cry. Those slips mean that there is a package sitting for me at the post office, but is too big to fit in the mailbox. So, I head back up the quarter mile driveway (that is uphill, mind you) and go around the internet, eat lunch, and then decide to go get my bike.

So I get my bike and I have brought my backpack, so I can ride the two miles to the post office, since nobody is around to drive me. But then I decide that I look stupid in sweatpants and a lumberjack hat. So I go back home, wash my hair and put on some jeans. Now I am ready to ride to the post office, right?

Wrong. At the end of that quarter mile driveway, I decide I would look silly if I rode my bike through the inches of snow still coating the ground. So I throw my bike in some trees at the end of my driveway and start to walk. Then I decide I look stupid with a backpack, so I throw that in with the bike.

Then I walk the two miles to the post office, walk in, and am greeted by three plump and squat old ladies. Well, two of them and one slender and tall women who wears her hair in a mullet style. I smile warmly and present them with the pink slip that I am sure will get my my package. The women mull around the tiny, unorganized building and eventually come back out to me, telling me that there is nothing there for me, and to come back later because it is possible that another lady might have accidentally taken the package with her on her route. How does that happen?!

So I walk back home empty handed. As I get back to my driveway, I notice a squirrel that has been ran over by some type of car. I can relate to the squirrel, because that is pretty much how I feel at this point. And that, my friends, is why I hate the USPS with a passion.

Hanna

2011-03-23T09:48:00.001-07:00

Please tell me I'm not the only one DYING to see this?

My Love | Sia

2011-03-12T11:32:00.000-08:00

I am so in love with this song.

My Love by Sia

	OST Ñóìåðêè. Ñàãà. Çàòìåíèå - Sia - My Love .mp3

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

My love, leave yourself behind

Beat inside me, leave you blind

My love, you have found peace

You were searching for release

You gave it all into the call

You took a chance and

You took the fall for us

You came thoughtfully

Loved me faithfully

You taught me honor

You did it for me

Tonight you will sleep for good

You will wait for me, my love

Now I am strong, you gave me all

You gave all you had

And now I am home

My love, leave yourself behind

Beat inside me, leave you blind

My love, look what you can do

I am mending, I'll be with you

You took my hand and added a plan

You gave me your heart

I asked you to dance with me

You loved honestly

Did what you could release

Ah, ooh

I know you're pleased to go

I won't relieve this love

Now I am strong, you gave me all

You gave all you had

And now I am home

My love, leave yourself behind

Beat inside me, I'll be with you

On FANFICTION becoming NOVELS

2011-03-05T17:39:00.000-08:00

So...
Once upon a time I wrote a rant about FANFICTION and what is WRONG AND RIGHT.

Well not so long ago I discovered a TWILIGHT fanfiction called "MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE" (You may have seen it on twitter? its trending #MOTU) Is going to be PUBLISHED.

In my opinion for the publishing industry this should be a BIG nono. Especially when it is being self published (nothing against that) by a TWILIGHT FORUM.

This is a BIG issue. Seeing as this forum asked the author to take the story and change the names.

And that is all.

At this very moment I am predicting that as crazy fanfiction teenagers purchase this book on amazon, Little Brown will be simmering. Waiting to pounce on this author. And sue her.

For every penny she is worth.

Remember this is a TWILIGHT fic. Which means Little Brown owns everything from here to the moon involving that little dandy of a novel. There is a REASON at the beginning of every fanfiction the author is required to post the following.......

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. THIS ALL BELONGS TO (insert whatever).

Little Brown is going to go NUTS.

This is THEIR property. This woman? Shes going to go to the dogs. Her story? Is going to be burned.

Sure dozens of 14 year old girls will cry.
Sure her family will go hungry.

Little Brown doesnt care.

So everyone out there, as I end this rant. What are your opinions? Is it OKAY for someone to take the names of a fanfiction and publish it? Or do you cheering on Little Brown as they ship this woman to the court.

I believe this is ALL I have left to say....

Vacations from Hell

2011-02-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

So, this past week I went on a college visit. We all drove down to Aberdeen, Maryland because it was smack between the two colleges I wanted to see (Towson and University of Delaware).

First, the 3 and a half hour car ride. There was traffic! And tolls every other mile! And cops everywhere! Madness, I tell you.

Then our room was tiny. I mean...we didn't expect a house or anything. But we stayed at the same hotel-line a year before and it was fine. Yeah, it was the handicapped room, but would it really be THAT different? Um...yeah. It would. No second bathroom. No fridge, instead a "cooler". No carpets so Boy couldn't set up a bed on the floor and no room to bring in a cot so we had to share a bed. A couch bed. Did I mention Boy is a kicker? And needs AS MUCH BED AS POSSIBLE?

The next morning before we head out, I go to shower. I pull the little thing that makes it be a shower instead of a bath and the top part comes off, but all's good so I get in. While I'm shampooing, I didn't have much else to do, so I tried to get the top back on...then the little plug falls through and I no longer have a shower. I didn't know if my family was back or not, I still had shampoo in my hair, and now I didn't have a shower. So I stuck my head under the faucet and rinsed on my hands and knees.

Later that day, Boy says he has a toothache. We give him a little Tylenol. By time I crawl into the...couch it's midnight. He wakes up crying about his tooth and there's nothing I can do. I give him more Tylenol, I cuddle, I set up a movie. For two hours this goes on. I send him to my parents to make them do something. He comes back. At 3 it starts again. At some point I conked out. I know at 4 I set up another movie. At 9 I woke up and Boy had to go see a dentist. One side of his face is swollen and he's still crying. Turns out that because one of the caps on a broken tooth came off, it became infected and spread. His face was too swollen to do any work. He's now on two different medications and yesterday (Thursday/when we got home) the swelling was getting worse and he had to go to his regular dentist. In theory, they'll fix it on Saturday.

Boy spent most of Wednesday grumpy. And woke up at 2 and I think 6 crying for more medication. I slept through the 6 o'clock wake up.

The hotel's indoor pool was cold. Fortunately, the hot tub was like bath-tub temperature, so we only went in there. The people next door was a family with at least two small children and when they were in the room WE KNEW IT. The people next door and across the hall also had the handicapped rooms. Also across the hall was the biggest room in the hotel. It snowed the first night we were there. It was only like 2 inches, which as a New Yorker we kind of snorted at, but it seemed like most of Maryland shut down (the Government closed. THE FREAKING GOVERNMENT). My dad was in pain and sick. My mom was in pain. None of us slept a full, good night. (Except maybe Boy that first night.)

All in all, pretty crappy. Yeah, it was good to see the colleges and explore and we had fun exploring Havre de Grace, about 2 miles from where our hotel was and really quaint and the food was good. But...not something I ever want to repeat. No.

Please tell me more horror stories that make mine sound like a dream come true?

--Julie

Fruits Basket

2011-02-15T17:49:00.000-08:00

So my friend Caroline and I are reading/watching Fruits Basket. I'm starting with the anime, and she's starting with the manga. She told me starting with the anime was a good idea. Does anyone else like Fruits Basket? Caroline and I were saying it's like Oh, exciting!, nothing happens, you're about to get really tired of it, then another Oh, exciting, new stuff! moment happens, and you're hooked again. /fandom

-JP

Superbowl

2011-02-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

I am watching it.

I am a Packers fan.

It is almost half time.

We're winning.

AHHHHHH.

But I must stay calm.

Game's not over yet.

Are you watching the football or do you not care?

How is your Icepocalypse?

2011-02-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

Mine has yet to start in full. Just short periods of...well ice.

We already have a two hour delay at school. But considering the local news is saying that power outages are predicted, most of us are betting for school closure. Snow Day #4.

And you?

-Julie

Homework Tunes

2011-02-01T09:43:00.000-08:00

I like music.

And I hate homework.

So, for procrastination's sake, and because listening to music while doing homework makes it's Awesome Rating get significantly high, I have made a playlist that is meant to be played while doing homwork.

(It's explicit, by the way.)

Hope you like it. :D

Rude People With Food And WICKED!

2011-01-30T03:41:00.000-08:00

So today, I went to see Wicked. It was super fabulous and I was in love with the show. I was in a giddy state and was so caught up in the show. After intermission, the guy behind me returned with a HUGE bag of chips which he proceded to chomp loudly on the chips and crinkle the bag for what felt like forever. I wasn't the only one who noticed. My mom and I kept glancing at each other and the lady next to me was getting annoyed. The lady in the row IN FRONT of me even noticed the guy chomping. I mean, here I am trying to enjoy the show and the song Thank Goodness, but instead I hear some guy just eating chips like nobodies business. Does any one else hate when people do things like that? I think there is just about nothing ruder when you are seeing a show!

Now for some lovely Wicked, with Jackie Burns, who I saw today because she is fabulous

People ARE SO DUMB

2011-01-29T04:02:00.000-08:00

So, the other day, I was in Algebra 2. Reading my book (CHANGELESS by Gail Carriger!) and not doing my homework.

And all of a sudden I heard, "I hate Ms. Keown. She's such a lesbian. She is so gay. She's like a man."

I looked up from my book to see Travis, this kid I always thought was pretty chill (he always let me copy off his Bio homework!), rattling on about his aversion to Ms. Keown.

Perfectly understandable. I don't really like her either. She gave me detention for my cartiledge piercing, once!

But I was a little thrown-off by his word-choice. Lesbian. Gay. Like a man. Uh, so? So what if she's a

lesbian? Is that a bad thing?

Classmates started agreeing with stuff like, "Yeah! Totally gay."

Then, this girl who sits right behind Travis, Diamond, spoke up. "It's none of your business if she likes girls!"

And so the whole class got into a huge discussion about gay people. About half the kids were shooting Travis dirty looks, and the other half were agreeing with him.

It was like this, for ten minutes....

"I don't like gay people in general. They're so whiny."

"I went to Europe once, and two dudes were holding hands."

"If you lay your hands on a gay person's house, it's considered a hate crime."

"Gay people don't have good health insurance."

And what REALLY ticked me off is when this girl named Zatalya spoke up. Let me tell you: she is widely known at BTHS for sleeping around....

Zatalya spoke up real loud. "Gay people are SO NASTY."

I felt like saying, "Um, no Zatalya. What's SO NASTY is the fact that you've had fifteen different sexual partners in the last six months."

People are so dumb.

Snow

2011-01-26T11:51:00.000-08:00

That is all.

It Happens Every SINGLE Time

2011-01-25T09:23:00.000-08:00

You have something big coming up.You keep telling yourself, "I must not get sick, I must not get sick."

Well guess what happens.

YOU GET SICK!

I have an audition on two instruments coming up on friday. And last night I had a 100.3 fever. So currently im drugging myself up and hoping for the best.

If the best doesnt happen?

Im going to be going to school on friday. Whether the school board likes it or not.

Ari

Wonderland

2011-01-24T20:44:00.000-08:00

I love Alice in Wonderland and all the adaptions that come with it. One of my favorite things is a musical called Wonderland, a modern adaption in which Alice - a descendant of Lewis Carroll - tumbles into Wonderland.

Previews started on Broadway and they kept most of the trial cast. My favorite character?

The Mad Hatter.

Who is played by a woman. She's kind of the best character in the musical, I think. Sh was originally played by Nikki Snelson.

And as kick ass as she looked, Kate Shindle just blew her out of the water.

I think I just found inspiration for a bazillion new characters in those shots.

What do you think?

Where Does This Thing Called "Time" Come From?

2011-01-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

So when I'm not doing homework, I'm reading. When I'm not reading, I'm with my friends. When I'm not with my friends, I'm watching TV with my family. When I'm not watching TV with my family, I'm blogging. When I'm not blogging, I'm cleaning. When I'm not cleaning, I'm...well, one of the above.

Where's the time to write? Where's the time to teach myself to play guitar? Where's the time to just be spontaneous like teenagers are supposed to?

Gah, seriously. It sucks. And it doesn't help that I've been getting tour book after tour book. Now I have to rush through books to review it by a certain date, and it just throws off my entire reading schedule and adds to the stress.

So I'm gonna get off the computer now. Cause I don't have time to be on the computer.

Really? Again?

2011-01-21T05:00:00.001-08:00

So, I'm sick. Again.

It's just a cold this time again, but I also hurt myself on Wednesday...a lot. Busted my ankle, twisted my neck, and had the start of the world's most persistent headache. The only way to FIGHT this headache is to wear my glasses, which I'm not supposed to do that often so I don't start needing the prescription all the time.

The only bright side is that next week is midterm week. You may think "WTF? Why is this a GOOD thing?" Well, I only have 3 midterms this year because I dropped foreign language, all my electives are half-year courses that had finals Thursday and today (and I was exempt from one), and we had an English regents (state-wide test for non-NYers) two weeks ago. And I only have to go in when I have midterms. And two of my tests are on Monday.

So what does this mean?

I go in two days next week. I go in Monday for a few hours (I think my second test ends at 11...so home by 11:30). Then Thursday, and I'm home by 10.

I can deal with that.

There will be SLEEPING and RELAXING. Hot bath? TOTALLY IN MY FUTURE.

--Julie

A Rant About Exams

2011-01-20T16:23:00.000-08:00

Next week is midterms week at my school, which means that I will be having an exam in all eight of my classes. As a freshman, this is the first time I've ever had to take exams. Each exam will count as twenty percent of my final grade for the semester. And I am freaking out so bad right now.

For one, I have never studied for anything in my entire life. I always just showed up and... did it. And I have always had great grades. Now that we have exams over everything we've learned in the past four months, I am looking back at stuff we did a while ago and having no idea what the heck things mean.

Something else to think about is how in my choir class, our exam is going to be over music theory. Guess what? We just started learning music theory TODAY, less than a week before the exam. The teacher expects us to already know this stuff. He gave us a website to go to and sent us on our way. Thanks, jerk.

Spanish... surely this class will be the death of me. The teacher just sits at the front of the room bragging about all his accomplishments and telling stories and showing us pictures of Spain. He will go off on ten minute random tangents about a mall on the moon... in spanish. Then he hands us work and expects us to know what to do. Well, I don't know what to do! I have a B in Spanish, which is my worst grade.

In Honors English, I think I'll do fine. I just have to go over everything we've learned in the past four months. It should be one of the easier exams and I'm not too worried. Am I still worried? Yes.

In Foods class, the teacher didn't even give us a study guide telling us what the exam would be over. She just told us to go over our old tests. Thanks a lot, teacher lady. I mean... would it be so hard to just give us a heads up about what we should know? I think not. That test shouldn't be too hard, but it is still a lot to learn in a short period of time.

Algebra... ugh. I hate math so freaking much. Our teacher recently had a baby and we are stuck with a sub who teaches everything differently than our teacher did. And I just don't remember math at all. Once we move onto something else, I erase whatever we just learned out of my mind and start fresh with the new things we are learning. I am just scraping by with an A in that class, which I have no idea how I have. It would be nice if the sub knew how to teach.

Biology will probably be okay. I mean, it is my best grade, but we still have like... 5 chapters that we have done so far this year and that is a lot to remember. I like the teacher, and she is willing to explain things which will make it easier, I am sure.

In Economics, it is a similar to what the case is in Foods. He just told us to go over our old study guides and tests and expects us to know it all when it becomes time for exams. And so much of what we learned is information that we don't really... learn. He just tells us what to write down and we do it.

Finally Computers. God, that class is stupid. The teacher doesn't even know how to use a computer. I had to show her how to double space a word document the other day. What we learn isn't even important... do I really need to know what tabs, mini toolbars, and other computer things are? I think that if we can use a computer well, we shouldn't have to take that class.

So here is my exam schedule and my current letter grade for each class...

Tuesday: Foods (A-) & Algebra (A)
Wednesday: Choir (A) & Computers (A-)
Thursday: Honors English (A-) & Spanish (B)
Friday: Biology (A) & Economics (A)

I seriously have no idea what I am going to do. Wish me luck and if you have any advice, PLEASE leave it in the comments.

Long Weekends

2011-01-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

Thank God it's the weekend.

I've been super swamped with school, reading, etc. that it's been soo hard to keep up with my blogging.

I'm just glad that we have a long three day weekend where I can work on everything I need to do.

What are your plans this weekend?

--Bianca

Snowpacolypse 2011

2011-01-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

So, how was yours? Mine was pretty quiet, just sitting inside. Got...not much done. Finished reading a book, got more invested in tumblr, did some homework. Wish I'd done more. Ah well.

Now tomorrow morning I get up and get to manage to walk to my bus stop without getting hit by a car, getting my jeans soaked by snow, or slipping on ice in the dark! WOO!

--Julie

Freedom. Relaxtion.

2011-01-04T17:10:00.001-08:00

What's better than handing in a huge assignment and knowing it's totally done?

Nothing

--Julie

Beautiful

2010-12-30T20:30:00.000-08:00

What are YOUR New Year's Plans?

2010-12-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

?

Me? I'll be reading or blogging or something while watching one of the specials. A minute before midnight I'll go sit with my mom, if she's awake. And home. Special, right?

How 'bout you?

Question for all ye bloggy folks

2010-12-27T19:13:00.001-08:00

Is it so wrong to NOT want to do memes, or announce big book news???

Is it a crime to want to stay true to blogging and SIMPLY post reviews???

The one about Abbey Road and my horrible drawing

2010-12-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

So did everyone besides me know that Abbey Road has become a protected landmark because of the Beatles? I did not know that. Hmmm.

In other news, for all you FMA fans out there...

Yes, I drew that, and yes, it sucks. I can't flipping draw a straight line for my life. So now you know what I do when I'm not reading or reviewing a book. . . 0_o

Favorite: Male Television Characters

2010-12-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

Here's the male half of yesterday's television characters!

Funniest

Maybe I have a thing for slightly evil funny characters.

Geekiest

Runner Up: Zach Addy (Bones)

When I think geeky guy, I think McGeek.

Badassest

Gibbs. <3Sexiest/Best Dark

My sexiest and the best dark character always seem to coincide. But Guy of Gisborne (and, therefore, Richard Armitage) is just... gah.

Best Hero

Runners Up: Richard Castle (Castle)

I've watched two episodes and I already have faith that the Doctor is the ultimate male TV hero. And sexy. But mainly a hero.

Best Leader

Arthur Pendragon. The once and future king. OBVIOUSLY the best leader. ;)

Smartest

Runners Up: Hodgins (Bones), Zach (Bones)

GILES!!!!!!!!!!!! Just... GILES!

Most Underappreciated

Runners Up: Gaius (Merlin)

I understand why so many people hate Puck, but he's a genuinely good representation of what some teenage boys can be like. Besides, I love his voice.

Favorite

I couldn't decide between the two - they're both funny and clever and sensitive and brave. I adore them. :)

What do you think?

Favorite: Female Television Characters

2010-12-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

I stalk a bajillion and four Livejournals, and one of them posted THIS and as it's the start of my Christmas break, I figured I should do it, too. Because I'm bored. You're not supposed to double up on shows, but I watch so few television shows that there'll be quite a bit of doubling - besides, each fits the category!

So here are my FAVORITE female television characters. What are yours?

Funniest

Runners Up: The entire cast of the Golden Girls, Fran Fine (Nanny)

Let's face it. She's SUE SYLVESTER. She's evil, funny, and still manages to have a heart.

Geekiest

You can't get geekier than Bones. Even though I'm mad at how the show is going right now - even though I know its necessary - Brennan still has my heart for top geek girl.

Badassest

Morgause might have (maybe) died, but she's the HBIC in Merlin.

Sexiest/Best Dark

Katie McGrawth is my girl crush - she manages to play an epically sexy Morgana without ever having to do anything besides be that character. And Morgana is also my favorite dark character; I just couldn't think of anybody more perfect than her.

Best Hero

Runners Up: Kate Beckett (Castle)

I only watched the first two seasons, but I can't think of a better female hero than Buffy.

Best Leader

Runners Up: Cam (Bones), Kate Beckett (Castle)

Cuddy not only does a great job at leading Princeton Plainsboro, but she manages to do it while fighting with/sleeping with House, raising a child, and looking good.

Smartest

Runners Up: Brennan (Bones), Angela (Bones)

The show may be only on Lifetime and Nick at Nite now, and Estelle Getty (rest her soul) may be long gone, but I maintain that Sophia is the smartest person to ever grace a television screen.

Most Underappreciated

Runners Up: Nimueh (Merlin), C.C. (The Nanny)

I mean, yes, she has flaws, but doesn't everybody? She's a teenage girl, and considering how much she's bullied and pushed around, she still tries to do whats best for most of Glee club. (Besides, Lea Michele's voice = GOD.)

Favorite

Runners Up: Guinevere (Merlin), Morgana (Merlin), Brennan (Bones)

Once upon a time this spot was reserved for Morgana or Brennan, but after watching an episode of Castle today, I realized just how much I adore Kate Beckett. She needed to be on this list somewhere - and she is one of my favorite female characters.

I'm going to work on the guys tonight and put them up tomorrow. What do you think?

Christmas Break Rocks

2010-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Monday, today, is the start of my Christmas Break! I love christmas break because this is time to work and work and work.....on my blog ;). I'm going to read a lot, blog a lot and sleep a lot. Christmas Break is the time to rest from school. And I don't have to worry a lot about school because it's the start of a new semester next year. :D

I'm waaayyy behind on my reading. My TBR pile (I ACTUALLY HAVE A TBR PILE NOW!) is growing! But it's nothing I can't lower by the end of this year...hopefully.

Anyways, I'm glad I could just chill and relax and whatt not. :D

What are you guys going to do during the Christmas Holidays?

--Bianca

Where Did My Weekend Go?

2010-12-18T18:45:00.001-08:00

I don't get it. How is it already Saturday night?

I had plans for this weekend. Major plans that let me do like 400 flashcards for a major project. I've done a big fat ZERO in a Benadryl and Christmas shopping haze. Tomorrow's looking better...for now.

But HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

What's Happening?!

2010-12-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

I've been gone. You might have noticed...

Sorry 'bout that!

I'm not dead.

I'm still planning to give my thoughts on the new MCR album. Hopefully within the next week.

Hopefully I can return to computer life, too. Missed you all! :)

Project For Awesome

2010-12-17T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not trying to take away from Bianca's post today - GO READ IT. DO IT. - but I thought it would be horrible of me if I didn't do a post about Project for Awesome today.

All of YouTube is coming together today to talk about their favorite charities and such in fun and creative ways. The Dumbledore's Army of my school - with me as one of the camera people - got together and recorded stuff about the HPA. (See video above.)

What's your favorite charity?

Accidents, Accidents, Accidents

2010-12-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if I should be brodcasting this on the internet but I'm not entirely sure what to do.

I almost died....sort of.

On December 14, I was in a car accident. That was only this passing Tuesday but I just keep seeing it happen over and over again in my head. I'm telling you this because, well, I just don't why.

This accident has just given me some insight on life. It is definitely TOO short to live. My dad says that a couple more feet out and the car would have hit the driver's side head on instead of the edge. It could have been a lot worse than it was. We could have flipped over, we could have gotten seriously injured.

All in all, I'm just glad I got out with a bruise and pains in my back and neck. My mom also has back pains. My brother surprisingly got out clean.

I just find it terrifying because I'm the only one knows what happened. My brother was in the back seat so he saw nothing and my mother was looking straight ahead so she never saw the car that hit us run the red light. It's just very scary, thinking about what happened.

Ah, well you heard my story...sort of. I also have pictures posted on Facebook because, well, I'm a low-life. :P If you want to see them then just tell me in the comments. I'm not sure I want them up here just yet.

--Bianca

Trailer: Pirates of the Caribbean 4

2010-12-13T16:24:00.001-08:00

FJSIDOKFDSKFSD
FSJOIDKJGNMSDKFMSDKLFSJDOIF
SREJWOITKFMDCOIW.

YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE AMOUNT OF FLAILING GOING ON RIGHT NOW.

SO. MUCH. LOVE.

Is it May 20 yet?

Will you all send snow?

2010-12-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

Apparently, it won't be snowing in my part of New York this month. A few "showers" next Monday. That's IT.

This isn't acceptable. It's snowing in GEORGIA but not snowing in New York? NOT FAIR.

I want my snow days man. >.<

--Julie

Sick of the Sick

2010-12-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

For almost a month, I've been a wreck.

I'm barely sleeping. I don't get enough sleep as it is, but now I can't sleep well. I'm throwing things and kicking blankets and tossing and turning. I sleep fine during the day, but nights fail. Doesn't work when I have school and homework and, you know, the rest of the world isn't awake at night. I've been getting stomach aches in the past couple days. For about a week, I've been having headaches on and off and dizzy spells every time I get up. I feel like I'm missing entire portions of my day because all I can think of is the pain.

I know it's all stress related, don't worry I'm not dying. It all started around the time that my AP American teacher assigned 500+ index cards due January 4. So far, I've only been able to work on them one day successfully. Yesterday I tried and only for 4 cards done before a headache caused too much of a distraction. I planned to go back to working after my headache went away, so of course it didn't. And I'm getting blackheads. BLACKHEADS.

Even my mom is noticing how bad it's getting. When my mom, who see me for less than an hour a day, notices things aren't right, IT'S BAD.

Now all I can do is wait for midterms. Things HAVE to get better with midterms out of the way...right? I can't take this much stress until the AP tests!

*sigh*

*goes back to work*

--Julie

Internet Safety: Basic Rules

2010-12-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

Another voice of reason and I have decided, that here are some basic rules for MINORS to be safe on teh internet :)

1.If its a guy, always be cautious.
2.If that man looks over 20 BLOCK HIM!
3.If all he does is try to drag you into video chats with him tell your mommy and daddy.
4.If he is persistent on trying to talk to you call the police.
5.If he asks you to give you his address???? Ask for his and send the police there :)

We believe that is all :)

Ari

Homework

2010-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Why on earth do they have to give us so much homework? I'm not trying to be the typical kid who tries to destroy all traces of homework ever recorded, but honestly it's getting to that point.

Typically, I am an A student. But thanks to the massive amount of homework that has been dropped on my class, I am falling a little bit. And I hate that. I don't want to have anything below a 4.0, but it's starting to look like those perfect numbers are out of my reach.

I take some classes that are more challenging than the others I could be taking, but I am capable of taking those classes. But here we are at the homework problem again. Today, I had homework in five classes. I only did the work for one of them, and that still took a lot of my time.

I am scraping by and only getting what I absolutely NEED to get done done by the time it is due, but I am so overworked. Being a kid is hard.

Hayao Miyazaki

2010-12-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of him? His films include Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Whisper of the Heart, Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle and more. I love all of his movies - and the music that goes with them? Some of my favorites are the Spirited Away theme, Whisper of the Heart theme ("Take Me Home Country Roads"), and the Princess Mononoke theme. I love to listen to them while I fall asleep. :)

(The links take you to their respective YouTube videos).

FCKH8

2010-12-07T08:58:00.000-08:00

I found my new favorite gay rights site.

They're funny, they're clever, and they've got some great products over on their website. Go check it out - they're awesome. (And there's lots of sexy guys.)

I'm going to be ordering one of their shirts after Christmas; I'm excited. :)

You can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

PS: This post is dedicated to Brent, my favorite gay guy ever. I may have to buy the calendar for you for Christmas, dahling.

Pretty Littlie Liars: Coming Back Soon!

2010-12-04T09:15:00.001-08:00

I'm flipping back and forth between Harry Potter and The Devil Wears Prada and what do I see?

A COMMERCIAL FOR PRETTY LITTLE LIARS.

It's so close! So, so, so close! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

A Rant on Bones

2010-12-03T12:51:00.000-08:00

[Makes sense for those who have kept up with Bones up until this point only.]

I adored Booth/Brennan up until this season. Then they introduced Hannah, and I was excited for the tension.

But there's no tension, and I think that's one of the reasons I'm losing interest in the show. Part of the primary reason I watched Bones was for the Booth/Brennan relationship, and it's just not the same - not as many epic dialogues or jokes or anything. They lost almost all of their spunk, where had Booth/Bones been endgame - like the producers say they are - it should have still been there despite Hannah.

As much as Hannah is a great character, I can't wait for her to leave.

I miss the show it used to be.

So, How Was Your Turkey?

2010-11-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

I don't eat turkey, but you get what I mean, yes?

How was YOUR Thanksgiving?

Mine was crazy and insane and loud and painful. And had surprisingly little food (in my case anyway). And I'm thankful it's over.

(I was totally gonna post a picture of my turkey, but blogger's being spastic.)

--Julie

Public Service Announcement

2010-11-22T21:06:00.000-08:00

Never, ever, ever, ever doubt the people in this community on important days. There are some seriously amazing people in it and I'm honored to be one of them. I've had one of the best days because of this community. I will still groan and huff and glare at my computer screen next time, but today was utterly amazing, no matter what I say a year from now.

And sometimes, I think we just need a little reminder how awesome this community is.

And to continue the awesome, go watch this:

That is all.

--Julie

Because Mr. Darcy Fixes Everything

2010-11-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

I've had a crap day.

See, I've been trying to bring a friend with me on vacation since like...March. My parents thought I'd have more fun with a friend. But I only have two friends I'm close with and could put up with for a week. The first friend's mom got the week off of work and decided that she couldn't go. Friend two couldn't get off work, then she did, then today she told me her aunt has decided to plan a family reunion smack in the middle of the week. Buh bye friend 2.

The upside? Since this has happened 3 times now, I didn't cry this time. Woo.

So, what's my first reaction to make it better? The UPS man bringing me something (which he didn't). Option two was Pride and Prejudice.

I've been on a major historic movie kick lately. Stayed up till 3 watching North and South the other day. Started watching Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth version. While Kiera's version is good entertainment, Colin's version is ACTUALLY Pride and Prejudice. Word for word in many parts.) last night. I'm fairly certain I'll be watching Becoming Jane this week. Mostly to see James McAvoy...and his uber pale ass.

So today, I started watching episode 2 and plan to watch through episode 3 at the least. I also picked up my very worn copy of Pride and Prejudice and began reading while floating in the pool. I have 20 books on my TBR pile and I wanted to reread it next week for the Read-A-Thon, but I needed it now. Couldn't wait any longer.

But what the hell is it about historical anything that enchants me? I don't get it. Books, movies, clothes, it's all so wonderful. It soothes my soul and makes everything better. And don't lie. At least one of you must've picked up The Luxe or A Great and Terrible Beauty for their gorgeous covers.

I kind of wish I could've lived in an upper class family in the 1800s. I thought about it last night and think about how cultured you'd be. So much time to read and talk and think. It's not like you could go sit on twitter and click random things on the internet all day. What a time it must've been to live in...if you weren't in the gutter. Or a prostitute in Jack the Ripper's war path.

I don't know what it is. I wish I did, but I don't. So, I'm going to go spend my night reading Mr. Darcy and watching Colin Firth be Mr. Darcy. Because, those 50,000 words I'm supposed to write this month? Who needs to actually write those?

--Julie the History Freak

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Spoiler Free)

2010-11-19T10:25:00.000-08:00

I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One in theaters at midnight last night.

Here is your SPOILER FREE REVIEW.

- They captured the death scenes PERFECTLY, and I ended up sobbing at the last one. Actually, the entire theater ended up sobbing. It was amazing.
- The trio have grown so much as actors; I'm so proud of them. Dan (Harry) and Rupert (Ron) did AMAZINGLY, but Emma (Hermione) just stole the show. She was bloody brilliant.
- Helena Bonham Carter was born to play Bellatrix. She has so many tiny mannerisms that make Bellatrix, well, Bellatrix - it's fantastic.
- The Malfoys had barely any lines, but they stole every scene they were in. They captured the emotions perfectly.
- They kept some of my favorite lines in the movie, and it makes it so much better because of it.

If you've seen HP7 and want to talk about it, feel free to @ me on Twitter at wordforteens. I'm more than happy to talk!

As I was writing this, Avalanche by David Cook came on my iPod shuffle, and it fits HP7 perfectly. I've included the song and the lyrics.

I feel alive beside you
And all at once
I am whole again.
We fall into each other
Your atmosphere
Is all I'm breathing in
And in this rush
We are crushed

Carry me down
Roll it in your arms
Cause' I can't remember
Ever falling this hard
Tell me tonight,
All that we have been
Was it nothin' more
Than a noise inside my head
Crashing down, crashing down,
In your avalanche.
In your avalanche.

These scars we wear remind us
The more we change
The more we're all the same
Swept up in this emotion
We fumble through and make the same mistakes
Cause' we are led
To the edge

Carry me down
Roll it in your arms
I can't remember
Ever falling this hard
Tell me tonight
All that we have been
Was it nothin' more
Than a noise inside my head
Crashing down, crashing down,
In your avalanche
Crashing down, crashing down,

Carry me down
Roll it in your arms
Cause I can't remember
Ever falling this hard
Tell me tonight
All that we have been
Was it nothin' more
Than a noise inside my head

Carry me down
Roll it in your arms
Cause I can't remember
Ever falling this hard
Tell me tonight
All that we have been
Was it nothin more
Than a noise inside our heads
Crashing down, crashing down...

Was it nothing more
Than a noise inside our heads
Crashing down
Crashing down

I feel alive beside you
Than all at once I am whole again...

Discoveries I've Made About Myself Through Nano

2010-11-16T19:06:00.000-08:00

So, today, I realized something about myself as a writer. Something that I need to work reallyreallyreally hard to get past:

I hate writing bad stuff.

I hate just spewing out stuff when I know it sounds bad. I know that a first draft isn't supposed to be anywhere near perfect, and that great writers really shine during edits, and that I'm just writing down my thoughts right now and it'll get fixed. Trust me, I know. But when I'm writing a conversation and the dialogue seems really rough to me, it stresses me out so bad and I get incredibly frustrated until I'm just DONE WITH THIS BOOK. About two hours ago I seriously considered saying goodbye to Nano because all hope was lost because apparently I've never had a good enough conversation to write dialogue that wasn't complete shiat.

But, I didn't. I pushed through it and finished the chapter. And I'm still not entirely pleased about it, but I need to keep on keeping on. And I advise anyone who has the same problem to do the same thing!!!

(Also, my word count is continuing to be horrible so I doubt I'll win, but Nano has taught me a lot about my inner writer, and it's as much as anything I've ever written, so woot!)

Oh, and how are you fellow Nanoers doing?

And now, I leave you with this fun folksy song that will hopefully put a smile one your face:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2010-11-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Who's going to a MIDNIGHT SHOWING?!

I am, I am, I am. :D

And if you are, do the Harry Potter Alliance a favor and check out the nearest location of the LUMOS PARTIES. Not only will you get to hang with some pretty awesome people (or, if you're in the New Paltz, NY area, ME) but you'll end up learning how to defeat real life Horcruxes.

Who's excited!?

I Have A Dream

2010-11-07T11:46:00.001-08:00

I have a dream. That someday we all may be able to read as we please.

Without little brothers threatening to burn our books.

:)

Homecoming (:

2010-11-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Today is my homecoming! :D

Or, yesterday was my homecoming but I'm writing this the day of so I'll just talk about it like it's actually today, and wasn't yesterday.

I'm pretty excited about it. I'm apart of the Student Government and we are in charge of putting together and organizing Homecoming, from the pep rally, to the parade before the football game, to the actual dance.

On Friday, we had the pep rally at lunch, which was a success, and the parade, which was also a success. I ran around everywhere and that was super tiring. I'm a little sore from it still. But today, (or yesterda) is the day in which all our hardwork is shown. :D

We have to get the venue early to set up (mostly play around) and at 7 is when it all starts.

I can't wait!

Did you guys go to Homecoming? If not, why?

Until next time,

Bianca(Nyxen)

NaNoWriMo: Day 6

2010-11-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Just wondering where everybody is in their NaNo.

I'm at 6907, but I've just started for the day. At 3K, I can finish watching Marie Antoinette. At 5K I get dinner. At 6K I get to finally put together my official birthday/Christmas wish list. And as I NEED food and my birthday is in 3 weeks, I kinda need to hit 5 and 6K today.

How's everyone ELSE doing today?

To Be Posted...

2010-11-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make this post to say: Hey! I'm not dead!!!!

And to say I have this awesome idea that I want to do on here. As you might know, I'm a My Chemical Romance junkie...you might also know that their new album comes out Monday, 11/22/10! Woo! Can't wait!

Anyway, while listening to "Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back", one of the new songs of the album they released early, I thought: Man, I so want to review this. I could slip this into my blog, right? Fits in with YA...teen angst.

And then I was like: WAIT, WAIT, WAIT A DARN GONE MOMENT: I could totally do a review on Book Blogger Rebellion. A MCR CD review thing.

What I mean by that is: I'll give you thoughts on the song they have. I'm no expert in rating album, it's solely for the purpose to rave about the CD. Or bash it, it might suck. (I doubt that, though!)

It'll be like:

"Song Title"

*Insert my thoughts on song*

Yeah.

Look for that.

;)

Super sexeh.

2010-11-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm taking a five minute break from NaNoWriMo to bring you this important news bulletin:

Richard Armitage has been cast as Thorin Oakshield in The Hobbit.

You're going, "Yay! The Hobbit is being made into a movie!"

I'm going, "Yay! RICHARD ARMITAGE! *drool*"

I mean, I love him so much that I'm going to be guest posting over at the Richard Armitage fan blog soon.

Actually, I suggest you go over to the site and check him out. He's super sexeh, super talented, and super awesome. AND he's British. You just can't go wrong.

DO IT.

My Coming-Out Experience

2010-11-02T05:46:00.000-07:00

Hey, y'all.

It's meeee, Brent!

I've been asked a lot of questions about how/why/when I "came-out." So I just thought I'd write about it here.

So, I've always been a gay boy. Always. When I was five, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was my show, dawg! Not because of the fight scenes or anything, but because Buffy had gorgeous blonde hair and wore the cutest outfits.

I got Barbie's for Christmas, and Bratz Dollz for my birthdays.

I went shopping with my mommy everyday, and yes, I even used those super-fab glitter pencils in the fourth-grade.

I always hung out with the girls, and thought boys were dirty and had cooties.

So, in middle school, people started to question me on whether I was gay or not.

I didn't know what it meant to be gay back then, I just knew it was bad. Everyone joked on eachother, with the words "you're gay" "faggot." So, of course I would reply to them and say "No way, I'm not gay."

Anyway, this is middle school, when EVERYONE STARTS TO LEARN WHAT SEX IS.

Surely I wasn't gay, I thought.

So I went on denying it--to both other kids and myself. Until eighth grade, when I met a girl named Destinie.

Destinie was a loud, fun-loving girl. She was super-chill, and everyone loved her.

And she was gay.

So, then, as I became close with her, I saw that being gay wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Everyone just made it out to be.

I came out to myself; then Destinie; then all my friends. By the end of eighth grade.

By the beginning of freshmen year, I was out to all of my friends, and most of the school (it's pretty obvious, I'm the only boy there with a fashion sense).

Then it's January of 2010, and I've already had Twenty-Million boyfriends.

My parents found a Valentine's gift I had gotten from my February boyfriend (it was a teddy bear. Get real, dawg, a teddy bear? For Brent? Yeah, I dumped his ass). They see his name signed on it, and are confused.

(At this point, in February, I had already decided I needed to come out to them soon.)

I just said, "Uh... Uh... Uh... I'm gay."

It hurt so much to say that. I always thought it was corny when, in a book, a character would describe a revelation (admitting to being pregnant, or gay) as painful to say. But when I said the words "I'm gay" to them, I understood what that feeling was. Your chest gets super heavy, and your throat starts aching, and you want to speak so bad, but your body won't allow yourself to speak, and neither will your mind, because you want to talk, you really do, but you're so scared, and it only makes it worse that your body is scared too. And everyone can see it, because your face is in your hands, and you're tearing up, and silently crying, or crying not-so-silently, but anyway your chest hurts.

Coming out to my friends was one of the easiest things I've ever done. They were glad to have a gay friend.

But coming out to your parents is something else entirely different.

I won't get in to the details about what was said after that, but I will get in to the details about how my life is so easier.

I can have huge slumber parties with all my girlies without my intent being questioned. I am now trusted to do my sister's hair. I can walk like I have a dislocated hip. (Ya know, what's it called? Sashay-ing? Hahaha.)

That first month after coming out to them, it was SO AWKWARD. For real, dawg.

But now, everything's totally fine.

And my parent's are a slight-bit pro-gay.

A week prior to my coming out shin-dig, my father went on some rant about how homosexuals went againsthis religion.

And six months later, I saw him in front of the TV, grinning when it was announced that gay marriage was re-legalized in California.

And talking about how sad it was when Tyler Clementi committed suicide.

Everything worked out fine. I just had to get past those words "I'm gay" and the month-long awkward period that followed.

So, if you're gay, dawg, come out! It's quite relieving.

Even if your parents are douche bags, and they continue to be anti-gay, it's still worth it.

Because you'll be angry at them for being idiots, and not yourself for being gay.

Trust me, dawg.

The Great NaNoWriMo Frenzy

2010-10-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

It's almost time! Almost time! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So, who else is doing it?

My name is xRememberingJuliex on the site and I have a chatzy for anyone who wants to Word War/procrastinate during November.

http://www.chatzy.com/902062870139

Julie

Overseas Trips!

2010-10-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

How many of you have been overseas, or longed to go? Well, let me tell you that it's one of the greatest experiences ever you'll have in your life.

I went to Shanghai, China recently as part of a study trip. I've always had this mental list of places I wanted to go to: 1) London, 2) USA, 3) Paris, France. China? Not on my list.

I'm not sure what I was expecting there; they told me it was as urban and modern as Singapore, but I was expecting something rural along the lines of villages and temples.

So here's where my learning experience started. We touched down to an airport that uber modern. Imagine cameras taking photos of you and using facial recognition software to match against your passport photograph. All that was fine and dandy, and right after we zoomed off to the World Expo!

Gorgeous, gorgeous pavilions and displays of every country there. It didn't really hit me that we were overseas, because it was so similar to where I live.

...until we went to the food court. They sold only Chinese food there, which I was looking forward to because well, I planned to come back the same shape as a pau! ^^ What really got to me was that their servings were gigantic, and the taste was unlike the Chinese food I tried at home.

Culture shock? Yeah, didn't think I'd experience it, but there we go. I loved the trip there, the different places we went and it was definitely life changing. This blog post is not enough for me to talk about it.

So. First place you want to visit? Right now, the first place on my list is India. Blame EAT, PRAY, LOVE for that!

2010-10-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

I know some people have seen this already, but here is me playing "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton on the piano. :)

Almost 16

2010-10-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

My sixteenth birthday is in a month. Woo, right?

The problem is that people keep asking me what my plans are, what I want, etc.

Plans:
-See Harry Potter 7 Part 1 with mi madre...as we do the Saturday after EVERY HP movie releases.
-Get my permit

What I Want:
-Digital Camera
-A few movies
-Vitamin String Quartet CDs
-Books

That doesn't satisfy my family. Not one bit.

But I can't do any better than that until I tell my mom about BEA again...because she was too drunk to remember the first time. Do you know how terrified I was? And now I have to do it AGAIN?

*sigh*

Wrist Control.

2010-10-20T02:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this video makes me laugh over and over and I had to show it to you guys. We found it while at show choir camp, and I've been laughing ever since.

Dirty Jobs

2010-10-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the show? The one on Discovery with Mike Rowe?

If you haven't then you should watch it! Unless, you know, you're very squeemish.
But if you aren't and you're trying to find a dirty job then this show is right for you!

I don't know what it is but this show is very disgusting but interesting. I love it so much, but I just wouldn't do what he does.

It's sort of freaky, the things he deals with. He travels around, trying to find the dirtiest jobs but I think his job is the dirtiest. I mean, he does every dirty job out there!

Well, that's all I have to say. I was watching it and wanted to know if you guys like this show.

Until next time,

--Bianca

Fuzions

2010-10-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

Okay guys. Fuzions is pure awesomesauce. Where I live, there is a local place called Fuzions that sells frozen yogurt for $0.45/oz. They have chocolate, peanut butter, taro (a plant, it's really good), plain (tastes like vanilla), melon, and other flavors. You can also swirl these together. They have toppings like Oreo crumbs, chocolate chips, fruit, gummy worms, etc. It's the PERFECT dessert. I'm telling you. If you want a Fuzions near you (it will be more likely to open where you want if you live in Florida), go to fuzionsyogurt.com/locationrequest.htm and fill in the form. And if you don't have a local frozen yogurt cafe, go to Publix (or whatever your grocery store is) and get some.

Happy yogurt-eating!
-JP :)

PSAT Hell

2010-10-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

You may be thinking "Julie? Where are you? Why are you up at this unGodly hour on a Saturday?"

Stupid PSATs.

I'm not even sure why I'm taking them. I took them last year without studying and without even knowing what the test would look like and got a 186. I only know 5 kids in my grade that did better than I did and there's NO REASON to take the PSATs again...I just hate myself really.

And the very, very, very, very slim potential for scholarships. That's there too...

*sigh*

This would be a 1000 times less hellish if I didn't have to rush to an eye doctor appointment right after...where I expect to get reading glasses which I'd have to wear almost constantly anyway.

Here's hoping I don't kill myself...

Na...Na...Na.

2010-10-15T23:35:00.001-07:00

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably have heard me raving about My Chemical Romance's new music video. It's awesome.

It's slightly more rock-ish and tough than their last album...but I still love it!

Oh, and that kid is a girl. Her name is Grace. I made the mistake of commenting saying: Who's that boy?! and the girl (from the video!!!!!) said: I'm a girl!!! My name is Grace!

So yeah...while I am insanely embarrassed to have made such a mistake...I talked to her! Sorta! She's nice! :)

Anyway!!! Here's the awesome video:

I wanna give ya the lyrics, too. I've listened the song hundreds of times so I know them...but I remember not knowing them and WANTING to. (Warning: Cussing.)
So if you WANT to know the lyrics:

Drugs
Give me drugs
Give me drugs
I don't need it
But I'll sell
Whatcha got
Take the cash
And I'll keep it
Eight legs on the wall
Hit the gas
Kill em' all
And we crawl and we crawl and we crawl!
You be my detonator!

Love
Give me love
Give me love
I don't need it
But I take what I want from your heart
And I keep it in a bag
In a box
Put an 'x' on the floor
Give me more
Give me more
Give me more!
Shut up and sing it with me!

From mall security
To every enemy
We're on your property
Standing in a V-formation

Let's blow an artery
Eat plastic surgery
Keep your apology
Give us more detonation

(More
Give me more
Give me more)

Oh, let me tell you about the sad man
Shut up and let me see your jazz hands
Remember when you were a mad man
Thought you was bat man
And hit the party with a gas can
Kiss me you animal!

You run the company
Fuck like a Kennedy
I think we'd rather be
Burning your information

Let's blow an artery
Eat plastic surgery
Keep your apology
Give us more detonation

Right here
Right now
All the way in battery city
Little children
Raise your open filthy palms
Like tiny daggers up to heaven
And all the juvee halls
And the ritalin rats
Ask angels made from neon
And fucking garbage scream out
"What will save us?"
And the sky opened up
Everybody wants to change the world
Everybody wants to change the world
But no one
No one
Wants to die
Wanna try?
Wanna try?
Wanna try?
Wanna try?
Wanna try?
Now!
I'll be your detonator!

*solo*

Make no apology
It's death or victory
On my authority
Crash and burn
Young and loaded

Drop like a bullet shell
Dress like a sleeper cell
I'd rather go to hell
Than be in purgatory
Cut my hair
Gag and bore me
Pull this pin
Let this world explode!

Now you can hate me for the literally LONG post...anyway! Until next time! :)

Casting Agencies and Acting in General.

2010-10-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

What do you think about acting?

I've known, that since I was a little girl, that I've always wanted to be an actress. I've wanted to see myself on television, acting along side Hilary Duff in Lizzie McGuire, or Raven Symone in That's So Raven.

I'll admit that I've wanted to act longer than I have writing. *Gasp* I know. But it's true. I just get this amazing and sad feeling whenever I see people acting on television and in movies.

But I think those dreamss MIGHT be coming true. Today (Friday) I have an interview with a casting agency. And I'm really hoping it's not a scam. If something does happen I'll let you all know! :D

Wish me luck.

ASK ARI!

2010-10-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Its my new band! (Liar)

We are totally rad! (More lies)

And Im in charge >:D (If this were true people would be running for their lives)

SO you want to audition for ASK ARI?! (No. No one does. Because it DOESNT EXIST!)

Just email me! (She wont respond)

It will be LOADS OF FUN! (NO. It wont)

Bye! (THank god she shut up)

Masks

2010-10-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

I adore masks.

I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because I love the concept of hiding your identity and revealing it later. Some of my favorite scenes to read (and maybe, at some point, to write) are masked balls - you have no idea who the person is. You're given a sense of freedom and, at the same time, you're trapped without an identity.

Either way, they're gorgeous.

Last year, our prom theme was masquerade and I ordered a gorgeous leather mask from this lady named Wendy Drolma. She comes to my Renaissance Faire every year; check out her website here. I ordered her Fireshade mask in black (#11 in the Unmask collection, if you're wondering). It's easy to wear and gorgeous, though a bit costly.

Here are some of my favorite mask photos, as found on Google, so that I don't have to worry about giving people credit and stuff, cause I'm lazy. (They're all owned by... whoever owns them.)

What do you think about masks?

This is why I love Sesame Street.

2010-10-11T08:47:00.001-07:00

EPIC WIN.

School is the reason none of us are posting

2010-10-03T17:51:00.001-07:00

SCHOOL IS EATING UP OUR LIVES.

Hence why we haven't been posting much.

Plus, nothing really interesting is happening in my life, mostly because it's eaten up by blogging/writing/school.

How is the writing going, you ask?

EDITING A PAIN IN THE BUTT.

-Love, Harmony

So, my friends and I are insane.

2010-09-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

We're building a hovercraft.

You can follow our progress here.

That's all.

- Nicole

Expression!

2010-09-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've had post about music, how it can express one's feelings and you can relate to them, etc, etc.

Words! Yeah, we all relate to books...that's why we're here.

But photography? Doesn't that just amplify the connection?

Sometimes you have models who are phenomenal...they can portray an emotion so perfectly, emotions you can connect with.

Then sometimes emotions can't be summed up in looks...sometimes it goes beyond that. Sometimes it takes a specific ray of sunshine on a leaf or a tree or anything to explain the mood. Perhaps lighting or beads of water caught sliding down a window on a grey day...

Well, in my recent 'drama', I went to Tumblr...and found connection. I love that place.

I never really clicked with it before because it seems that sometimes pictures are so...happy or beautiful and rebloging it just doesn't do it justice. I only have 9 followers, it won't be seen too much.

But if you go to my Tumblog...that's the place you're going to really find me.

I love the humor, passion, and skill that goes into that social site.

P.S.

My tumblog (where I occasionally post poems, phrases, lyrics, and *sometimes* photos...but mostly reblogging!) is here: http://wondergirl12.tumblr.com/ (Dreaming of Hope) You don't have to follow or anything, but it's there for you to look around. if you're new to Tumblr (Which I pretty much am...), check it out! :)