I would go to the Wizard, shove between the orphan, lion, tin man, and scarecrow, fall to my knees and beg for a time machine.
I just wish I hadn't done that play; maybe then I wouldn't be so inclined to burn away my free hours with the most useless entertainment, scavenging for time to stare dead-eyed into space like it's water on Arrakis. I haven't done the bare minimum, and all I can do is make lame excuses. People have done marching band alongside multiple AP classes and still survived. I should have been able to breeze through the reading quota, but I didn't. Too late for that now.
I had to read 7/8 of Dune over a single weekend for an AP essay. Without thinking about it, I went into the walk-in closet in the spare room, pulled a few blankets and pillows into a nest, found some leftover Halloween candy, and finished a good half of the book in about 8 hours in the complete silence gotten from two layers of doors. I think I'll leave the closet that way.
The only reason I stayed with ItWNY was pure pride, but I was less inclined to continue reading things that should have caught my interest. But in either case, I never wanted to stop reading in the middle to check the Internet or anything similar. I hate being interrupted, even if I'm not doing anything particularly enjoyable.
Did I seriously use a reference to a sci-fi novel in an analogy? Kull wahad, I've become an official fangirl for a work of fiction.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Fourfield and Nav 101
I had intended to look for the book with my dad, but he beat me to it, wordlessly handing me the text. It had survived the "great flood of '06," when the sump pump stopped working and the basement was filled with about a foot of water, but not without a few... alterations. The sleeve, covered in wire-frame depictions of hypercubes, Penrose tessellations, and wormholes, was stained with the blue dye from the cover, which was warped and crooked, and the pages were yellowed and wrinkled and stuck together near the spine in some places, forcing me to pick my way through a few sections with the utmost care and concentration. I tried not to think too hard about some deep, symbolic meaning behind all this as I began to read Fourfield: Computers, Art, & the 4th Dimension by Tony Robbin.
I started reading it hoping for some help for my story, which involves beings who can move freely through time via the fourth dimension. While I did get a bit of help, this book has mostly opened my eyes to the unity of art, mathematics, and science, which in turn has further complicated my choices for a major and a college. I love science, but I also love art and writing, and I'd hate to have to choose between one or the other. That piece of crap Nav 101 isn't doing anything to help and, in fact, makes it infuriating to find colleges that fit one's interests. The last time I used it, I decided to look up colleges with good architecture departments and two of the colleges it suggested were Princeton and Harvard. No s---, Sherlock! But let me ask you, what random idiot's going to get into Princeton, especially one who doesn't throw down Nav 101 in a frustrated rage after it gives him some meaningless, condescending "good job!" for answering useless questions for the billionth time in a row? It just makes me sick. I wonder what their business model is if they have to pay schools to make them use it? My idea is that they're a secret front for otherworldly creatures who feed of the despair and exasperation of high schoolers. Yeah. That sounds about right.
I started reading it hoping for some help for my story, which involves beings who can move freely through time via the fourth dimension. While I did get a bit of help, this book has mostly opened my eyes to the unity of art, mathematics, and science, which in turn has further complicated my choices for a major and a college. I love science, but I also love art and writing, and I'd hate to have to choose between one or the other. That piece of crap Nav 101 isn't doing anything to help and, in fact, makes it infuriating to find colleges that fit one's interests. The last time I used it, I decided to look up colleges with good architecture departments and two of the colleges it suggested were Princeton and Harvard. No s---, Sherlock! But let me ask you, what random idiot's going to get into Princeton, especially one who doesn't throw down Nav 101 in a frustrated rage after it gives him some meaningless, condescending "good job!" for answering useless questions for the billionth time in a row? It just makes me sick. I wonder what their business model is if they have to pay schools to make them use it? My idea is that they're a secret front for otherworldly creatures who feed of the despair and exasperation of high schoolers. Yeah. That sounds about right.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Currently-- September 30, 2011
Reading--
Fourfield: Computers, Art, & the 4th Dimension-- Tony Robbin
Sentences of the week--
1. "This sphere has a quasicrystal interior of lightweight metal and is covered by stretched canvas. It can support a full-grown artist."
2. "Computers, housing-- such things were too important to be the exclusive province of 'Them.' Discover and employ the secrets of geometry for yourself, to empower the people."
3. "Magic is only a technology that we do not understand."
I've given up on Alchemist's Door. It's not bad, but it just hasn't caught my attention enough for me to keep picking it up again. I don't know why, but terrible books are easier for me to get through than mediocre ones.
All these are taken from Fourfield. It's a wonderful little book that attempts to provide a connection between math and art. The first quote is a caption for a picture that I'll have to scan and post here eventually. It shows the author sitting on the described sphere with this delightfully smug expression, as if he's saying, "Yeah, I'm sitting on quasicrystals. What are you going to do about it?" The second is describing the philosophy of Steve Baer, who dropped out of college when doing so was a statement of self-reliance. He built structures that used dodecahedral joints, which were astounding because it was different from not only what scientists at the time were doing, but nature as well. However, with the discovery of quasicrystals, we now know that such figures could possibly be found in nature. The third quote is something that, as a writer of fantasy and science fiction, I think about all too often. When designing stories that shouldn't have any science at all, I find myself trying to explain fantastical things that most writers simply brush off as "magic; don't ask." It just caught me off-guard and made me smile a bit when I found it elsewhere.
Pages this week: 111
Pages this semester: 407
Fourfield: Computers, Art, & the 4th Dimension-- Tony Robbin
Sentences of the week--
1. "This sphere has a quasicrystal interior of lightweight metal and is covered by stretched canvas. It can support a full-grown artist."
2. "Computers, housing-- such things were too important to be the exclusive province of 'Them.' Discover and employ the secrets of geometry for yourself, to empower the people."
3. "Magic is only a technology that we do not understand."
I've given up on Alchemist's Door. It's not bad, but it just hasn't caught my attention enough for me to keep picking it up again. I don't know why, but terrible books are easier for me to get through than mediocre ones.
All these are taken from Fourfield. It's a wonderful little book that attempts to provide a connection between math and art. The first quote is a caption for a picture that I'll have to scan and post here eventually. It shows the author sitting on the described sphere with this delightfully smug expression, as if he's saying, "Yeah, I'm sitting on quasicrystals. What are you going to do about it?" The second is describing the philosophy of Steve Baer, who dropped out of college when doing so was a statement of self-reliance. He built structures that used dodecahedral joints, which were astounding because it was different from not only what scientists at the time were doing, but nature as well. However, with the discovery of quasicrystals, we now know that such figures could possibly be found in nature. The third quote is something that, as a writer of fantasy and science fiction, I think about all too often. When designing stories that shouldn't have any science at all, I find myself trying to explain fantastical things that most writers simply brush off as "magic; don't ask." It just caught me off-guard and made me smile a bit when I found it elsewhere.
Pages this week: 111
Pages this semester: 407
Friday, September 23, 2011
Currently-- September 23, 2011
Sentences of the month--
"Xavier has more abs than you ever will, Edward Cullen!" -- Emily Spatt, over deviantART
I can't help it. Just because it's absolutely true.
"Save the children! Put the phone through the shredder." -- My dad
Trolldads are the best dads. He even wears a fedora.
"Vell, aren't you the paragon of comvort!" he growled. "Here I am, heartbroken and zlightly snockered, and some impudent little 13-year-old bursts in here and starts lekturing me about my personal business!" --Professor Lawrence from The Hollows by my good friend Chloe.
Because stories don't have to be professional to be awesome. I'll join the elite group of amateur authors, too... eventually.
"WIDOW: And so handsome, too!"
I'm staying in character a little better recently, but I'm also modifying the expression to make it even more hilarious. This should be interesting.
Pages this week: (I've been reading Gulliver's Travels on my Nook and I need to count the pages)
Pages this semester: 296 (Plus some)
"Xavier has more abs than you ever will, Edward Cullen!" -- Emily Spatt, over deviantART
I can't help it. Just because it's absolutely true.
"Save the children! Put the phone through the shredder." -- My dad
Trolldads are the best dads. He even wears a fedora.
"Vell, aren't you the paragon of comvort!" he growled. "Here I am, heartbroken and zlightly snockered, and some impudent little 13-year-old bursts in here and starts lekturing me about my personal business!" --Professor Lawrence from The Hollows by my good friend Chloe.
Because stories don't have to be professional to be awesome. I'll join the elite group of amateur authors, too... eventually.
"WIDOW: And so handsome, too!"
I'm staying in character a little better recently, but I'm also modifying the expression to make it even more hilarious. This should be interesting.
Pages this week: (I've been reading Gulliver's Travels on my Nook and I need to count the pages)
Pages this semester: 296 (Plus some)
Sentences
In this electrifying poster for the film 300, splashes of blood, open-mouthed screams of rage and anguish, and determined, hostile facial expressions deliver impressive feelings of wrath, exhilaration, and bloodshed that are sure to be felt in the heat of battle.
--InsideOut blog
Choice 1. I just thought that choosing 300 in the first place was incredibly awesome. Also, the description "in the dead of night" got that one song from Anastasia in my head. "In the dark of the night, evil will find you (ooh aah ooh!)"
In the song "Your Love Is A Song" by the band Switchfoot, the pensive, tenacious air of the lyrics, along with the mellow drum and guitar accompaniment and the powerful, husky, and dreamlike quality of the singer's vocals combine to evoke an overwhelming sense of breathlessness and euphoria surrounding the song's subject, a love so solemn and earnest it becomes the singer's reason for living.
--On Paper Wings blog
Choice 2. I really liked the expression in the second half of the sentence. "...[A]n overwhelming sense of breathlessness and euphoria" was particularly striking.
[In this scene from Vincent van Gogh's Cafe Terrace at Night , his colorful and exciting use of setting, busy but pleasant mood, and inviting cozy buildings]
portrays [a sense of playful benevolence and lighthearted liveliness.]
--phyllis blog
--InsideOut blog
Choice 1. I just thought that choosing 300 in the first place was incredibly awesome. Also, the description "in the dead of night" got that one song from Anastasia in my head. "In the dark of the night, evil will find you (ooh aah ooh!)"
In the song "Your Love Is A Song" by the band Switchfoot, the pensive, tenacious air of the lyrics, along with the mellow drum and guitar accompaniment and the powerful, husky, and dreamlike quality of the singer's vocals combine to evoke an overwhelming sense of breathlessness and euphoria surrounding the song's subject, a love so solemn and earnest it becomes the singer's reason for living.
--On Paper Wings blog
Choice 2. I really liked the expression in the second half of the sentence. "...[A]n overwhelming sense of breathlessness and euphoria" was particularly striking.
[In this scene from Vincent van Gogh's Cafe Terrace at Night , his colorful and exciting use of setting, busy but pleasant mood, and inviting cozy buildings]
portrays [a sense of playful benevolence and lighthearted liveliness.]
--phyllis blog
Currently- September 16, 2011
Reading-
The Alchemist's Door- Lisa Goldstein
Sentences of the week-
"SPRAGUE: Goodness throbbed in the hearts of them boys! There was a quality 'bout them..an essence that made folks aware of 'em..
(Flashback, a few lines later)
WILLIE: (To Huckleberry Finn) (Grimacing) Oh, they were sure right. You DO have a perfume all yer own!"
"POLLY: I ain't never lambasted you like I done Tom but there's a first time for everythin'!"
"WIDOW: And so handsome, too!"
All these quotes are from a stage adaption of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by the wonderful director and playwright Harvey Cocks for the Fort Wayne Youtheatre. Youtheatre is a wonderful project that allows young people to gain acting experience outside of school in an environment that is very similar to professional theater. Harvey is the best director such a program could have. He's kind and patient with young children and has an astoundingly diverse professional acting experience that he uses to teach the actors. I've been in a few plays with him before and they've all been great successes. This production of Tom Sawyer will be performed at the Civic Theater building on October 8 and 9 at 2:00. Youtheatre is in desperate need of funding, so please help keep this program alive by attending the play. It's bunches of fun and it adheres quite well to the book for those who are uptight about that sort of thing.
Quote 1: I just found the wording quite witty. It won't be so easy to catch just watching the play, I think, but when I read the script I thought that was really clever.
Quote 2: I play Aunt Polly and I just love saying "lambasted" with a Southern accent. It sounds like "layamb-bassted."
Quote 3: A few of us, when this line is said, have to stand up quickly and give the Widow a dirty look. I have this one angry-looking face I do that seems to make everyone laugh, so that face was my first idea for a "dirty look." A few of my friends who are offstage during this scene always barely control their laughter, and that always makes me break character and hide my big, stupid grin behind my hand.
Pages this week: 40
Pages this semester: 296
The Alchemist's Door- Lisa Goldstein
Sentences of the week-
"SPRAGUE: Goodness throbbed in the hearts of them boys! There was a quality 'bout them..an essence that made folks aware of 'em..
(Flashback, a few lines later)
WILLIE: (To Huckleberry Finn) (Grimacing) Oh, they were sure right. You DO have a perfume all yer own!"
"POLLY: I ain't never lambasted you like I done Tom but there's a first time for everythin'!"
"WIDOW: And so handsome, too!"
All these quotes are from a stage adaption of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by the wonderful director and playwright Harvey Cocks for the Fort Wayne Youtheatre. Youtheatre is a wonderful project that allows young people to gain acting experience outside of school in an environment that is very similar to professional theater. Harvey is the best director such a program could have. He's kind and patient with young children and has an astoundingly diverse professional acting experience that he uses to teach the actors. I've been in a few plays with him before and they've all been great successes. This production of Tom Sawyer will be performed at the Civic Theater building on October 8 and 9 at 2:00. Youtheatre is in desperate need of funding, so please help keep this program alive by attending the play. It's bunches of fun and it adheres quite well to the book for those who are uptight about that sort of thing.
Quote 1: I just found the wording quite witty. It won't be so easy to catch just watching the play, I think, but when I read the script I thought that was really clever.
Quote 2: I play Aunt Polly and I just love saying "lambasted" with a Southern accent. It sounds like "layamb-bassted."
Quote 3: A few of us, when this line is said, have to stand up quickly and give the Widow a dirty look. I have this one angry-looking face I do that seems to make everyone laugh, so that face was my first idea for a "dirty look." A few of my friends who are offstage during this scene always barely control their laughter, and that always makes me break character and hide my big, stupid grin behind my hand.
Pages this week: 40
Pages this semester: 296
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