Plagiarist Rant

So one of the least deserving authors ever received her second children’s book award according to the Today show this morning.

This author (not saying names though I’m sure you can figure it out by the end of my rant) has stolen most of her material (excepting one sparkly bit) from Annette Curtis Klause (in my personal opinion of course). I’m sure there are other authors that are lesser known that this plagiarist is stealing from.

I wonder if the authors won’t say anything because of the Rowling scandal years ago when an author showed her book (consisting of wizards, muggles, owl carriers, etc) and claimed Rowling stole from her. The protesting author lost their case (obviously since J.K. is still writing) so it might scare any other smaller writer from calling a popular writer a plagiarist.

Castle

Hello again readers!
Something new for those of you not in the television loop (like myself). I have been introduced to a new show, Castle on ABC. AMAZING!
Castle stars Nathan Fillion (You may remember him as Captain Mal from Firefly, and will be happy to see him in a Brown Coat on episode one) and Stana Katic (Morgenstern in The Spirit and Corinne Veneau in the new Bond film). The show is about a mystery writer, Rick Castle, who teams up with a savvy detective chick, Kate Beckette, and helps solve crimes with his unique insight on criminology.
Check it out Monday nights at 10pm. I know its late for those of us that gotta get up early but hey, it’s worth it. If you can’t catch the new episodes you can find them online to watch during your “free time.”

Gloomth Coupon

Free Shipping Coupon!
Available until April 4th.
Code: 5FREES

You can use it as many times as you want until the 4th.

La Carmina Contest

La Carmina is spreading the word of her new Goth Cooking Show on You Tube (above I'm attempting to embed it but I'm not sure it will work, I'm so dumb when it comes to that sort of thing).
She's also hosting a contest with prizes from Gloomth and Aromaleigh.

A Treasure in Trouble

Until yesterday, I never really thought about the current bad economy. Other than tuition going up %5 I was not effected by it really. I heard about jobs being lost at the local factory and price cuts but it was never personal…like I said, until yesterday.
Happy Belated St. Paddys
It is also my boyo DC’s birthday (such a Irish baby).
I took him out for food at the local German restaurant (there aren’t any Irish pubs here sadly) and we stopped in on our friends Brandy and June at Unique Treasures which is just down the street form the restaurant.
We found June and her daughter and sat down to talk.
The place is in trouble. With the bad economy, Brandy has pulled out and she wants to close.
I didn’t understand. I thought June meant close that day. She meant permanently.
Unique Treasures is a treasure in itself. The place is beautiful; an old jewelry store that has turned café/boutique. Great coffee, lovely tea, beautiful antiques and charms and trinkets. Everything is for sale, including the seat you’re sitting on.
June reads tarot cards in the front room that looks like it came out of a beautiful gypsy caravan with tapestries and comfortable chairs and dim lighting. (So far I’ve found her readings to be correct)
Brandy wanted June to pull out as well but Unique Treausrures is not just June’s place of business but her home and her daughter’s home.
Determined not to loose this treasure in downtown Johnson City, I’m doing what I can to stir them up some business (getting an ad in the school paper where I work, having my Jane Austen class an hour earlier there, and encouraging others to do the same).
DC and I will be helping June out this Sunday, doing some heavy lifting.

If any of the readers here are local to the Tri-cities area I would love to encourage you to visit Unique Treasures. It really is a beautiful place.

Modernism...eh?

Ok so in two of my classes (Humanities and American Lit.) we're dealing with Modernism. So far, all I want to do is groan every time I hear the word.
I don't understand it. It's an all encompassing box of ideals during the 20th century, sure. But that doesn't make any sense. The Europeans see it as a break from all that is the past, the Irish see it as embracing their past, Americans don't have a lot of past to break from or embrace so they see it as urban or rural...there are too many ideas here to all be put in the same box!
Faulkner has so much dialect its ridiculous, and in The Sound and The Fury (which, strangely, I actually found myself liking) there's all this muddied time and place and who and name. It would take years to really understand the book. (BTW, thank God for spell check or this last bit would have been gibberish with my typing rant.)
Next we read Grendel and I'm not sure if I should be afraid...A book based on another book so that the author didn't have to focus on plot...not only that but the symbols are zodiac and the philosophy is 20th century rather than pre-historic Celtic whatever that Beowulf was written in? My head hurts already!.

Looking for a job for the summer, any ideas?

Henna Job!

Had my first job at Unique Treasures Saturday. Did henna on a teenage girl, and sadly it was not my best. She kind of surprised me with a custom piece (a claddagh with a clover instead of a heart, which sort of defeats the point of the symbol in my opinion). I did the piece as a bracelet, explaining the symbol to the girl and giving advice on how to take care of her tattoo. I asked that she not move her wrist around much until it dries and let her be. She ruined it within minutes and asked me to fix it. I said I would if she let me take a picture of the piece. She did but I don’t think I’ll be using the picture due to the piece’s ruin…the clover looked more and more like a glob no matter how I messed with it.
I did three free pieces for the owners of Unique Treasures and will put up the pictures in a new photobucket account when I can.
My jac bottle clogged up and I had no mylar cones with me, a mistake I will not repeat that is for sure.
For my first time doing henna there I think it went rather well. In all I made 8 dollars and some change (the girl’s mother had to pay with debit card which has a fee at the shop).
If you’re ever in Johnson City, TN on a Saturday stop by downtown at Unique Treasures for some excellent coffee and a henna tat.

The Joys and Sorrows of Firefly

This past summer I was introduced the wonder that is Joss Whedon's Firefly. As soon as I was able I bought the series online and watched it all in one day with DC. We both were in love with the show and ran out and bought Serenity after finishing the series. Having now watched the movie twice and revelled in the special features I can blog about it.

Rant
WHY THE HELL DID THEY END WITH ONE SEASON!
So wrong. So very, very wrong. What's gonna happen to Zoe now that she's lost her hubby? Will Kaylee and Simon last? Is the Alliance still after them? Does Mal and Inarra get together? What was Book's past?
As you can see, I am a lil agitated.

Joss Whedon's The Dollhouse starts this month, pretty exciting. I hope it turns out well though there are so many recycled actors from Buffy and Angel.

Henna Tryouts

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b171/WickedDecember/December/P1010121.jpg
I bought some henna samples from hennapage.com
They're ok but I've used better. It may just be the mix I did.
Here's the outcome

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b171/WickedDecember/December/P1010123.jpg

And after about 2 hours of setting

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b171/WickedDecember/December/P1010125.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b171/WickedDecember/December/P1010126.jpg

Another Amazing Date

I know its been a while, and I'm sorry for it.

Whats going on in my life in the new year?
I have 2 jobs, one wiht the library and another witht he school paper as their advertising manager.
Dealing with other people to learn how to do something fo ryour job is not the best thing ever. I'm currently playing phone tag with a guy from College Publisher to try adn do a demo to learn how to advertise and post advertisements online. Its been three days of phone tag and he isn't in the office on weekends -_-
I have 17 hours of classes, almost all of which have a stack of books to read. I'm also teaching a class on Jane Austen, reading four of her books (Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, and Emma).
All of this on top of a boyfriend who and friends as well as my writing...

As for something a lil more personal and recent yesterday DC took me on a beautiful date.
We went to lunch at my favorite oriental fusion restaurant where I had sushi and redbean mochi buns which I've been craving for weeks.
After eating and talking like an old couple for an hour we went to the historic district of the city and walked around in the snow flurries. There were beautiful houses and storefronts. We had expensive gourmet chocolates at Earth and Sky (I had a honey and lavender truffle which was amazing and DC had a peanut butter thing that was very sweet and yummy) and looked at antique stores and I bought an Indian purse necklace at a shop that sells trinkets and statues from Asia and South America.
Just walking around in teh cold holding hands and kissing under the snowy sky was so romantic and its those pictures that stay in my mind when I think of DC.

Sorry for the gush but I had to post and figured this was the best thing thats happened to me in a while.

The awesomeness of my weekend...

I hung out with DC, of course.
Friday, after he picked me up from school, we went to Kingsport to a curiosity shop owned by his friends, Tod and Dagny, which he has been promising to take me to for some time. I bought a journal and a pair of earrings and DC bought me a gorgeous pair of sterling silver and blue quartz earrings that are supposed to cleanse my aura ^_^. They’re gorgeous, I don’t care if my aura is dirty lol.
We then headed to downtown Johnson City where we hung out at DC’s friend Brandy has a café, which, my boss, littlestpenguin has told me about before but I never made the connection (I’m bad about that). He just said hi and looked around. Brandy invited us to her Halloween party this Friday (it’s supposed to be 21+ but I am loved and can come if I want as long as I’m not drinking big-girl drinks lol).
We then met up with William and went to eat at Russos where my beloved Kristie works. Sadly she could not wait on our table since she had a wedding party to wait on. I feel bad for the waitress that got us because we were more rambunctious than the ten students form ETSU nearby. (This is mostly due to the fact that William had to be a smart ass about how hot he wanted his Jambalaya and was dying from the heat…and needs a girlfriend to vent his “frustrations” with.)
After eating (DC and mine together was $50 O.O but that’s cause he ordered 2 bears, and 2 meals lol) we checked out what was going on at the Hideaway then moved on to the Acoustic Coffeehouse, which, sadly, was also hosting a wedding party so it was pretty lame (good coffee though).
So DC and I headed to his house where he built a fire up and we cuddled and roasted marshmallows and were disgustingly cute ^_^ and me wearing my gorgeous earrings of course!

Saturday…DC made me a big breakfast of biscuits and gravy and eggs and sausage and apple butter…mmm…then he napped for about 4 hours O.o while I did some laundry and watched Autumn in New York (I cry every time I watch that stupid movie). After he woke up around 4:30 we got ready and went back to Brandy’s café ( I think it’s called something Treasures…bah my memory sucks, I just call it Brandy’s). There we had some terrific coffee and DC and I each had our cards read by June (the co-owner).
My tarot reading consisted of looking at different things as far as school and career are concerned instead of having a one track mind; mending my relationship with my mother; an unexpected event (The Tower) coming but with my stable emotions and intellect (The Empress in my corner) I should get through it. June hated to give me bad news, I could tell she felt really bad for it and kept saying if I ever need any help t feel free to ask. She also said DC and I were really good for each other and that he will help me emotionally and I should help him to focus more on himself instead of spreading himself thin helping those around him.
After that (at around 8:30) we headed back to DC’s where he made pork ribs, mac n cheese, and fried potatoes (one of my favorites).

Sunday was a day of cleaning, realizing I had spent too much money over the weekend, and sleeping.

The Prolepsis Project

I’m so excited
(I’m over my stomach flu first of all, finally)
My project proposal for my composition class has been approved!
I’ll be writing a 10-12 page essay (with 10-20 sources) on Steampunk!
If you are interested in my project check out the blog and the forum
www.steamgirl-prolepsis.blogspot.com
www.prolepsis.proboards.com

Steampunk and School do not mix

A lot going on lately.
School is insane. An important essay and a test Thursday, Midterm grades coming out (gulp), and I’ve been given the next Essay assignment which is 10-12 pages AND I have to have audience interaction!
Essay 3 will be on Steampunk: fashion, art, and subculture. My audience interaction will be a forum and a blog (I’ll be trying to contact a few of the movers and shakers of the movement and get them to post if I can). My goal? Writers Forum at the end of the year. I want to dress up as my steampunk character Professor Almira Humphries and give a sort of dissertation on Steampunk.
For now…
I’m dealing with a stomach virus that my roomie and I both are suffering from (ew) as well as some idiotic high school drama going on with some people I thought were friends…(le sigh).

My Steampunk RP forum Victoriental Anachronism
http://voanachronism.proboards.com
Join Join Join!

Also: I’ve been working on my photography, most of its natural stuff from the park and the river with a little of Granny’s garden in there and of course a few pics of DC. They’ll be on my deviant art DecemberNocte.deviantart.com
Alright I have to get back to 17th C poetry and the French Revolution…Bleh

What a Weekend...coming down from the high

What a weekend!
I attended Dancing in the Dark’s Villain Ball Friday night and was able to finally go to sleep Saturday night at ten. Yea…I’m a little sleep deprived.
The Villain ball was pretty awesome. I had meant to dress as Mrs. Lovett of Sweeny Todd but cannot find my skirt that I needed so I just went as myself, which is scary enough I suppose. At the ball there were a lot of villain’s I didn’t recognize (including a few form Adult Swim tv shows). One of the DJs came as a failed suicide bomber (giggle giggle).
Everything went great aside from a few bad elements that stumbled in from the neighboring hip-hop night next door and a few from our own group that many of us could have been happier without.
The after-party was less than wonderful. It was supposed to be invite only for those of us that are friends so that we could catch up (since four of us have been away for months) and see Revrin’s new house (which is AMAZING). However, Revrin in a drunken slip invited everybody at the Ball…uh oh. There were at least thirty cars at the house (and that’s with car pooling) and the basement areas were packed for the most part. Many of us were unhappy but we dealt with it and were able to have a good time.
Revrin’s land lady is awesome for not being aggravated by us.

Aside form that the weekend went on when I got back to DC’s house at 8am. We hung out, me reading Fellowship of the Ring and working on a research paper on the Tuatha De Danann and DC playing guitar. Sunday was spent napping mostly, and playing Cute Knight (an addiction…).
It’s really hard to go back to the mundane after a weekend like I had. School and work are a little strange, especially when I’m loopy from lack of sleep. My friends keep telling me to nap…instead I’m updating on here and working on my new Myspace account (had too much unwanted stuff on the old one as well as an e-mail account I can no longer log into). Sleep…who needs sleep when I have caffeine?

I'll Be Teaching!!!!

I’ll be TEACHING! Gasp, I know, who let me have that much power?!
Ok, here’s what’s going on. Next semester I’ll be teaching a House Course on Jane Austen going over four of her novels (Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, and Lady Susan) along with some biographical info that I’m getting off a few sites online.

I’m so excited to be teaching and teaching something I’m enthusiastic about. Already I have a lot of people on the campus wanting to take the class so I hope I can get the Hopwood or Welshimer room of the Library to use for the classroom (aside form taking everyone outside on really pretty days once spring hits).

Long time no post...again...

So I have to admit that the more that I hear about a friend of mine’s wedding the more I want to get married myself. It will be about two more years before I can marry DC (however, if it were up to him we’d be at the courthouse right now signing papers). I already know what I want, pretty much in detail and Kathy, my future-mother-in-law thinks I’m a nut but is happy for me and very supportive of DC and I.
The finny thing is I am not to the only one in this situation. The wedding planner and best friend of the friend I mentioned before is thinking about getting married too and she, like me, is going to have to wait at least two more years.
Blah I think waiting can be deadly.

So It has been a long time since I’ve posted I know, forgive me.
I’ve been busy with school and boyfriend and work.

Lately I’ve been working in the college library archives creating Today in (College Name Here) History and typing up letters from 1910. I love my job. Its perfect for a geeky introvert. My boss gives me my assignment (preferably not running books from the basement to the second floor and back) and we talk about DragonCon, web comics, and other such matters. Mostly it’s quiet and I’m surrounded by books and the musty smell of old paper while I decipher the handwriting of the college’s founding fathers. Love it!

The Presidential Election has hit another height since I last posted. Welcome the VPs into the media frenzy. It gets to the point where I reach apathy and want to throw a rock at the TV. I mean, really, there isn’t a politician who isn’t crooked and won’t say whatever they feel will get them elected. I don’t trust either candidate at all and that ont top of the fact that people’s votes don’t count is why I am not voting. Perhaps this year will be Nadar’s chance?

Update of School Life

Life at school is hectic and busy.
So far classes are alright excepting a few small things that I hope won’t become problems (especially in my math class; blech).

HORNETS ARE EVIL
A hornet flew into DC’s truck and attacked me yesterday. I got stung twice (on the ear and on the thigh) and as our friend Tim said “I’ve never seen her cuss so much.” Poor DC took very good care of me and petted on me until the double dose of Benedryl started working then left me on the couch to watch Sense and Sensibility (YAY Emma Thompson!) while he and Tim hung out in the kitchen.

RAVE
We of course all know Jane Austen is one of the most amazing writers ever. Northanger Abby is my favorite so far because I can definitely relate with Christina Morland (and her overactive imagination). Now I’m reading Sense and Sensibility and loving it a great deal. The movie was great with such amazing actos as Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, and Hugh Grant (who could say no to that?!).

Confused. Is Rhianna trying to become the black female Marilyn Manson? Can anyone explain her (sorta) new video to me?

Back At School

I’m sorry to have been negligent of my blog for so long. I’ve started back at school like I’m many of you have or have children who have. So far so good. I get to spend a bunch of time wit DC and have a great roommate/suitemates. My classes are mostly core requirements but I’m trying to be enthusiastic about them. Still getting used to the cafeteria food, I’ve come to be very grateful to DC’s cooking or requests to go to a restaurant.
So that was the overview of my letters home…

Eastern Tennessee has to be one of the most beautiful places in America. I’m not one for landscapes usually or farmland, etc, etc. However, I could look at the mountains here forever. From DC’s kitchen window while I sit on the sofa and read I can see perfectly spotted cows grazing on a gold and green hill and the background is a hazy blue-gray of mountains and sky. I just sat and stared for a while until DC’s mom interrupted my musings to ask what I found so interesting in the kitchen. My little college campus is settled in a nest of low mountains with each cluster of buildings on a hill looking like little churches or beacons. In all it’s very picturesque. I revel in the simple beauty and know why I was consumed with homesickness for my three months at my parents’ house.

Jane Austen

As I have mentioned I am reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for a second time and have purchased the movie when I saw it on sale. I’ve decided that I do not think Kiera Knightly is not who I would have chosen as Elizabeth Bennet. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head who might be better but preferably someone who seemed more intelligent and less pretty, for Elizabeth was meant to be seen that way.

Two Jane Austen Blogs have caught my attention: Jane Austen Addict and Jane Austen Today. Be sure to check them out.

What Austen book I will read next I haven’t decided yet. Perhaps someone could point me in the right direction. I’m thinking Emma but I hear Mansfield Park is wonderful too…

Book Review

Sorry I haven’t posted in a few days but as I’ve said, my family is dealing with a bit of drama that encourages me in my belief that if we had a reality tv show or some sort of sit com based onus we’d make millions.

Review
I’ve just finished Sisterchicks Go Brit by Robin Jones Gunn. It’s number seven in the Sisterchicks series and, though I have no intention to read the rest of the series, this book was marvelous. Two best friends, Kellie and Liz, who are in the “autumn of their years”, are taken to Europe by a cunning little old woman, Opal. They go through many adventures: pancake races, crazy cabbies with illegal tours, tea at the Ritz, and being questions as a terrorist by the police. There are tons of allusions to British literature in this book which is exciting to literary addicts like myself.
This book has made me so excited about being able to see London next year. (For those of you not in the know, I’ll be going on a 28 day tour of Europe next year). In the British theme I am now working on A Walk With Jane Austen by Lori Smith.