This journal will be mostly friends-only. All things pertaining to RL and anything rated above PG will be locked.

Please send a friend request AND comment here, and you will be accepted.

Also introduce yourself here, and I will be far more likely to keep up with your journal (=

Hey there, friends! I have never exchanged cards with LJ people before, but I am pretty excited to start doing so this year. I have always felt weird requesting cards from people, thinking it will be an undue burden or something, but now that I've started making my own I see how fun it is!

So please, give me an excuse to abuse my glitter & scrapbooking tools, and sign up for a card!

If I have requested a card from you, please allow me to return the favor!

Poll #1480530 Holiday Cards 2009
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 15

Would you like a card from me this year?

Name

Mailing address line 1

Mailing address line 2

Comments/questions/factoids/random fun

TICKY BOX?!

I've seen a million of these and just scanned through, since music isn't my thing as much as lit is -- but lately I've had more song crushes than usual, so here it goes.

Rules:
1. Make a list of 10 songs that you've been obsessed with lately. They can be old songs, new songs, songs you've only just discovered... anything is game as long as you can't stop listening to it.
2. Find a YouTube clip to go with the song (the original video, if possible).
3. Post the song titles along with the clips, starting with #10 (least obsessed), moving on to #1 (most obsessed - literally eating at your brain).
4. Comment on why you find each song so irresistible.
5. Tag. Don't tag. Do what you will. Just spread the music love ^_^

10. "Peace, Love and Happiness" by G. Love and Special Sauce
-I found this song on the Brushfire Records Sampler, which is an excellent album you can download legally & for free over at Amazon.
-The music video won't embed, but it's here.



( More music behind the cut! )

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Hannibal by Thomas Harris
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Summerland by Michael Chabon
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Emma by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Journals by Denton Welch
On Writing by Stephen King
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
La Chute (The Fall) by Albert Camus
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruka Murakami
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Atlas: Poems by Katrina Vandenberg
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Walls of the Universe by Paul Melko
Everything that Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor
Bliss by Lauren Myracle
Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Seventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Naked Lunch by William Burroughs
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Reading Habits
Yoinked from book bloggers

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Usually not, because I would hate to spill anything on a book! If anything, I drink tea (very carefully). However, I often eat meals while reading a magazine or something online.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I used to be staunchly anti-marking, but as I have gotten older I have realized the value of highlighting and annotating my books. When a book is too good to not think about, I have to write in it.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

I usually just remember or find the page I need -- for some reason I'm really not a fan of bookmarks. Usually, I need to read the page or so before the new stuff to get my head back into it.

( More under the cut )

Title: Five Times Pavel A. Chekov Was A Sewenteen-Year-Old Kid, and One Time He Wasn't
Author: jazzonia
Rating: PG-13 for language & implied sexytimes
Wordcount: ~800
Warnings: Pavel Chekov being really damn cute
Prompt: This prompt at the Star Trek XI Kink Meme
A/N: My first Five Times fic. I guess it was just a matter of time.

( Five Times Pavel A. Chekov Was A Sewenteen-Year-Old Kid, and One Time He Wasn't )

1. What author do you own the most books by?

Mostly kids' authors, back when there was no library near my house.  Roald Dahl (20+), Richard Peck (20+), Sharon Creech (15+), Jerry Spinelli (10+), etc.  I also own quite a lot by Philip Pullman, Garth Nix, and D.J. MacHale.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?

I own double copies of several books, and three Complete Works of Shakespeare by different publishers.

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?

Yes.  I try to speak properly when I can, though I don't do it when the 'proper' sentences are overly pretentious/strange.  But on a grammatical level, yes, it bothers me.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?

Will from This is All (Aidan Chambers); most all of the leading men from Susane Colasanti's books; Bobby Pendragon from the Pendragon series (D.J. MacHale); Margo Roth Spiegelman (Paper Towns, John Green)!

5. What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books)?

The Harry Potter books.  Out of those, I've probably read the earlier ones more times.

6. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?

I was (am) way into HP.  I had probably just read Goblet of Fire when I was ten, but Prisoner of Azkaban was probably still my favorite.

7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?

Was Breaking Dawn this year?  No?

8. What is the best book you've read in the past year?

Oh, so many... but it has to be A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?

Either Portrait or Leaves of Grass (not a book, but whatever).  They're so different, but each speak to me.

10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?

I have to agree with John Green on this one -- books and the films they inspire are two very different things.  Neither has to be particularly true or loyal to the other, nor do they have to relay the same tone or theme.  Usually, the books I enjoy very much would not make good films, and vice versa.  That being said, I am quite excited for Deathly Hallows I & II.

11. What book would you least like to see made into a movie?

Geez, I'm not sure.  In keeping with my statement above, my favorite books (Portrait, This is All) would not be good movies.

12. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.

I don't remember my dreams that long-term, but I do have this recurring daydream scenario where I'm Hamlet's therapist.  Yeah.

13. What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?

I'm not yet an adult!  In recent memory, though, I have read Twilight.

14. What is the most difficult book you've ever read?

I'm still pretty young, so my reading level/capability is still increasing.  For that reason, different books have been challenging to me at different times.  Recently, I have been working through The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which is brilliant, but taking me longer than usual.

15. What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?

I am stage managing The Merry Wives of Windsor in the fall.  Obscure Shakespeare plays ftw!

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?

Based on recent experiences in Quebec City, French Canadians!

17. Roth or Updike?

Haven't read too much of either.

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?

I'll let you know.  What is the What and When You Are Engulfed in Flames are both on my to-read shelf.  But Dave Eggers has to get bonus points for writing the screenplay of Where the Wild Things Are.

19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?

It's gotta be Willie.

20. Austen or Eliot?

Austen!

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?

...The Brontës.  DON'T HATE ME.

22. What is your favorite novel?

Portrait.

23. Play?

The History Boys by Alan Bennett.

24. Poem?

Leaves of Grass.  Oh god, Leaves of Grass.

25. Essay?

I haven't read that many.

26. Work of nonfiction?

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

27. Who is your favorite writer?

Nobody has the brains, wits, vlogging skills, and cute puppy that John Green does (=

28. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?

Um.  I guess I'm not the hugest fan of Chuck Palahniuk, even though Fight Club is brilliant.

29. What is your desert island book?

The Swiss Family Robinson.  Practical advice and good reading!

30. And... what are you reading right now?

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (school), all of Sarah Dessen's books (necessary teenage canon), The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Brief & Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (necessary Pulitzer canon), Let it Snow (necessary John Green canon).

1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song.
2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.


tiny_increments asked me:

1. What is your favorite musical?

Classic: Oklahoma; modern: Next to Normal. I am also enamored by Evita, Chess, Rent (for nostalgic reasons), and anything Julie Andrews has ever done xD

2. Is there any special meaning to your username?

It's the title of a poem by Langston Hughes, which I discuss here.

3. What plans do you have after high school?

I hope to go to college in Boston or New York, then take a year to travel before beginning a career in publishing, journalism, or writing.

4. Would ST-XI have succeeded as it has without all the pretty?

Good question! If you mean the pretty people, then yes; while a hot cast doesn't hurt, I think the movie could have been similarly successful with an equally talented but less beautiful cast. On the other hand, the hotrod!Enterprise, lensflares, and special effects went a long way to enhance the script / distract us from plot holes.

5. What is the best part of NYC for you?

Physical part: The theatre district (Broadway, Bryant Park, main NYPL branch)
Geographical part: SoHo, NoHo, & the Village
Intellectual: Independence, both of movement and of self! Instead of having to drive or find a ride to wherever I want to go in the suburbs, I can take a bus, subway, or cab to anywhere I can imagine in the city. I don't have to justify myself, explain my motivations, or depend upon others for mobility. New York means freedom!

Title: Fathers
Author: jazzonia
Rating: PG-13 for language
Wordcount: ~1,000
Warnings: Language, pre-slash, implied past abuse
Prompt: This prompt at the Star Trek XI Kink Meme (wtf, part 12?!)
A/N: Baby's first Trek fic. Also my first fic in almost a year. Concrit is most welcome, especially factual errors.

( A story of three fathers: George Kirk, Sarek, and Leonard McCoy )

1. Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian
About a girl who goes to art school in Philly over the summer, and learns a lot about herself and friendship.  As someone who has had and is having a transformative experience at a university (NYU) in a big city (NYC), it was a fun and relevant book to read.  I wouldn't buy it, but it was a great day-and-a-half of train reading.

2. Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger
A really well-done portrait of a girl in the middle of her transition to being male.  Grady is a vibrant and articulate character whose thoughts are achingly real, and whose struggles captivate readers.  It was very moving.

3. Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson
Not my favorite of Maureen's books, but definitely a quality YA read.  I especially like the imagery of the protagonist's tattoo!

4. Devilish by Maureen Johnson
I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that I thought the book would have been better off without the big plot twist.  It wasn't very convincing, and cheapened the wonderful world established in the first half of the book.  (Yes, I know I'm critiquing the central plot point.  It was well-executed, and would have been a very different book without this twist.)  But not a bad way to spend a couple hours!

5. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Gosh, such a fun read.  It's about a girl following her deceased aunt's crazed gingerbread trail of clues and letters all over Europe.  This is the sort of book that completely removes you from yourself and your world, and sweeps you into this vibrant roller-coaster of a journey.  The end was so heartwrenching and beautiful, and I cannot wait for the sequel! (2011?)

6. Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
A close second to 13LBE as my favorite book of Maureen's.  A very different book, to be sure; it is much more reserved and poignant.  While this book has (rightly) been toted as an accurate and much-needed look at the lives of LGBT youth, it should not be written off as a 'gay book.'  That the protagonist struggles with her sexuality is something central to the work's theme, but not a defining or limiting characteristic.  I would highly recommend this book to everyone, straight, gay, and everything in between.

7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
NEHWBHQLDIFHYANDLFFGHRYAZMZKWUQEDIWEFIUGHSF
BUY IT NOW OH MY GOD.
(Set in a sort of Orwellian future, about a girl who has to compete for her life in a competition with twenty-something other kids.  So brilliant.  There are no words.  *see keyboardsmash*)

8. What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones
I mean, not my favorite YA book ever -- probably meant for the 12-16 crowd -- but not a bad read.  Written in free verse, so if that's your kinda thing, could be a fun book to pick up.  This is more of a sister piece than a sequel to What My Mother Doesn't Know, though it's much better (imho); so I'd read the first one first, so as to end on a high note ;)

9. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
One of my favorite books of all time.  Philosophy meets romance meets vignette; I can't really describe it.  This took me a while to get through, not because it was dense, but rather because I read it thoughtfully and critically.  I'd do it that way -- you can miss a lot, if you just skim for plot.

10. Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti
Though I saw the 'big plot reveal' coming from a mile away, this was still a really good read. 

11. The Market by J.M. Steele
A surprise find!  I didn't love The Taker, the first book from this team of writers, so I wasn't expecting anything exceptional.  But this was really fun!  The concept is that someone sets up a stock-market-esque website to rank all the girls in the class.  The protagonist finds herself on the wrong side of the divide, and she and her friends devise a plan to catapult her to the top of the charts in hopes of winning the $25k betting pool.  While it sounds corny -- and believe me, I grew exasparated with the deus-ex-machina feeling of the system, especially at the end -- I would definitely recommend this book.  I really liked the protagonist and her love interests, and I totally want to work in a quirky independent bookstore like she does.

12. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
This was a detailed re-read, and so worth it.  I missed a lot the first time around, since I skimmed most of the text, only focusing on selections for class.  I'd probably consider this my favorite book ever.  If you haven't read it, wow.  Go buy it now.

13. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Really excellent start to a great series.  Like the next book, I have read parts of it before and forgotten.  I love Tally, David, and the fire rangers!  Highly recommended.

14. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
This probably makes my top ten YA books, and my top 25 books in general.  A brilliantly-written, intelligent, believable, exciting, memorable tale of a girl at a stuffy Boston boarding school who decides to shake things up a little.  I had skimmed the book before while waiting in an airport or something, but had never gotten too into it; suffice to say that I literally could not put it down this time around.  Frankie is such a strong protagonist, and her voice is unmistakable.  I have an awful memory about the characters of books -- I'll remember the plot and setting weeks or months after I read it, but rarely the characters.  Frankie is unforgettable, in the most literal sense of the word.  While this is a YA book, and was very relevant at this point in my life, I imagine all you non-teenagers will enjoy it just as much.  Five stars!

People displaced by the conflict in Darfur often live in refugee camps, which are overwhelmed by the thousands of people fleeing their war-torn homeland. Obviously much aid is needed, from food to clean water to medicine. But so too do the camps need books.

The Book Wish Foundation provides books, magazines, reading glasses, solar-powered lights, and dictionaries to those in refugee camps. The foundation works with people in the camps to ascertain what kinds of books people want, and the other equipment (glasses, lamps, reference materials) needed. Its volunteers and funds even build libraries! These books, aside from providing much-needed education and leisure to refugees, also help young people study for university.

Literature helps to educates, open minds, and saves lives. Please, donate what you can to help bring books to those who need them.


(Via John Green)

As we all know, I am a nerdfighter. This means that instead of being made out of bones, organs, and tissues, I am made out of awesome. Many nerds who share passions (such as literature, Harry Potter, grammar, science, music, etc.) have gathered at Nerdfighters.com thanks to author John Green, his brother Hank, and their year-long Ze-Frank-style video blog project. While that ended with the year 2007, Nerdfighteria is still going strong; John & Hank make videos several times per week, we watch/follow friends of Nerdfighting on YouTube and other sites, and Nerdfighters discuss the good, the bad, and the awesome on the forum.

But Nerdfighting has other, hidden benefits besides a kind and thoughtful community dedicated to bettering the world. Friends of John & Hank, aka Secret Siblings, have proven to be really wonderful people. One of these fine folks, Alan Lastufka (aka Alan Distro, or fallofautumndistro on YouTube), was a part of the 5 Awesome Guys project (modeled after Brotherhood 2.0, John & Hank's thing). He is a very talented Renaissance man of sorts, writing poetry, making witty videos, writing a book about YouTube, doing graphic design, and most impressively -- creating a brilliant CD.

Taking Leave is a six-song CD released by DFTBA Records. With lyrics by Alan and vocals by Tom Milsom (hexachordal on the 'Tube); two songs feature Kristina Horner of the 5 Awesome Girls (italktosnakes on the 'Tube, also part of the band the Parselmouths) and John Green himself. I bought the CD because I love all of these people, and the Nerdfighting community. The quality of the music wasn't all that important to me, because it was the product of years of hard work by people I hold quite dear. But, much to my surprise & excitement, I received a brilliant album.

This is what I thought of Taking Leave, track by track.

01. Just A Boy ("Now I'm growing up and people say, I look like my father more each day") - a strong start to the album with a beautiful melody
02. The Wind ("The wind pushed and pulled her, the wind took her by surprise") - great instrumentals, great story, great chorus!
03. Can't ("Heroic, robotic bedroom lies") - again, the instrumentals make it really catchy. This has a special place in my heart since it was so well done on the music video!
04. The Mirror Song (feat. Kristina Horner) ("I'd forgotten how happy we'd looked") - A hauntingly beautiful duet, with several quality covers on the 'Tube
05. The Sparks Fly Upward (feat. John Green) ("Call, now. Is there anyone who will answer you?") - John Green reading the passage that inspired his user name, Sparks Fly Up. 41 seconds of John being John =)
06. Forgiven ("I drop to my knees, folded hands - scolded hands") - After a clever transition from The Sparks Fly Upward, this song provides a great conclusion to the album.

Even better, Alan is donating 25% of his profits to Kiva.org, which provides micro-loans to entrepreneurs in developing nations. The CD is absolutely gorgeous, and a beautiful music video has been posted to YouTube for "Can't." You can even buy Taking Leave on iTunes or Amazon mp3 if you so choose; but trust me, it's one gorgeous CD. ($6 is, like, your morning coffee & bagel!)

The album is great, the community is great, Alan is great -- so order today!

These are several spoken-word poems that I have been working on recently.  Comments are appreciated; the last one, especially, has been giving me a lot of trouble.


Retrospection

When I saw the pictures, later,
it looked like we were pretty giddy

( I mean, a red-in-the-face,
arm-linking, hand-holding,
footsie-playing, warm-all-over
kind of giddy )

and I'm pretty sure I was stoned --
I mean, I look kind of stoned --

but it could have been the giddiness

I'm afraid to ask,
so I wouldn't know

~~~

A Passive Revolutionary

I really don't get
why you mix adult jargon
with childhood catchphrases --

"Peter Pan politics"
and shit like that

Isn't English enough?

Maybe it's because of the freckles on your lips

They probably twist your sentences like DNA,
causing cross-overs and mutations,
catapulting our humble language
into a whole new state of being

Evolution's gotta start somewhere

And if that place is your lips,
smirking at me when I awake,
so be it

~~~

[Untitled]

You say that I can't commit --
that I have trust issues
and daddy issues
and intimacy issues

I gotta work that shit out of my system,
you say

And maybe you're right --
that I'm damaged goods
like a spooked horse,
and none too forgiving

But to say I don't love you?

Yeah, I'm crass and kind of rude,
but I'm damn graceful with a pen.
I'm a poet, and

I --

I want to write about you.

Isn't that love enough?

~~~

Meanwhile, at MOMA

In that moment before fainting,
the world looks kind of like this

~~~

[Untitled]

You make me feel as if I'm
reading The Bell Jar
alone, on a beach,
my skin this close
to burning under the noontime
sun --
but I'm too enraptured
to move
under the shade, so I promise
myself just five minutes
more --
but ten pass, then
twenty, and
Esther has stepped into
the room, and it's
beautiful --

but then I turn the page
and see nothing,
and squeeze shut my burned eyelids
and sigh.

I am so late to this boat. Does anybody have one left?

Poetry is in my blood

The words have been diced so small
that they sidle through my pores like dancers

My red cells and white cells and tiny newborn cells
are dwarfed by fragments of Times New Roman

I've got tails of Qs and arms of Es
and forgotten lips on the tops of Cs
and way more tittles than Playboy

You are in my blood, too,
the way champagne is on the eve of something new

So I want to write poetry with you

I want to sit on the hardwood floor
with the windows wide open and bolts on the doors,
scrawling beautiful words on sheets of recycled paper

( recycled, of course, because we are twentysomethings
in a loft in TriBeCa, wearing hemp and moccasins )

We could even write on each other,
about how your dictionaries hold up our coffee table,
or dropping out of college, or curry, or your mother,

or how our blood bubbles with promise, and champagne,
and boxed-up leftovers and January rain and

poetry

Paper Towns by John Green

Green's newest YA novel features midnight adventures, one hell of a road trip, and liberal discussion of Leaves of Grass. Be prepared for that rare sort of catharsis that leaves you breathless. Run, don't walk, to your local bookstore to pick up a copy!

NEW YORK CITY WAS JUST RICKROLLED

LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!