Saturday, March 24, 2012

Tumblr and Stuff

Yay! If you're reading this you clicked my link on Tumblr, or you just happen to care what I think! Both of these are a plus. :)

I now have a Tumblr account, so if you do too, feel free to follow me. I might just follow you in return. It's really nice; I have this cool background, and there are loads of other fandom blogs and whatnot. Of course, like I said, I'll still post mainly from here. Tumblr will be an extension of this Loudmouth's Mission Control Center.

Also, YouTube is happening, as soon as somebody fixes our iMovie and Mattie can edit my videos. (I have made a few....) Or I get my laptop and install Flipvideo. Which would involve remaking the whole thing. Grrrrr!

So now there's YouTube and Tumblr.

The End.

(P.S. Click Me to see the tumblr location!! Yay!)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Hunger Games and Why I Don't Like It (Much)

SPOILER ALERT: If you actually want to read this book, don't read this, because it might give away some juicy details.

My little sister Mattie is Seriously Obsessed with The Hunger Games. She's read all the books, she's going to see the movie at midnight tomorrow, and she and her friends have long, in-depth conversations about the Peeta vs. Gale issue. Because I am a loving, caring sister, and because Mattie basically sat on me and held a water pistol to my head, I also decided to read the book.

Let me just say: Wow.

Okay, so by now, you probably know what this is about, but here's a recap anyway, because I feel like it. Katniss Everdeen is this really depressed, really tough hunter-girl who poaches in the woods illegally with her friend Gale, because otherwise she and her family would starve to death. She talks a lot about how unfair the capital is and all the tension between the rich villagers and the poor folks from the Seem. She also explains about the Hunger Games, which is when two kids from each district in Panam gets together and kills each other. Hurray! Not.

So, then, on the day of the Reaping, her little sister (who is still practically a drooling infant in Katniss' mind) is picked to be in the games, and Katniss is like, "NO!!! Pick me! Pick me! I'll do it!!!" thus martyring herself forever in the eyes of District 12. And then Peeta Mellark, who is basically the equivalent of the Pillsbury Dough Boy in my mind, gets picked. And Katniss is like, "Eww, gross, now we're definitely gonna die."

And then, well, you know the rest.

Let me just say, Suzanne Collins really needs to see a therapist if this book is any insight into the way she thinks. Katniss isn't my favorite character at all. She isn't believable. Granted, she isn't an ordinary sixteen-year-old, what with the dead father and the dirt-poor environment, but she still doesn't think the way other teenagers think. Doing this from her point of view is about as interesting as looking at a rainbow is to a colorblind person. This could have been a great story if Ms. Collins allowed her main character to have a little more emotion that pure fury and outrage.

The other part I didn't like was how much Ms. Collins dwelt on the deaths. It was almost like she relished the description, but she didn't really feel the need to go into much detail describing the Seem other than its dirtiness, or the Capital. I would have been interested to know how they got such a big city to fit in the Rockies.

There were parts of it that I liked. I liked Rue, of course-- how could anyone help liking Rue? The violence of Rue's death was jarring to me, but then again, I suppose that is the point. I also like Peeta, and personally, I think Katniss treated him like dirt. But my absolute favorite character is Haymitch Abernathy. He is AWESOME! I wish I'd thought of him first! (What does that say about me? My favorite character was rude and drunk half the time.) Honestly... he reminds me a little bit of Gibbs. *hides*

All in all, the whole book basically felt like it was being told in a very "No crap, this is what happened..." style, which works in textbooks and biographies, but not when your main character, who ought to be the most vivid, is doing the telling.

Don't hate on me, Hunger Games fans! I just tell it like it is.

I promise the YouTube videos will start soon! iMovie is down, so Mattie can't do the editing yet.

Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor! :P

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The "Yes, I Am Still Alive" Post

Yes, I am still alive. But not for much longer. I currently have the flu. Nasty, rotten stuff that. I always thought getting the flu meant you couldn't keep your lunch down, but actually, it's worse.

When you have the flu, you are constantly hacking your lungs out. You drink lots of water, tea, and orange juice, so you have to pee all the time. You take cough drops with you everywhere, and your breath stinks no matter how much you brush your teeth. Yesterday, at school, I got looks from teachers because I was coughing so much during the lectures... no joke. And on top of all that lovely tosh, you've got a fever, so you're frozen. Not to mention being so achy that you can't get comfortable no matter where you sit.

If I can just make it to Spring Break, there might be hope...

The Writer's Block is virtually gone, and so in that respect I am returning to my dashing, clever self again. I just watched four episodes of Doctor Who also, which I think perked me up. Seeing Amy, Rory, and the Doctor save the universe always fills me with ideas.

I started American Gods. Neil Gaiman is his brilliant self, of course, although reading his portrayal of Americans is slightly weird. He thinks we say the "F" word every two minutes. Also, for some reason, all of his characters speak in Southern cowboy accents in my head. Unless I concentrate REALLY hard. But other than that, great story. Leprechauns, of all things...?

[Insert River Song] Spoilers!

I'm getting a new computer soon! Don't know what kind yet, any recommendations? No Macs, please. Too expensive, too breakable for a klutz such as myself.

I shall leave you with a parting image that gives me much happiness:


They are beautiful, yes? :P

Hasta la Pasta!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Musings on YouTube and the Wasteland I Call My Brain

Every blog post begins with a keyboard and a respectable title.

Oh well. At least I have a keyboard.

The YouTube channel is starting over my Spring Break, on or by March 19th. It's a lot harder than I expected it to be. It's a lot easier to be eloquent when you're just typing, and have time to think about the words and use spell check. When you're talking to a camera, there are a couple of thoughts running through your mind.

1. Oh my gosh, this  is so stupid. I'm talking to a hunk of metal. Not even that- it's made of plastic. And I thought I could sink no lower...

2. This is going on the Internet. With a capital I. ANYONE could watch this. And they could all hate me.

3. Or they could like me. And then I'll be YouTube famous. There's nothing better than being YouTube famous. No press, no annoying fan mail, no "functions". All you have to do is talk to a hunk of plastic.

4. I wonder what we're having for lunch?

All that, plus whatever you're trying to say in the video. And you're trying to be funny, so that people will subscribe. Maybe it's more fun when people on YouTube actually know who you are.

I'm having writer's block. I'm still writing as much as ever, of course, but every time I write something, whether it's for fanfiction or my book, it just sounds so rubbish.... I think there's something missing, but I can't tell what it is. All I know is, Harry Potter has whatever's missing, and so does Doctor Who, and so does Sherlock Holmes, and so does Neil Gaiman. But I don't know what it is yet.

Maybe it's pirates. I could put pirates in.

I know it's not the plot, or the love bits, or the death. I have all that down pat.

Maybe I should have more talking animals.

Maybe I should work in a sonic screwdriver.

Or maybe I should eat some more chocolate and keep writing.