Lit Bit

So I was reading through some of my old posts and one thing that I noticed was that I had mentioned one of my favorite categories of literature was 19th century British Lit. and yet I have never posted a review on any book that fits this category. So I will be coming up with one of those soon as well. (more…)

*Now I know this is long, but stick with it and I hope you will find it more than worth it.  Also, remember that I am doing an overall review for seven books in one go, so considering that, I don’t think the length is that bad. Enjoy!
 
      When the hype about Harry Potter first began several years ago I scoffed at the idea of ever demeaning myself to reading a series that seemed to be nothing more than a current literary fashion trend.  The movies only managed to feed my fire of obstinate dislike.  While the idea was cute, I found the over all theme over-done and unoriginal.  I was ruthless in my cut downs of Harry Potter and its obsessive followers.  In my own head the people that read these books had no appreciation for real literature, like the classics of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte or James Joyce and Leo Tolstoy, etc.  I resisted this Harry Potter movement through six installments of the series.
            Though I had friends that thought Harry and Hogwarts were all the rave, I would still frown and scowl when they attempted to persuade me to read the books.  I had seen the first two movies and felt that the second was nothing more than a replication of the first with little more than minor plot changes and I couldn’t even remember ever seeing the third movie.  Here, I must admit, was my worst act of injustice to J.K. Rowling.  I know from past experiences that movies never equal their printed counter-parts and are often nothing more than a glimmer of the true genius contained within the words, but I did not listen to the bell that undoubtedly went off in my brain.  Instead I judged the book by the movie, partly to defend a stance I had long maintained and also from an antipathy to conforming to social norms.  In other words: I was trying to make a statement in my rejection of a series that was well accepted in the mainstream culture.  I suppose I thought it made me unique to hate what everyone else loved.  Well, all that has changed. (more…)

I don’t mind when people criticize my poetry as long as they are well meaning and polite about it. It’s when they act as though they know everything (and maybe they do) but convey their message with a discouraging tone. Now, personally, I believe in being encouraging to anyone that is attempting to write, because why should I have a corner on the market (not that I do, haha)? Call me a softy artist at heart, but I don’t see the purpose of pushing and shoving to discredit others for their expressions just to put myself ahead. (more…)

I will be the first to admit that when it comes to areas of knowledge regarding the environment, politics, and conservation, I am ignorant. Lacking ambition all my life and being raised in a household where things were glazed over, I never learned the knack for researching the circumstances of how everything comes into my life. Perhaps it is the curse of a spoilt child, believing that everything is handed to me with minimal effort: not that I don’t believe in hard work or that there are people performing that difficult task of making my day to day life function, but I just never realized the scope of it all.

Lucky for me, my best buds Skunkie and Polyvector, have the initiative to dig into these matters and educate themselves. Then they are more than willing to share their education with my ignoramus self and even discuss the points and cross-points. (more…)

I remembered one of the last times that I painted to take some pictures of my set-up. If you click on the pic below it will show you a few more pictures on my picasa web album. Please don’t mind the actual painting, seeing as that it is still in the very early stages of being done and is not proportionate.