Thursday, August 06, 2009

A Farewell and Movits!

I know I haven't posted in a while, and I'm really sorry about that. This summer has been really hectic. I just recently had to move (again...sigh). But, unfortunately, I've still got a lot to do, so I'm going to take an official brake from posting until some time in September.

So, as this is my last post for a little while I'll leave you guys with some awesome music. They're called Movits! , and you might recognize them from their appearance on the Colbert Report last week. This is a Swedish hip hop/jazz/swing band. I know it sounds like none of those things should go together well, but Movits! is able to pull it off, making both original and catchy music.
Their lyrics are in Swedish, but there are translations available if you look for them.


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

This is Extraordinarily COOL

This is the Gates of Hell. And they're located in Turkmenistan.







It's a 328 feet wide hole in the Karakum Desert that's been burning since 1971. 38 years. Continually.

The gas hole was caused by a Soviet Drilling Rig that punctured a massive underground natural gas cavern in 1971. Poisonous fumes began to leak from the hole, so the Soviets set it alight. It hasn't stopped burning since then.

You can find out more about the Darvaza Gas Crater here , in the Atlas Obscura (an incredibly interesting website and definitely worth the look)

Apparently, there's also similar craters in Germany and my home state of Pennsylvania, but they're not as picturesque as this one. The one in Germany however, has been burning since 1688!

Monday, June 01, 2009

I'm Not Dead!

Really, I'm not. Just give me another week. I've got finals the next couple of days. Not to mention a life sized self portrait dues this Wednesday.
But, as soon as school's over I'll be back to posting normally!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Google Verb Meme!

Wow...its been a while since posting! And I can't even say I was busy as an excuse. I'm in the middle of spring break right now though, which has been nice if uneventful. Anyway, I was planning on talking about some more books for this post (namely Gaiman's The Graveyard Book and the zombie-rific Pride and Predjudice and Zombies) However, its around 1:30 am right now, so I'm going to take the lazy way out and do a meme!

Its pretty simple, just type in your first name in google followed by a verb! Take a result from google and use it as your answer.

Alannah needs:
"Alannah needs convincing that she's all that and a warehouse full of chips"
^So true.

Alannah looks like:
"Alanna doesn't look like a man?!"
^What?

Alannah wants:
"Alannah wants to know. “Yeah, I do. He’s dirty, he’s crazy, and he’s a leech. But I know him a long time, and I know what he won’t do. ..."

Alannah does:
"Alannah does the skank."
^LOL. Apparantly its a dance.

Alannah hates"
"..... Alannah hates people who lie. ..."

Alannah asks:
"And Alannah asks them tenderly in a slow, quiet ballad featuring guitar, organ, accordion, and cello"
^Awww

Alannah likes:
"Alannah likes to shoot."
^Yikes

Alannah wears:
"Does anyone know what red Alannah wears?"

Alannah was arrested for:
"Alannah ain't never been arrested for walking in her sleep ..."
^Wait...you can be arrested for that?

Alannah loves:
"Alannah loves dora the explorer"
^*shudder*



You guys try it! Just type in (your name) and a verb in google!

Sunday, March 01, 2009

City of Glass

The final novel in the Mortal Instruments Trilogy by Cassandra Clare will be coming out March 24! It's titled City of Glass. I'm extremely excited for this to come out, and jealous of all those lucky people with Advanced Reader Copies.





Description
"I know how to wake her up." Ever since her mother had succumbed to an enchanted sleeping sickness with no apparent cure, Clary Fray has longed to hear these words — but her happiness is dashed when she learns that the cure exists only in Idris, the secretive Shadowhunters' home country, where she is forbidden to go. As the Council of the Shadowhunters prepared for war with Valentine and his massive demon army, Clary's brother Jace and the Lightwoods travel to the City of Glass, Idris' capital, taking newly-made vampire Simon with them — but leaving Clary behind in New York. Clary has to use all her ingenuity and newfound magical skills to get herself to the Glass City on her own, a dangerous action that makes her a hunted enemy of the Clave.

The City of Glass is like nowhere else Clary has ever been — its twisting streets hide a myriad of secrets, and the inhuman Clave relies on the ancient glass "demon towers" to keep the city safe from attack. As the Lightwoods struggle to convince the Clave that Valentine represents a threat the like of which they've never dealt with before, and Simon is thrown in prison as an enemy of the state, Clary, with help of her newfound friend Sebastian, must uncover the truth about her family's past to save not just her mother but also Jace, the boy she loves but can never have. When Valentine attacks the city and destroys the demon towers, Clary and her allies are all that stand between him and the total annihilation of all Shadowhunters. Love is a mortal sin and the past tangles inextricably with the present as Clary and Jace face down their father in the final installment of the Mortal Instruments.

Monday, February 16, 2009

What do Cells and Castles Have In Common?

Well, besides starting with the letter C, I've built both of them over the weekend. I feel accomplished. :D



Tuesday, February 10, 2009

21st Century Breakdown

It's official-Green Day has a new album coming out! It's titled 21st Century Breakdown and is scheduled to come out in May of 2009.
The CD will be broken down into three acts-with a total of 16 songs.
Act 1 - “Heroes and Cons”
Act 2 - “Charlatans and Saints”
Act 3 - "Horseshoes and Handgrenades"


^ Green Day at the Grammy Award Ceremony this Sunday


I can not wait to see these guys in concert!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Coming In Like El Nino

I'm finished with my midterms and back to posting!


This is a paper by Jeremy Lavine (of Period 3), that my friend Joey showed me. I'm assuming its real. And even if its not it's still extremely funny. :D



Monday, January 05, 2009

Hunger Games

Happy New Year Everyone!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins came out a few months ago, and so far one of my favorite books of the year. I had read Collin's other works, the Underland Chronicles, but she's perfected her style in The Hunger Games. The suspense and life or death plot, combined with the narrative of Katniss, a tough but likable heroine, make this novel unable to put down after the first chapter.

The Hunger Games takes place in a dystopian future where the United States had become Panem, split into twelve districts. Life is hard in District 12, and Katniss, 16, (along with maybe more than friend Gale, hunt on forbidden land to save her mother and sister from starvation. As a punishment to the Districts after they tried to rebel a while back, the Capitol randomly chooses one boy and one girl from each of the districts on Reaping Day to compete in a survival competition. Only one kid leaves the arena alive. And its all televised. When Prim, Katniss's twelve year old sister's name is called, Katniss volunteers to take her place without hesitation. She's chosen along with Peeta, a baker's boy. To survive in the game it helps to gain sponsors-and the way to do that is to win the heart of the crowd. So the trainer's of District 12 come up with a plan. Make it seem as if Peeta and Katniss are in love with each other.



"This is a story about the struggle to remain human in spite of the efforts from others to take it away. Katniss performs her own rebellion in deliciously clever ways but at the same time, you still feel her pain and anger towards the unjustness of it all. "The Hunger Games" is a fascinating look into what "entertainment" can mean, reconciling the need for survival and morality, and the questions of government and community." -Grace Chen (off of amazon.com)



And yes, like a lot of recent teen novels (I'm looking at you Twilight) there's a love triangle in this book. (I'm so team Peeta!) I can't wait for the second in a planned trilogy, Catching Fire, to come out later this year.


Check out this review from Stephenie Meyer:
People often ask me for reading suggestions, and I'm always happy to share because books are exciting things to me. My latest excitement is this: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I was so obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the table so I wouldn't have to stop reading. The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was finished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about it. I've been recommending it to total strangers in Target. And now to everyone who reads my website. The Hunger Games is amazing.


--Stephenie


And, because I totally love it when they make little trailers for novels, here's a cool one I found on youtube.