tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12341718914674258272024-03-08T00:17:00.891-08:00Opinionated? Me?I felt like destroying something beautifulD Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.comBlogger299125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-13690437256097576722011-09-29T10:36:00.001-07:002011-09-29T10:37:22.833-07:00woah another one!Instructions to make this <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Mica-Shift-Pendants-Earrings-or-Charms-with-Polym/">here</a>. So fucking cool I can't even.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9oZN2xdkUtmOSwhi84e8dWMSTjNuLt1PLUu5gt-jmQlus6vJ2-4WpYIZFnfGuT1-XbpFZ77UTJkTiFI0U63_z-uxSGdVmumyNLgGLlrA6wZqmtjkNfA_GZ7rYBQ5rCqVhG5bAX8BHfE/s1600/mica.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 1px; height: 1px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF9oZN2xdkUtmOSwhi84e8dWMSTjNuLt1PLUu5gt-jmQlus6vJ2-4WpYIZFnfGuT1-XbpFZ77UTJkTiFI0U63_z-uxSGdVmumyNLgGLlrA6wZqmtjkNfA_GZ7rYBQ5rCqVhG5bAX8BHfE/s320/mica.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657836918624089570" /></a>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-69683752138892105882011-09-29T10:13:00.000-07:002011-09-29T10:15:09.323-07:00DIY skirts and dressesWoah, three posts in one day. Slow down, girl!<br /><br />But yeah, since I'm broke I can't afford clothes. But I have a major hippie sensibility and love long skirts and dresses. If anyone knows any good (free) sewing patterns I would be, like, eternally grateful.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-41210040367995225542011-09-29T10:05:00.001-07:002011-09-29T10:06:37.713-07:00panorama fuck up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGA7cviGcQg3lEPou_24abLbWNfXcCs7h_V-IoId65lgf3TF4GHbf3Y6mQHzlcW_w_I2AWrs-DgAxdWEPJTBzy8puOUshue4-McRVo2WEa6elrNaqNmi8otEpNulwJsVW-0ETMznZEGw/s1600/jen2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGA7cviGcQg3lEPou_24abLbWNfXcCs7h_V-IoId65lgf3TF4GHbf3Y6mQHzlcW_w_I2AWrs-DgAxdWEPJTBzy8puOUshue4-McRVo2WEa6elrNaqNmi8otEpNulwJsVW-0ETMznZEGw/s320/jen2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657829094787502066" /></a><br />me and my friend jenn were attempting to use the panorama feature on her camera and royally fucked it up. the result, however, is pretty cool!D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-91299100247739971622011-09-29T09:37:00.001-07:002011-09-29T09:54:53.086-07:00an update from Danielle landSup gangstas. Long time no chat.<br /><br />Since we last spoke, I've started my junior year of high school. Which may not seem that impressive to you guys, but it's pretty significant. not only is the 11th grade widely considered the grade a student is most likely to off themselves, but it's also the grade where we are forced to consider life <span style="font-style:italic;">after</span> the dimly lit hallways of high school. This year also happens to be the year I decided the college I want to go to (New Hampshire Institute of Art, required gpa: 2.7 yearly tuition: 18,600). It's the year I have all but abandoned my tomboy, book wormy ways (well, not really. I just wear dresses now!) It's the year I have fully embraced ritualistic high school gatherings (bonfires, parties, sinking into the couch at some kid's basement, bumming around outside the local 711 and harassing passerby's...) It's the year I have developed my addiction to thrift stores and vintage cameras and DIY accessories and coffee and tea. But most importantly, it's the year I began to take art - a casual hobby my entire life - seriously. When my doodle filled math notebooks have been replaced with moleskin sketch pads and every fully developed drawing has been considered for The Portfolio. It's the year I began my transformation from sarcastic, boot-wearing tomboy to sarcastic, boot wearing hipster. <br /><br />Sure, I've still been reading. I would be lying if I said I was too busy to review those books, too. Because, really, I have nothing better to do. I just lack the incentive. Truly.<br /><br />Whatever. The point is, I feel bad for leaving this blog abandoned. I'm making a promise to you, my loving, devoted followers, that I will update at least once a month. It may be about books, it may be about clothes (because I am a teenage girl now), it may be about my growing obsession with getting into art school (if anyone has any tips for building my portfolio, things to beef up my application, etc, drop a line!), it may just be a shitty scan of some fucked up pin up girl I doodled during AP Psych. But it will be something. Pinky promise.<br /><br />In summary, I am also looking for visual art-related blogs. DIY, thrift hunters, painters, illustrators, I welcome them all! If anyone knows of any good ones, please feel free to promote the shit out of it in the comments. <br /><br />Cool.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-40826740066699357432011-06-30T04:29:00.000-07:002011-06-30T04:44:31.116-07:00on idiot parents with internet accessfirst of all, i am well aware that i have not posted anything in a long time, and i could give you an excuse but, let's face it, you don't fucking care. second of all, i am equally well aware that each and every one of you are entitled to your opinions, just as i am to mine. however.<br /><br />there's <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038.html">this</a> article. it's kind of dumb. okay, it's really dumb. and i just can't even begin to point out every flawed argument in it. so i will just zero in on one, which also happens to be the one that is driving me fucking insane.<br /><br />this woman, this miz gurdon, wrote at length her disappointment with the YA world, explaining how the content is irresponsible and damaging, how the publishers are only looking out to move papers and the authors are looking to shock (at least, that's how i read it). she wrote how i, a young girl of sixteen, could read something like <a href="http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com/2010/05/book-review-scars-by-cheryl-rainfield.html">Scars</a> by Cheryl Rainfield and suddenly get the idea to slice up my arms in a self mutilating fashion. but wait, that is not the focus of the article--no, if it were about the welfare of us children, i would hardly be taking the time to blabber on about it. no no, what tickles MY pissy bones is that this miz gurdon is not so much concerned for the children as she is the parents of these children. she wants to know why adults can't be comfortable with the books their teens are reading. she wants to know why parents aren't given more control over what is published and marketed to their youngsters. she wants to know why she, as a mother, can't decide what words her daughter can allow to soil her precious little mind. well, miz gurdon, i have a pretty easy answer:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">the book is not for you.</span><br /><br />young adult novels are not written for a young adults parents; they are not written to please and pacify. they are written to verify something no one else thinks is real; they are written to immortalize a day and age, a lifestyle. they are written to make some lonely kid out there feel like they're not completely alone in the world. they are written for the most vulnerable people out there. which is not you, miz gurdon. so get you self righteous ass of that poor high horse you're sitting on and take care of your own kids instead of worrying about everyone else's. kthanks.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-27597620130371446932011-06-02T17:12:00.001-07:002011-06-02T17:13:23.969-07:00I'M GOING TO SEE AMANDA PALMERThe day after the last day of school in Hobokon with my <a href="http://fourofthem.blogspot.com">sister</a> and possibly my best friend in the whole wide world Zuri. <br /><br />rhgnrohm;wlmnrlhn i'm so excited.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-39002272812805632002011-04-19T12:49:00.001-07:002011-04-19T12:52:13.665-07:00on stupid Madonna nicknamesBeing a pop culture junkie, I read a lot of Perez Hilton. As I've mentioned before, he fills me with a burning hatred I usually reserve for dictators and raisons. But he's not alone in his ignorance; no no, it seems that every celebrity gossip website is (shockingly!) retarded.<br /><br />I'm referring to the ridiculous Madonna dub, "Madge".<br /><br />I'm assuming this is a reference to Mary Madgeline. Who is not, nor ever is, the Madonna. That would be the Virgin Mary. <br /><br />Mary Madgeline was a hooker. Madonna was Jesus' virginal mother. <br /><br />Okay?<br /><br />Okay.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-17282992309851895902011-03-23T14:32:00.001-07:002011-03-23T14:50:02.183-07:00guess who's a permitted driver?that's right, THIS GUY:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-znKhyphenhyphen_oVNwa9Dyaw7zAilTb3a6VpZ33amtGvdIInxj41HaDBhjnYOnMX-Cz934JAS-CR_U4CiTb9mOcvPK60pwmh97bYtHDa91QgUX0VTfX5lqMF2eymFRuYNwrfc7NCTMg-jdr_Fs/s1600/f.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-znKhyphenhyphen_oVNwa9Dyaw7zAilTb3a6VpZ33amtGvdIInxj41HaDBhjnYOnMX-Cz934JAS-CR_U4CiTb9mOcvPK60pwmh97bYtHDa91QgUX0VTfX5lqMF2eymFRuYNwrfc7NCTMg-jdr_Fs/s320/f.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587394988402125890" /></a>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-72069615473755844952011-03-21T15:28:00.000-07:002011-03-21T15:34:47.907-07:00Guest Blogger: Estevan Vega, author of Arson and When Colors Bleed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTQt-Y5F-indQDYtMQQ9VCHKMLTA6mZsoEWLe3C7f09Yah4bqZNC11JXZfLM_M-DIJXGESlSbXXLDBjtdqJU2USua_HaAs9QZFWVkLF6lmJ6TC6mAURAtwvxEYWqArs5ncMWUmR5ylBU/s1600/colorsbleed.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTQt-Y5F-indQDYtMQQ9VCHKMLTA6mZsoEWLe3C7f09Yah4bqZNC11JXZfLM_M-DIJXGESlSbXXLDBjtdqJU2USua_HaAs9QZFWVkLF6lmJ6TC6mAURAtwvxEYWqArs5ncMWUmR5ylBU/s320/colorsbleed.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586665214399331538" /></a><br /><blockquote>WHEN COLORS BLEED is a collection of short stories by the author of ARSON. This collection features three unique stories with universal themes of love, loss, and regret. Watch the colors bleed.</blockquote><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">As you might remember, I read and was slightly un impressed with Estevan Vegan's YA debut, <span style="font-style:italic;">Arson</span>. My awfulness has, thankfully, not deterred the lad and not only has he written up this legit list of his five favs, but has given me the opportunity to review his next one, <span style="font-style:italic;">When Colors Bleed</span> (review out soon!). Check it out.</span><br /><br />1. <span style="font-style:italic;">I am Legend</span> by Richard Matheson was awesome. This one's way better than the Will Smith version. Or the other film versions that came before it. The only downside to this killer vampire novel is that when it gets really, really cool, the book ends. But I guess this was Richard Matheson's idea, to keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you there, waiting, wanting. If you don't know Matheson, he has produced many stellar works both in print and film. He has worked on a ton of Twilight Zone episodes, most of which rock! So definitely check out I am Legend and then get your Twilight Zone fix.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Road</span> by Cormac McCarthy. I love this book for its concept and its simplicity. It isn't crazy vulgar, but it definitely stays with you, gets under you skin, and breaks your heart many times. I loved the dialog. One word replies and simple but frightening questions. The story is about a father traveling on a road with his son after a nuclear catastrophe and the mother is dead. It's scary without being horror. And I loved it. <br /><br />3. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Giver</span> by Lois Lowry. This one I had always wanted to read. I never got around to it until recently, though, and maybe that's for the better. I don't think I would've appreciated it as much if I had read it when I was younger. It's funny how novels with messed-up futures are beginning to mirror our own society more and more. This one's about a society who can't see color. One man holds the memories of the past and he's about to pass his powers onto some young kid who isn't sure if he's ready for the responsibility. It's a cool novel. One to check out.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Great Gatsby</span> by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Not only are they making a new movie about this, which I'm half-stoked for, but this book is a classic and it's good. You know how you read some classics in school and they suck? Well, I didn't really feel that with Gatsby. I especially loved the ending. It's very me. Go check this one out. If you've read my last novel, ARSON, you know there's a connection between Gatsby and him. <br /><br />5. <span style="font-style:italic;">ARSON</span> by Estevan Vega. No explanation necessary. If you haven't read it yet, you better, because part dos in the ARSON series is coming soon. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Thanks for stoppin' by, good buddy!<br /></span>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-61535316731374635662011-03-14T19:52:00.000-07:002011-03-14T19:56:22.575-07:00What i don't get ispolitics has become so fervently about individuals when the government itself was made to <span style="font-style:italic;">protect people</span>.<br /><br />so how is it everyone is debating none stop when we should all just stop and think WHAT IS GOOD FOR PEOPLE?<br /><br />seriously. this is kindergarten stuff, guys.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-33141532022964304432011-02-26T07:16:00.000-08:002011-02-26T07:24:19.792-08:00OBEYYou should all go out and buy Obey clothing. This is not a paid advertisement. Really, it's not.<br /><br />As described by <a href="http://mlabconcepts.blogspot.com/2008/10/obey-clothing.html">her</a>:<br /><br />Since 1989, the Obey street art campaign has become an important urban phenomenon, subconsciously touching those well aware of their environment. Through the vision of Shepard Fairey, Obey has evolved into one of the most controversial yet influential symbols of the 21st century. Derived from Andre the Giant, a pop-culture athlete in the eighties, the Obey icon has been bombed in developed and rural cities around the world. Its ambiguous idea immediately sparks philosophical discussion and ultimately motivates the inner-person through active participation.<br /><br />I was at Metro Park last night and saw that they had an entire table devoted to the line and, guys, ALMOST PISSED MY PANTS WITH JOY. But then I saw the price labels and proceeded to not piss my pants with joy. <br /><br />Whatever. Here's some pictures.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUxwl1aXi-Mc_FH_bZhKFII656w9rrT8AFq7y1pmtSa09MpR5jNzaE-vfnWxdL8vlWLOK8KoWPK6FU42pYPjNSc-ZBqLBgg1Ar1ntLGa7azCz19RyJ115mKmyx0LHy-1J7djveQZOxcE/s1600/obey+4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 271px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUxwl1aXi-Mc_FH_bZhKFII656w9rrT8AFq7y1pmtSa09MpR5jNzaE-vfnWxdL8vlWLOK8KoWPK6FU42pYPjNSc-ZBqLBgg1Ar1ntLGa7azCz19RyJ115mKmyx0LHy-1J7djveQZOxcE/s320/obey+4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578019341817038578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiuidaiMdLxImGzzHTeO6Pm0kHdQtroTT_-N7elN_IJTkitSpwZa1qwHN9VuQrPbdI3d4my0Z9UxYkRvsrERLjFmGVR5l79_gg5xQyK40GJacF-SLtogs9QKgUY4F3ZRbx4C3F-nnfjLw/s1600/obey+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiuidaiMdLxImGzzHTeO6Pm0kHdQtroTT_-N7elN_IJTkitSpwZa1qwHN9VuQrPbdI3d4my0Z9UxYkRvsrERLjFmGVR5l79_gg5xQyK40GJacF-SLtogs9QKgUY4F3ZRbx4C3F-nnfjLw/s320/obey+3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578019290437503058" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9A63ClmqtbTrA5-Hc3PTOCdRX0azBmlHhErjuIi4U-z3zPv2jWfIEMzJiRqwg7Sdah2b4F3NKMtb-h03a7upoEEchcBsC8CLBTSGB4qYqWGSH-vRhBIDLGHvbtDozpEfVwFEQ0yVh4oo/s1600/obey+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9A63ClmqtbTrA5-Hc3PTOCdRX0azBmlHhErjuIi4U-z3zPv2jWfIEMzJiRqwg7Sdah2b4F3NKMtb-h03a7upoEEchcBsC8CLBTSGB4qYqWGSH-vRhBIDLGHvbtDozpEfVwFEQ0yVh4oo/s320/obey+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578019237540881986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEXR2WkzUfcy3I6ua3KJdOkt-rrlpDJeta-TXj1r4ZXIl0z286tpGa-0n6p2bCOhsLnIL1CCQwjI_tgMVFoU5hhy26sd-JIfcf_8B1R51AVLXIMtrBLAAvsgQN7uLH3mowShEm0_BNkE/s1600/obey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEXR2WkzUfcy3I6ua3KJdOkt-rrlpDJeta-TXj1r4ZXIl0z286tpGa-0n6p2bCOhsLnIL1CCQwjI_tgMVFoU5hhy26sd-JIfcf_8B1R51AVLXIMtrBLAAvsgQN7uLH3mowShEm0_BNkE/s320/obey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578019188281716578" /></a>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-16905046203673784242011-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:002011-02-22T19:43:17.673-08:00Interview with Karen Metcalf, author of In the StormKaren Metcalf is the debut author of science fiction novella, <span style="font-style:italic;">In the Storm</span>. She graciously stopped by to answer some of my pestering questions, so let's give'r a hand!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvASJyoYyNFk8fUzRXojvUZ5ueltzuG5UwNZdxzTwuLBvBj-Pm3Zr9-Nv9-tyRIejO9pRWjgS0_ITc7f7sarzc8uogsB-cw5fb282PAE3b1H1wVtN4E2p8FoVh-L1mWqMRKXSfeY5yDAE/s1600/in+the+storm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvASJyoYyNFk8fUzRXojvUZ5ueltzuG5UwNZdxzTwuLBvBj-Pm3Zr9-Nv9-tyRIejO9pRWjgS0_ITc7f7sarzc8uogsB-cw5fb282PAE3b1H1wVtN4E2p8FoVh-L1mWqMRKXSfeY5yDAE/s320/in+the+storm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576724489695097154" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What inspired you to write In the Storm?</span><br /><br />I wanted to write something that reflected my love of thunderstorms, and explored the relationship between brother and sister.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Your main character, Carly, lives in an abusive household. What made you want to incorporate this kind of storyline into your novel?</span><br /><br />I knew that anger would have something to do with Carly’s ability to cross over. I also knew she was very independent, and pretty much the only one raising Mitch. I just needed someone to make her angry enough, and that’s where Richard came from.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">This is your first novel. Was it difficult to make publishers take notice?</span><br /><br />When I first wrote it I went on a few writing forums, and a lot of people stopped reading when they saw it was a novella. They told me it was too short to publish, and I couldn’t really get any other feedback. That was pretty frustrating. I knew the chances of publishing it as a stand-alone piece were pretty slim. I began to submit to magazines, and stumbled upon my publisher’s magazine, The Battered Suitcase. I noticed they were looking to publish novellas, and gave it a shot.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What got you into writing? Into the supernatural?</span><br /><br />I’ve always loved to write; especially poetry when I was younger. I wrote a few short stories between high school and college, but this was my first attempt at something longer. But I’ve always had a deep passion for reading, and have always been fascinated with sci-fi and horror. When I began reading YA a few years ago, I realized there are a lot of similarities between those genres and YA. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What are some of your main influences?</span><br /><br />I love Stephen King. I don’t think a lot of people realize how wide his range of writing is. He has gone all over the board from pure horror, sci-fi, non-fiction, young adult, short stories… the list just goes on and on. He is a huge inspiration.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">You have to sell In the Storm over Twitter--130 characters or less. Go!</span><br /><br />A teenage girl’s anger transports her to a limbo world between dimensions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />One book, one movie and one TV show.</span><br /><br />The Long Walk (Stephen King), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Fringe<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advice for young writers?</span><br /><br />Keep at it! Not everyone will like what you write, and sometimes that includes you. Submit until someone says yes.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What do you hope to convey with your work?</span><br /><br />I hope I have introduced at least a semi-new concept to my readers. If nothing else, I hope that it at least made someone think twice, or ask a few more questions. I would love to know it was a conversation starter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Thanks for stopping by!<br /></span><br />Thanks for having me!<br /><br />Make sure to pick up <span style="font-style:italic;">In the Storm</span> (I'm reading it now--it's a good'n!)D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-70776237965224411382011-02-20T20:33:00.001-08:002011-02-20T20:41:45.924-08:00Jesus is fascinating........not in a religious sense. The historical sense. All the ways you can interpret the bible and Jesus and God. <br /><br />I have a theory:<br /><br />Jesus was crazy.<br /><br />That's controversial.<br /><br />I don't care.<br /><br />Listen: He heard the voice of god. He maintained that he heard the voice of god until his painful death by crucifixion. He thought his mother was a virgin. <br /><br />Dude was crazy.<br /><br />Another interesting thing is the relationship between Jesus and Mary; we tend to think of Jesus as this grown ass man dying for humanity and Mary as his perfect, virginal mother. But. He was also a little boy between the nativity and the passion. A little boy with a mother who had been told at some point that he was to die so everyone, <span style="font-style:italic;">everyone</span>, could be redeemed. He was a little boy who's mother loved him. And then he was a grown man who's mother loved him. And then his mother had to watch him flogged and humiliated and nailed to a cross he had to carry a mile into his execution site. <br /><br />I think Mary went crazy.<br /><br />I'm not an expert or anything, but what information do we get about Mary after Jesus rises? None. Bitch went crazy. But then, I would too. My son just died because his baby daddy decided to sacrifice him for all of humanity. <br /><br />She went crazy.<br /><br />So, to summarize, everyone from the Bible probably went crazy at some point. I say this with the most respect possible.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Passion of the Christ</span> made me cry. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Last Temptation of Christ</span> reminded me of <span style="font-style:italic;">Donnie Darko</span>.<br /><br />And<br /><br />um<br /><br />I'm tired<br /><br />ignore this.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-55735647500923179412011-02-20T20:15:00.000-08:002011-02-20T20:23:14.708-08:00Why I Used to Love Dystopia.(and why I hate it now)<br /><br />Unless you've been living under a particularly heavy rock over the last year or so, you might have noticed the sudden influx of teen dystopian novels hitting books shelves. To even the most casual of apocalypse fans, this would be fantastic news. To me, a hardcore end of the world junkie, this would be TA BEST NEWS EVAH. Except it's not. Painfully so.<br /><br />It's kind of like hipster syndrome; once everyone starts liking something, it's not cool anymore. But in my case, my new-found distaste for the genre is something completely different; it has nothing to do with it's popularity and everything to do with the soul crushing blandness these new books have been churning out, the similarities with their more successful predecessors unbearably reminding readers what these new authors simply CAN NOT DO; write a soulful book about the end of the world. <br /><br />So, dear authors of shitty dystopia; I am done.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-60705893592295659382011-02-13T13:48:00.000-08:002011-02-13T13:57:45.407-08:00i've just been awful......with reviewing as of late. My review pile has, well, piled up and I feel positively ashamed. There are probably some publishers out there who have blacklisted me and some authors who wish me to die a thousand painful and bookless deaths. But I have excuses. Really.<br /><br />My workload for school is ridiculous. About four to five hours a night, if I actually apply myself. This is the year my colleagues all turn sixteen, so I'm attending, like, three every weekend. There's a zit the size of my big toe on my lip and I spent a good amount of time staring at it. I'm starting driving lessons. I just had midterms. We have netflix, now (ask my sister's highly profitable film blog). We're reading/annotating/shredding the joy from Huckleberry Finn in English, four chapters a night, not to mention weekly vocab quizzes (WITH NO WORD BANK). I can't seem to focus on anything for more then a few minutes. And I feel like shit about it, guys. I do. Not because I can't read as much as I like, but because of all the publishers and authors who are expecting some publicity for their books that I'm not providing. So dudes, I apologize. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aqbdEvQ-uVeDNddgqU9ofHvuPOx3DhXj86fI0FmYWGyUbiLCT7c_610_7EtS6rGTR9wB9nFJ12soLBb1dZen-NQHE_sx0P8hgC0haGJo2nLPuYw8LWSDbNowgLDNR5uYcdN5hX4pfhY/s1600/complete.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aqbdEvQ-uVeDNddgqU9ofHvuPOx3DhXj86fI0FmYWGyUbiLCT7c_610_7EtS6rGTR9wB9nFJ12soLBb1dZen-NQHE_sx0P8hgC0haGJo2nLPuYw8LWSDbNowgLDNR5uYcdN5hX4pfhY/s320/complete.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573296629278625106" /></a>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-5526520202303832472011-02-12T09:38:00.000-08:002011-02-12T09:44:07.052-08:00yeah Egypt yeah![unpronounceable president name] stepped down! This makes me monumentally happy for reasons I can't quite identitfy. Maybe it's because Egypt is number four on my Top Ten Most Fascinating Cultures.<br /><br />Also, here's an awesome quote found on Alana's site:<br /><br />“There should be a drug class, there should be sex education, there should be a class on scams, there should be a class on religious cults, there should be a class on police brutality, there should be a class on Apartheid, there should be a class on racism in America, there should be a class on why people are hungry, but there not, they’re classes on… gym.”<br />—-Tupac Shakur<br /><br />Did I mention I recently did a project on Tupac's god-grand-aunt-thing Assata Shakur for black history month?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDf7wyOtqeePglKiHs1JckmHhlfmuu2_RWbjaKcX5ZRhMy4wxJ5NaEt1GLJJkLCz498PjJrZxMZFbl9W6CWTzvMWzXwYeChRBU5AZQxTulXabPAa3Rh7M3hWoC1g4T6kzSlVz-JQUCHs/s1600/054.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDf7wyOtqeePglKiHs1JckmHhlfmuu2_RWbjaKcX5ZRhMy4wxJ5NaEt1GLJJkLCz498PjJrZxMZFbl9W6CWTzvMWzXwYeChRBU5AZQxTulXabPAa3Rh7M3hWoC1g4T6kzSlVz-JQUCHs/s320/054.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572859761850554194" /></a><br /><br />Yeah, that's all for now.<br /><br />P.S. Read the <a href="http://avclub.com">AV Club</a>'s review for the Glenn Beck Program. It's actually quite fascinating and offers a completely different look on an otherwise universally mocked figure.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-86282446155246000752011-02-07T20:13:00.000-08:002011-02-07T20:15:04.253-08:00why can't anyone ever just be "whelmed"?DID I MENTION YOUNG JUSTICE IS MY FAVORITE SHOW <span style="font-style:italic;">EVER?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFacR01qOnH9wXvocOsTr4dGkA6fuE3RQeU02L1X0vbhIXvCHIMNnL0U6R09zeT9JBhFRHmcro5VT8qsdjP-qB7WyLwUOfLOeGkJunF5lxCyRv2nZGnAeSnH_yCLrXIzQrzVyFBEX_sh0/s1600/young.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFacR01qOnH9wXvocOsTr4dGkA6fuE3RQeU02L1X0vbhIXvCHIMNnL0U6R09zeT9JBhFRHmcro5VT8qsdjP-qB7WyLwUOfLOeGkJunF5lxCyRv2nZGnAeSnH_yCLrXIzQrzVyFBEX_sh0/s320/young.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571167373674841362" /></a><br /><br />well, it is.<br /><br />Superman is such a nutcruncher.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-86008907189174040372011-02-07T16:27:00.000-08:002011-02-07T16:45:39.703-08:00Should Robin be included in the Dark Knight Rises?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwo3rBREumVAq5UyF8La296Ce0wcRtDRSVMO0x2U3ROccQ7CK0IBMx_f-hhy9a6tkpFJ6bicaRvM7ee7J5KHjBTotnp1R55vOpSIxkkHXg2qJJQU2imR2IVRk5nFBw-C9IPsksLxkfFUY/s1600/robin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwo3rBREumVAq5UyF8La296Ce0wcRtDRSVMO0x2U3ROccQ7CK0IBMx_f-hhy9a6tkpFJ6bicaRvM7ee7J5KHjBTotnp1R55vOpSIxkkHXg2qJJQU2imR2IVRk5nFBw-C9IPsksLxkfFUY/s320/robin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571111065816584018" /></a><br />Because I'm a nerd and this is important.<br /><br />Everyone's been getting their knickers in a twist at the thought of Robin/Dick Grayson/Tim Drake/godforbid Jason Todd appearing in the nest Batman movie. And though Chris Nolan has already made it clear Robin will NOT be appearing in any of his movies, speculation continues and I, being the only Batman fan in anywhere who actually digs Robin (mostly because of <span style="font-style:italic;">Teen Titans</span>), could not be any more excited at the prospect.<br /><br />I have some theories:<br /><br />1) Our Lord and Savior Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been cast in an unknown role. Putting aside the fact that this presents a killer make out opportunity for him and Tom Hardy, let us not ignore the physical similarities between he and Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, aka Robin ALL GROWN UP.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7uvcvo7v2l8gMBBjNe4J1Ocup7OtYsGWsRMZmAMklDK9FTEuDjLh1Zn-yfALOGkPWvgE412ACqmPnTy4e1kZVtENkDiLHIob6a4Z38vxMeYsLOipT8yF1wSexpUZLE3Cds9UmO0v2uw/s1600/nightwing.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7uvcvo7v2l8gMBBjNe4J1Ocup7OtYsGWsRMZmAMklDK9FTEuDjLh1Zn-yfALOGkPWvgE412ACqmPnTy4e1kZVtENkDiLHIob6a4Z38vxMeYsLOipT8yF1wSexpUZLE3Cds9UmO0v2uw/s320/nightwing.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571111128075436562" /></a><br /><caption><center>Lookin' good thur, Arthur.</caption></center><br /><br />'Nuff said.<br /><br />2) As previously stated, Tom Hardy has been cast in the final Batman film, as a little ol' guy named BANE.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLEdJ6ASZAB8KUjeEVfqvnIEWH2aaM4lPMzvrihcL2n3xIazMhckV6iBkPxL7vwnDsqY4Pom-qn8GF2KePtg-nhjFtL1k1gqh3Ju3HGq5WYq1l5Pja0oyFmG0-Ca62UZoeW5yUTmFhh4/s1600/bane.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 205px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLEdJ6ASZAB8KUjeEVfqvnIEWH2aaM4lPMzvrihcL2n3xIazMhckV6iBkPxL7vwnDsqY4Pom-qn8GF2KePtg-nhjFtL1k1gqh3Ju3HGq5WYq1l5Pja0oyFmG0-Ca62UZoeW5yUTmFhh4/s320/bane.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571111924319328354" /></a><br /><caption><center>Yes, that Bane.</caption></center><br /><br />Here's the theory:<br /><br />Bane comes in, does his Bane thing, 'roid rages the shit out of Gotham until Noble Batman intervenes. Bane breaks his back, leaving both Batman and Bruce Wayne paralized and Selena Kyle (being played by Anne Hathaway, who I imagine will be a smexy background character for the duration of the film) is implied to become Catwoman while, in response to an early attempt at adoption (to keep is cover, naturally) Bruce Wayne finally comes upon a young orphan to take in. The movies ends with this young lad introducing himself;<br /><br />"Hi, I'm Dick Grayson."<br /><br />SCENE.<br /><br />Seriously, someone should hire me.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-66211889502839041092011-02-07T15:41:00.000-08:002011-02-07T15:52:33.948-08:00Things I Learn in Digital PhotographyWhich is, to say, absolutely nothing. But then, it's only the second day. Our homework assignment was to go home and take pictures of little things around your house. The teacher's word's were "get to know your camera". Whatever. I thought I'd share some of the least suckish.<br />Keep in mind that none of these have been edited, I have zero experience and I was using a cheap ass Canon I borrowed from the school.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Qc2BDNcPxubOsNMemsIKGgGQqDV9evg4RejVSE2pOH05eLlyxNdwzASagRsjGYoMmx8CTsllOEZ7cPiUEd-dRa-ESDnRidQCoTJOOyILrLWoxx_XOXQq5j8BUepz97qaytMA3f7X_Ow/s1600/051.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Qc2BDNcPxubOsNMemsIKGgGQqDV9evg4RejVSE2pOH05eLlyxNdwzASagRsjGYoMmx8CTsllOEZ7cPiUEd-dRa-ESDnRidQCoTJOOyILrLWoxx_XOXQq5j8BUepz97qaytMA3f7X_Ow/s320/051.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571099531865923682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqh3xTFQ2Ug-6nNm8gL9XgJheIUBJSVeAvDYE3HSipvpNRvelQ_ag6izPV6FgnpvCfbm6mLbYFs-NSwrkKD87KaOU4FSGBE4Lv3lAk3t1yMEg3Hppe_RTa2wn7D60pAwaPeiXKWuZLW78/s1600/050.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqh3xTFQ2Ug-6nNm8gL9XgJheIUBJSVeAvDYE3HSipvpNRvelQ_ag6izPV6FgnpvCfbm6mLbYFs-NSwrkKD87KaOU4FSGBE4Lv3lAk3t1yMEg3Hppe_RTa2wn7D60pAwaPeiXKWuZLW78/s320/050.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571099408644647090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixavnrTGQGP6cQkwLHMth05UiYxjNO2BRAVfv1-g6TZd8F6x_ZkORdzs6_KP9awkUW3k4qdrSq-I0tP9VZOILymP2gp5WhtEbcCeI4urcrcA9UM4RYVAVoDrKTokKBFLrwgm4RBMk5Vsk/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixavnrTGQGP6cQkwLHMth05UiYxjNO2BRAVfv1-g6TZd8F6x_ZkORdzs6_KP9awkUW3k4qdrSq-I0tP9VZOILymP2gp5WhtEbcCeI4urcrcA9UM4RYVAVoDrKTokKBFLrwgm4RBMk5Vsk/s320/040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571099290988522226" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZMdeXQ0fDc0HH3pUvhqORco-1VewNKCCkH3ZYbapsyXZZEtmNDGVD0z5XF-zNozD-GBASNqab1ajZi1CMma3dx5UQ3hJr4mzxoX_iUI_Cb3d-SuTgXxSjT5jFMK65iWYMgTH0sh73Ik/s1600/036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZMdeXQ0fDc0HH3pUvhqORco-1VewNKCCkH3ZYbapsyXZZEtmNDGVD0z5XF-zNozD-GBASNqab1ajZi1CMma3dx5UQ3hJr4mzxoX_iUI_Cb3d-SuTgXxSjT5jFMK65iWYMgTH0sh73Ik/s320/036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571099182240015730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5KVRg1LDB8mhMX3-oZEh5gBC0i1aKjcMOlbGPEEb8eOA8FQicKR1WzLgTSLpu9FuS5hZCXAHhFnsfcCwf7WYNmWqcDFbKL0zY3V-jkGjIt9g7krRXctMXs06xwH3NU_tjsZ60Gh3kfg/s1600/032.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5KVRg1LDB8mhMX3-oZEh5gBC0i1aKjcMOlbGPEEb8eOA8FQicKR1WzLgTSLpu9FuS5hZCXAHhFnsfcCwf7WYNmWqcDFbKL0zY3V-jkGjIt9g7krRXctMXs06xwH3NU_tjsZ60Gh3kfg/s320/032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571099079629336962" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJCPmcj9pdIEsOyqiRqc-D1T53GrxGUTxGECFV25rdykb8CZFiPlmlsc1rXOF-EmSj3kD2rQLqKhHZ3HkVZjfUXL4S2BlAQQmQSzduDOhNYjMmpw4njVSN-ocXwYR1lEndxvfajyyxak/s1600/030.JPG"><img style="display:block; 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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISiMAr7wWc-Jq-l7NCxyWwtmejjWd_bWRwKCJV0UBH8Jca0u7Po1c5s7pwL-Y6XPZPqhhvMMAvdgmtpfMmaCB9zpXyFdBmcVvRZV7MKiJoHzyeBSLgrIsMn78qpdzHNRcp7kByqih2Iw/s320/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571097951904651570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjIa9tWwFrU-7gGbO9hi4994TKPfNwHpEEJ8HjZK6CVZbyB-ee0XVmEIpREB_BNFje11WV1W6mwzk5FTkEJSMb_KvXFAC78fnPr9bWYdhyphenhyphenhH0mhdTcwv0EupvDhH2Mjb8XsTszFoibFY/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjIa9tWwFrU-7gGbO9hi4994TKPfNwHpEEJ8HjZK6CVZbyB-ee0XVmEIpREB_BNFje11WV1W6mwzk5FTkEJSMb_KvXFAC78fnPr9bWYdhyphenhyphenhH0mhdTcwv0EupvDhH2Mjb8XsTszFoibFY/s320/005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571097870564406562" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93NshR8-DSuNZEqOhRqT7n7NMRK4DUUUbaE8jBOihXFn8j842JE48LsOTHkHNDoP85hx90b86Wi0FGhyphenhyphendLMzQrNrTxj7fJumfqfO4PNmydTyEHymZWZW__KXV6WtsApBfwjJQ_uKaxfI/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93NshR8-DSuNZEqOhRqT7n7NMRK4DUUUbaE8jBOihXFn8j842JE48LsOTHkHNDoP85hx90b86Wi0FGhyphenhyphendLMzQrNrTxj7fJumfqfO4PNmydTyEHymZWZW__KXV6WtsApBfwjJQ_uKaxfI/s320/001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571097784501000690" /></a>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-69234802365411838912011-02-01T15:43:00.000-08:002011-02-01T16:03:58.358-08:00Meme: What got you started?I've been tagged by that douchebag <a href="http://inthelinesa.blogspot.com">Molly</a> to participate in a fucking <span style="font-style:italic;">meme</span>. Has the internet no morals?<br /><br />Here's the description:<br /><blockquote><br />What got you started? What made you read science fiction or watch romantic comedies or play guitar-thrashing punk? Everything has an origin, and I want to know what it is.</blockquote><br /><br />I'm assuming this is referring to my reading habits, which are uneven and sporadic but prominent nonetheless. <br />I think I started reading as obsessively as I did because no one really wanted me to. I mean, my first real experience with rebellion was in first grade; I was in the lower reading class because reading was boring and I hated it. I just so happened to be obsessed with the Olsen twins during this time, so I brought in one of their books to read. If I was being honest with myself, I'd say there was like fourty percent of the first three pages that I actually understood, but I faked it because, compared to the picture books everyone was toking, I looked like a fucking mobster <span style="font-style:italic;">genius</span>, heard? <br />My teacher pulled me aside and did this thing where she made me read out loud and if there were five words I couldn't pronounce, she would take the book away. I slipped up on the word "envelope" and "locket" and the book was gone. This infuriated me. I came home bitching to anyone that would listen. My sister, during a trip to Borders, who was a much bigger reader then I was and had already worked her way through an entire box of Babysitter's Club books our neighbor had given us, brought me to the bookstore isles and handed me a copy of Baily School Kids.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5dWLpcfDTrXLTq7_1CpU54kiyJ_H1pANgIZyavj2ucEFewZISrP5d0uy179T0gGEkOlk-gfpk8M3H52Ybs4RLK_DkixJr7SuxNWgDSMoGpObZqV1KcMtDTFVksUKR3S0J1X6Eyd20_0/s1600/baily.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5dWLpcfDTrXLTq7_1CpU54kiyJ_H1pANgIZyavj2ucEFewZISrP5d0uy179T0gGEkOlk-gfpk8M3H52Ybs4RLK_DkixJr7SuxNWgDSMoGpObZqV1KcMtDTFVksUKR3S0J1X6Eyd20_0/s320/baily.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568875505337470898" /></a><br /><br /> To my teacher's dismay and my rapterous delight, I did not have to fake read it; it was <span style="font-style:italic;">enthralling</span>, yo. An entire world of sticking it to the man and ten year old crime solvers was opened up and the rest, as they say, was history.<br /><br />Sorry that was so half assed. My head hurts. <br /><br />I'M TAGGING...<br />Sister, <a href="http://fourofthem.blogspot.com">Four of Them</a><br />Alana, <a href="http://alanagkelly.blogspot.com">Random Thoughts of a Crazy Liberal</a><br />Robby, <a href="http://runningforfiction.blogspot.com/">Once Upon a Book Blog</a><br />Brent, <a href="http://naughtybookkitties.blogspot.com/">Naughty Book Kitties</a>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-30344803164021960612011-01-30T20:04:00.001-08:002011-01-30T20:04:58.219-08:00Someone please explain to me....what the hell is going on in Egypt? Something about the internet?D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-17535169198316815522011-01-29T09:52:00.001-08:002011-01-29T09:52:35.098-08:00i am not a human being<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/daRhEOkUL1o" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-91400886301720651052011-01-29T08:45:00.000-08:002011-01-29T09:16:28.313-08:00Book Review: Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMregUdQAgFQ2C34yAFOPl77pD2SdW5Y_gkMNrQPg4HAgn0PQWCOhqn7KQHklyDJQ70XvN7I6KBHU8kh5LjBssSy1dexddpFM19b2VMY6r9DoZ8h-WGb8Q4yskxNf7liTbYFX5aNUFFN0/s1600/vera.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMregUdQAgFQ2C34yAFOPl77pD2SdW5Y_gkMNrQPg4HAgn0PQWCOhqn7KQHklyDJQ70XvN7I6KBHU8kh5LjBssSy1dexddpFM19b2VMY6r9DoZ8h-WGb8Q4yskxNf7liTbYFX5aNUFFN0/s320/vera.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567651627378900306" /></a>Title: Please Ignore Vera Dietz<br /><br />Author: A.S. King<br /><br />Pages: 336<br /><br />Received from: library<br /><br />Summary:<br /><br /> <blockquote>Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.<br /><br /> So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?<br /><br /> Edgy and gripping, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an unforgettable novel: smart, funny, dramatic, and always surprising.</blockquote><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />Vera delivers pizzas. She is also the neighbor of Charlie Kahn, son of a wife-beater and a doormat. She is the daughter of an ex-alcoholic and an ex-stripper. If she does not continue to deliver pizzas, the ex-alcoholic says, she, too, will become an ex-stripper. The ex-stripper is gone, left for Vegas. This is all anyone is in <span style="font-style:italic;">Vera Dietz</span>; what they did and what they have done and how likely they are to do it again. Charlie's dad is a raging, violent assbag so Charlie will become one too; Vera's father was a drinker so Vera will become one too.<br /><br />At a young age, she has to get a job to learn the value of money. She has to do well in school. She can not date, lest she become an unwed teenage whore like her mother. She can not drink, lest she become unrepentant drunk virtually disowned by her family, like her father. And she must, <span style="font-style:italic;">please</span>, ignore what goes on next door, lest she make something like that her business. These are the lessons her well-meaning father has given her.<br /><br />But Charlie Kahn lives next door. He and Vera are best friends. Vera loves him. Charlie loves her. But Vera has the slut-genes and Charlie has the asshole-genes so they can't. Eventually, shit happens in the form of bitchy juvenile delinquents and Charlie and Vera spend their last year hating each other, one running from their destiny and the other giving in to it. Charlie dies. Horrible accusations are placed at his grave. Vera knows differently, but she won't say anything; now Charlie won't leave her alone.<br /><br />This is a sad book. I feel like that's the only description I can muster; it's sad, maybe even disturbing, in it's depiction of friends who hate each other and kids running from things that won't happen. It makes me sad just thinking about it, because you, as the reader, can easily map out everything Vera and Charlie did wrong but it wouldn't matter even if you could run up to the characters and slap them in the face; it's easy to tell a kid they won't be an alcoholic but if that's what they <span style="font-style:italic;">know</span>, undeniably <span style="font-style:italic;">know</span>, then it's just empty promises. King writes so perfectly in this thing. She depicts Vera's loneliness and fear in an often apathetic, matter-of-fact monotone, completely undramatic, completely realistic. She's crafted one of those "thinker" books, that you apply to real life and the world outside the Pagoda and that makes me happy, though I won't be thinking about it. I don't have the energy.<br /><br />In the words of Book Smugglers' Ana, "please don’t ignore this gem of a book."<br /><br />Rating: 10D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-40648577846794642952011-01-26T20:20:00.001-08:002011-01-26T20:51:43.127-08:00Assorted Things That Are Important to Me (but probably not to you)Today in school, we had our first midterm. Biology, which is a nightmare. Membranes of membranes of cell membranes, enzymes and photosynthesis, so many words that don't make sense. I studied for a week straight, I've been studying constantly all year and I am still unable to grasp these theories. It's the first time in my entire life I've felt genuinely stupid. <br /><br />But anyway, the midterm was terrible. All these questions that were so unbearably foreign, long words that I've never seen before. I was close to crying. My nose was running. I walked out of the room with my friend rubbing my shoulders and telling me it would all be okay even though we both know that I will be in summer school, I'll be in this class next year, I will not graduate because of CP biology. <br /><br />I went to my counselor's office and she told me she thought there was something wrong with me. I'm perpetually and drastically unorganized, I can't think about one thing for more then a minute or so, nothing can hold my attention other then a good book and romantic comedies. My eyes twitch if you look at them for very long. I need coffee more then I need most things and I smell like smoke all the time. The only way I can talk to people is if I'm talking about anything other then myself, telling funny stories or weird facts that has worked well with me so far, except my teacher did this thing where she simulated a college interview and I went into this big speech about food quality in the UK when she asked me what my priorities were. My counselor wants to know if she can call my mom to get me tested for some kind of learning disorder and I said no, because my mother would get that smug look on her face anytime it's implied that I'm wrong about anything because, really, she is a smug person. She doesn't believe it, but my sister agrees, and my dad agrees, which pisses me off because I really don't want to have anything in common with my dad.<br /><br />I want to get tattoos and piercings and clothes and books and drugs and coffee and all these things that I can't because the hiring rate for the under-eighteen crowd is zero to none in my area. My friends and I had to panhandle for bus money the other day. We had to catch a ride with a stranger who smelled like pot and put his hand on our friend Ally's leg. <br /><br />My best friend in the whole world wants to kill herself. My ex boyfriend is addicted to drugs. They both want me to help them and I can't and it's making me want to cry all the time.<br /><br />I want to vote. I want to consent to my own medical attention. I want to go to a police station without someone wanting to call my mom. I want to walk down the halls of my school and have no one remember me. I want to weigh ninety pounds. I want money and I'm afraid what I'll do to get it one day. I'm afraid I'll fail, I'm afraid I've already failed. I'm afraid my life is over because that's what they've told me. I'm afraid no one likes me. I'm afraid that the monster under my bed will crawl out and tell me I'm not worth it and go to the house next door. I'm afraid I'm not a good enough writer to write or painter to paint, I'm afraid I'll never be as good as everyone else and they'll all leave me behind because there's something right with their brains that allows them to understand. I'm afraid I'm the only one who cares about anything and I'm afraid I don't care enough. I'm afraid everyone will just give up on making things better and I'll have to send my kids out into this world. I'm afraid I'll wake up one morning and everyone will be gone, swallowed by the sky and sucked into another world where there happier and I'm stuck with their shells down here, poking them with sticks and begging them to talk to me. I'm afraid I look like an old lady already, with my saggy eyes and melting face and fat ass and dry hair and chapped lips and tight jaw. I'm afraid I talk too much, like I am now. I'm afraid people will look back at my life years from now and laugh at what a fuck up I was.<br /><br />I wrote something on my tumblr about my neighbor.<br /><blockquote>A neighbor and her friend, two in the same. Very best of friends. Dying their hair outrageous colors because they think it will earn them the street credibility required to sit outside the Hot Topic, roam the mall with their rich girl wallets and pretending like they’re the misfits, the outsiders, the sad and desolate girls who laugh like jackals and surround themselves only with people who will fawn over their new shirt with the band name splashed across their chest in neon pinks and greens. They write suicide notices on their facebooks and myspaces, bragging about their white girl misery, the suicide pack that will never be fulfilled, making a mockery of those who originated the pink highlights whom they know look at with contempt, the real punk that they mock for it’s difference. They are devoid of self-awareness, the ability to loom overhead and look at themselves—not at what makes them unique, but what makes them terrible. What makes the chubby black girl from Queens roll her eyes and the pierced originator of their styles spit their names out like rotten egg yolk. What makes Jamaicans and Indians and Venezuelans spit in the face of America, what makes the emo bands reject their given label, what makes the dirty kids lying on the sidewalk with their loud, metallic music hate themselves. It is this neighbor and her friend that make Suburbia such a shameful place to hail from. It is why the teenage girl from this school or that street unable to be who they want to be, for fear of being placed in the same category as these serial-dating wannabes with their “ironic” tiaras and carefully applied makeup and loyal band of kiss asses and their melodic copycat bands that befoul the name of punk. PUNK, a rebellious counterculture that is unable to be what it once was because of THEM, the mean girls disguised as outsiders. We don’t like them. Only they like them. And there are simply too many of them for this country’s youth to take itself back.</blockquote><br /><br />I don't like people who complain on their facebooks. Is this any better? <br /><br />I love music so much I'm afraid one day I'll just stop everything, sit down, put on my headphones and never get back up.<br /><br />My ipod has 11,000 songs.<br /><br />My mom got a kindle. I can read my ebook review copies now. This makes me happy.<br />Except I don't read anymore. As in, I'm reading my comfort books. Books of my childhood, Jane Austen and <span style="font-style:italic;">Skellig</span> and S.E. Hinton and <span style="font-style:italic;">Matilda</span> and the Wayside series and this new chick, Staceyann Chin, whose fucking gorgeous. I'm also reading <span style="font-style:italic;">John Dies At the End</span>. I wish I had half of my sister's books. I wish I could stop wanting things. I wish I would stop writing this. <br /><br />Here are some names.<br />Henry Darger<br />Henry Parke-Harrison<br />Guy Bourdin<br />Riikka Kuittinen<br />Native Americans<br />Staceyann Chin<br />Diane Arbus<br />Michael Cisco<br />Mary Ellen Mark <br /><br />Discuss.D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1234171891467425827.post-66969169660369844592011-01-16T17:41:00.000-08:002011-01-16T17:42:39.771-08:00Angels and Airwaves' LoveI don't care if it's some lameass vanity project, I love the band and I love outer-frikken-space. Check it.<br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NiwIK_CtTIM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NiwIK_CtTIM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>D Swizzlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15148118403462060553noreply@blogger.com1