kaypgirl

How to avoid sunburns...

Mon, 18 May 2009 09:13:13 GMT

I'll have to buy some nice sunblock/lotion stuff to carry around with me this summer, because I've now remembered how much I hate sunburns (I had to ice it, the Solarcaine wasn't helping at all). It doesn't help that I don't tan well. I had the bad luck today to be the only person selling drinks outside the football stadium today for KU's commencement. I was out there from about noon to four, maybe, and my forearms haven't been burnt this badly since the last time I went to a water park. So I'll now have a farmers tan (although I did get lucky, my face didn't really get it because of my required hat), or as much of one as I can get, with distinct red lines on each of my arms. It probably looks like I fell asleep in the sun.

The Economy: Who's our Alexander Hamilton?

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:08:19 GMT

I'm taking American History to 1877 this semester, and we recently learned about Alexander Hamilton and the Hamiltonians and all of those lovely people. Alexander Hamilton, in case you didn't know, was basically a dude who's politics revolved around making money for him and his friends (yeah, I know that happens now too, but this was at the beginning of the country, so it stands out more).
For example (also the only one I can remember at the moment), the soldiers at the end of the Revolutionary War were paid in Continentals. There were so many of them, they were pretty much worthless. But speculators bought them up from the poor farmers, who fought in the war and were desperate for money, for a fraction of their worth. And then, knowing this, Alexander Hamilton paid back the national debt (including the Continentals and his rich business friends who loaned the U.S. money during the war), but it wasn't to the men who had fought in the war, it was to the men who took advantage and made them a bundle (paid pennies on the dollar and suddenly a dollar is worth a dollar). He was also big on taxing to get rid of the National Debt (from the war) and I believe that that caused the wiskey rebellion (maybe, I think).
And bailing out all of these businesses reminded me of exactly that. The gov't should just help pay the people who made the investments and shut down the company, that would be better than injecting millions of tax dollars into a failing business. This situation just reminded me of a high ranking gov't offical using there power to look out for their friends, the rich business owners.

Twilight movie

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:23:24 GMT

I'll probably see it this weekend, no way could I see it Thursday night (8 am classes suck, especially when you have to get up at six to get there on time). And I was going to go Friday, but it's already sold out. I'll need to buy tickets for either Saturday or Sunday afternoon tomorrow. My number one question for people who see Twilight tomorrow will be, "Did Robert Pattinson have a 5 o'clock shadow (or stubble) in the movie?" Because I'm hoping and hoping that they edited it out. I think I remember seeing it in some of the trailers. And it goes completely against the character, vampires don't have facial hair (although you must suppose that they could, it wouldn't just magically disappear after the change, you'd have to cut it off. But Edward wouldn't have stubble as a 17 year old in 1918, so not the style).

Reaction to new EW Twilight article(s)

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:47:36 GMT

I've only read RP's interview and the article on the movie and part of KS's interview.

First off, I'm so glad that they've apparently cut the steamy make-out scenes from the 3rd trailer, just not right for this book, it looked like something out of Eclipse, maybe the end of Eclipse (need to reread, not sure about how free Edward was in the beginning of it). So I'm hoping that the trailers just make the movie look bad. Or that the really bad bootleg movie clip on youtube was miraculously edited (or that it looks better actually watching it, b/c that sucked, it was awful, imo).

And Robert Pattinson sounds rather introverted, which makes me feel sorry for him. Although that does make him perfect for the character Edward, it unfortunately does not go well with the craziness the character inspires.

And I remember some interview (hopefully I remember it right) where he said that he hadn't really been working out, not like some of the other guys who had personal trainers and dieticians. And that he wouldn't have a six-pack in this movie. And now supposedly he did work out? I'm not really buying that (although the junk food is completely in line with what he previously said).

He appears to be a really good actor and totally into his part, but hopefully his performance shows that. And I would be totally for him as Edward if he was just prettier. Or if he didn't have a constant 5'oclock shadow, because even though he can pull it off half the time (he looks hung over the other half) vampires DO NOT HAVE FACIAL HAIR! Especially since Edward was 17 when he was changed, and it's not like he had that much facial hair when he was actually 17, so his character better not have it. And if the studio couldn't pay to edit it out and Edward has facial hair, they will regret it. At least from the fans that aren't swooning because they think RP's hot (I'm kinda with him on the hair, it's overrated. I'm glad he's cutting it off asap, likely after promotions are over. I also share his sentiment on his fans, they scare me w/ their fantasies. This dude is not Edward, he is an ACTOR).

Might have more on this later, that's all right now.

P.S. Unless the movie proves me wrong, I don't think that RP can really pull off super pale. A healthy complexion just looks too good on him. He doesn't look gorgous pale like Edward is supposed to, even though it's unnatural.
P.S.S. And for the record, I don't really like the guy who plays Jasper. Maybe it's because he was in an old ABC Family night-time soap opera that was cancelled after one season (and his char was a jerk, at least in the few episodes I saw).

Wanted to paste this into the Music: thing but it didn't fit.
Currently on Song in My Head radio, some vague thing that I think is by Pink. A glad relief from the previous tune that got stuck on repeat along with the volume button, Taylor Swift's Love Story.

vets to john mccain

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:37:33 GMT

Now this is something I wish they'd play around here, especially since we get Missouri stations (the only reason I've seen a lot of campaign commercials, because Kansas is a waste). Although I am happy to see that evidently Obama raised 1.3 million dollars in kansas while McCain raised 1.2 million.

AP/Yahoo really needs to look over their work before they send it off

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:14:26 GMT

So, I was checking my yahoo email. You know how they have news links to "breaking" updates and stuff? Well here's one mistake they didn't catch: "Food of wounded GIs swamps care units (AP) "
And then I clicked the link because what happened? The GI's gave away their food and it made people sick? Or it was radioactive and started attacking people!
But no, it was an error. Evidently it's "FLOOD" not "food" according to the article title. So I guess it's Yahoo's fault, not AP's.

On another note, I'm pretty sure that Yahoo has republican leanings. Especially with all of those damn annoying newsmax ads everywhere (picture of McCain and Palin w/ caption reading "Can they win?" Republican website).

Robert Pattinson cutting his hair off

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:07:34 GMT

"I cannot wait to cut it off," Pattinson said last night at the Starz afterparty for the Hollywood Film Festival Awards Gala at the Beverly Hilton, where he received the New Hollywood Award.

Um, I think the fangirls scared him. Actually sometimes they scare me. I'm with Rob, I don't really get the fuss about his hair (too much stuff in it for me, looks too styled. And it's odd, a lot of my crushes have been because of a guy's hair).

I kind of feel sorry for him, I don't think he realized that Twilight fans give Harry Potter fans a run for their money (the writing styles are so different, it would be creepy for people to feel the same way about Harry as they do Edward from reading the books. Twilight is a love story, Harry Potter is a magical fantasy adventure)

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:02:26 GMT

Decided to watch the movie and see why it was a classic. Pretty good, although I hated Mickey Rooney playing a Japanese man. He played an awful sterotype, completely non-pc. That character is probably the reason the movie is never shown on TV, actually I'm almost positive of it.

Holly Golightly was rather crazy, wonder if she was manic-depressive (just saw a Law and Order episode about it, have it on the brain). Her random ideas make it seem so, and her "red" days.

The guy who played Paul looks like the guy who plays Tony from NCIS (or rather Tony looks like Paul). But, alas, they are not related. Remarkable similarity.

Overall, glad to have seen the movie, will probably watch it again and the only downer was Mickey Rooney. Was disgusted every time he came on screen. Oh well.

Now, whether to have all-night movie marathon or go to bed...

Response to akaibara

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:19:03 GMT

From akaibara, I just had to comply with #4. I just looked through and counted, and I've read nine. Two I remember being read to me in elementary school, and three I read in high school, otherwise I would never had read them. I'm surprised that One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest isn't on there.

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicise those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them
5) Put a star next to those you've only partially read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible - God + about four dozen middlemen - Yes. I have actually read the whole thing. But it was a long, long time ago.

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 *His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman*

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace -

25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Caroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 *Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis*

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte's Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Alborn

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 *Les Miserables - Victor Hugo*

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 05:58:00 GMT

WE WON!!!!!! I watched the game at Allen Fieldhouse with thousands of people, it was awesome. At times it sounded like a live game was being played. Now Memphis on Monday, bring it on!

Writing and homework

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:06:45 GMT

I have a writing assignment I should really be doing, actually three seperate essays (two of which are overdue) and most likely other homework too. I just don't feel like it, and that is why my grade point average is just sad compared to my IQ (2.1 avg compared to 130-something IQ, I forget the exact number). And it's not that I'm completely lazy, my previously untreated and unknown ADHD (non-hyperactive) evidently had something to do with it. But now I'm on meds, and my grades are going up, though there isn't much I can do since I'm a senior. From this random typing, it is obvious that I'm out of the medication I'm usually on at this time of day. I'm blaming that for lack of work, though that isn't an excuse, I'm feeling lazy and tired (part of the tired is b/c of the lack of med). I've been surfing the 'net for the past four hours, which included reading the interesting and funny blogs of Cassandra Clare (she writes fanfic! Just found that out), Scott Westerfeld, and Tamora Pierce.

Tamora Pierce!

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:14:46 GMT

I just got back from seeing her, and it was great! I wanted to ask more questions but I only got the chance to ask about Kel and Dom. She said that she's planning on writing a book with Kel, probably through her squire, and maybe Dom will be with Kel then, but maybe not. It will be written post 2011, which is what all of the unpublished books on her site are dated to. Now I just regret not asking a question about the Mira of Dunlath (sp?) book, and what characters could make a cameo there. I'll have to post more later, and put up a pic of me and Tamora. I'm still so excited, plus I got to miss school this morning!

Fan fiction, mostly Harry Potter (canon), books, birthday

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:18:39 GMT

Now that the book is out and the series is done I'm obsessed with good fan fiction of Harry Potter. I'm always on SIYE, and found a teddy/victoire community. I'm also on fanfic.net all the time, though I first found the site because of Twilight and all the buzz on it's lexicon about fanfic. I'm so excited, I recently turned 18 and was surprised with presents this weekend from relatives I don't usually get presents from, including Eclipse which I've already read but needed to own. I also received from my Danish "Aunt" a beautiful Pilgrim necklace, a popular jewelry design company that originated in Denmark. It definitely made my boring birthday special, even if it wasn't on the real day. I checked "Mississippi Jack" out from the library and can't make myself read any more, and I've already cheated and read the last few pages. I just really don't like the part where I'm at, (the characters are being stupid, and authors seem to think that makes the story more interesting when really it's just annoying) and I got tired of people staring at me after I voiced my frustration with the characters aloud. That and laughing when I'm reading a book get me the most "your crazy" looks. I need to rant more on my book choices/ fanfic choices , but right now I need to go to sleep, so I'll have to continue later. I wonder if LJ has a draft feature? I don't use this much, I got this account so I could join fan fic communities.

Toby Lee Willams 7-22-86 to 9-13-06

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 03:12:04 GMT

You'd have been 21 today Toby, Happy Birthday. I wish you were still here, but I'm glad you were here making a difference in so many lives, especially for someone so young. You had so many dreams and you'll always live on in the people that knew (and loved) you. I wish I had known you better, that I had seen you that last summer. I love you, REQUIESCAT IN PACE. This song makes me think of you (and always makes me teary eyed).

Who You'd Be Today

Sunny days seem to hurt the most
Wear the pain like a heavy coat
I feel you everywhere I go
See your smile, I see your face
I hear you laughing in the rain
Still can't believe your gone

(Chorus:)
It ain't fair you died to young
Like a story that had just begun
But death tore the pages all away
God knows how I miss you
All the hell that I've been through
Just knowing, no one could take your place
Sometimes I wonder, who you'd be today

Would you see the world
Would you chase your dreams
Settle down with a family
I wonder what would you name your babies
Someday's the sky's so blue
I feel like I can talk to you
And I know it might sound crazy

(Chorus)

Today [3x]
Today [3x]

Sunny days seem to hurt the most
I wear the pain like a heavy coat
The only thing that gives me hope
Is I know, I'll see you again someday

Someday, someday