Procrastination at its finest

I have so much I have to do before next Tuesday, yet here I am talking to all of you. I have a midterm in my Intermediate Fiction class that I need to start writing, a book to finish for World Literature in English, and a chapter to finish and then study for History of Japanese Art since my test is on Tuesday. The only class that isn't having me do back flips Tuesday is Abnormal Psychology. This is just normal college bitching and I should be happy that I am here and furthering my education, but sometimes I just want a weekend where I don't have to do anything. 


Now that I written this I feel stupid and whiny. I have no right to complain. Just the motivation I need to get this stuff done. 

Inspector Lynley - Playing For The Ashes

I literally stumbled upon this Mystery! show by pure chance one night when I had my TV on in my room before bed. It this was before we had cable so I only had five channels. I can't remember which episodes PBS was showing that night, bur within the few minutes I had it one while I was getting changed it sucked me in. I watched the end of that episode and tried in vain to watch it next week, but I didn't understand how Mystery! worked and that it wasn't the same show every weekend. I now know better, but I also own a few on DVD.

All that being said I have recently been informed that this is based off novels and watching the beginning credits, which I must have not before, I see that indeed they are. I must get my hands on one of these to see if I enjoy them as much as the show. Anyway the story follows Detective Inspector Lynley and his partner Detective Sargent Havers as they run down and catch criminals. Simple enough and done on many other programs, but I think the reason I like this so much is the dynamic between Havers and Lynley. There is a partner, slightly romantic, kind of awkward, brother and sister, I don't even know relationship that pulls the story along. I have to say though if you haven't watched any British programming before it might take you a while to warm up to the characters.

This episode centers around the death of a famous cricket player and a radical group stealing dogs that are going to be used in testing. Now I know absolutely nothing about cricket and it makes no sense at all to me, but the episode still made perfect sense. Now I felt no sympathy for the man who died, he was divorcing his wife who had three children, shaking up with his agent, and also living with a wealthy woman. However I really was surprised at who the actual culprit was and though the dogs had nothing to do with the death it was needed to piece everything together. It was a brilliantly woven together crime and solution that was really fun to watch.

The relationship between the wealthy woman and her daughter was really touching and extremely heart breaking in the end. Olivia was so confused and so alone and had no idea what to do. Finally her and her mother are reunited and then everything goes wrong. I felt so bad for Olivia and wished that in the end something would have been done to help her. I also felt for the cricket players wife and son. The wife couldn't admit that he was leaving her and her children while the sixteen year old son was trying to take care of his family the best he could. There was a lot of heart in this episode which you didn't realize until the end. 

Overall I think that it was a wonderful mystery that kept me on my toes. This might be because of my lack of knowledge of the cricket world, but I don't think that could be all. I always love a good mystery as well as crime show and I have always loved British programming so it isn't hard to see why I fell in love with this series. It might also have to do with the fact that if I ever became a cop I would probably be a lot like Havers.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book One Water

So after hear everyone rave about this anime, even my best friend who usually doesn't like this sort of stuff, I finally sat down and started to watch it. I can say that it pulled me in quickly and now that I am done with the first book I am excited to move on to see what happens next. A quick run down goes like this...the fire nation is trying to take over all the other nations (water, earth and air). The war between the nations has been going on for almost 100 years and the air nation has already fallen to the fire benders. The avatar is the only person who has any chance of bringing the fire nation down, but he has been missing since the war started. We join the story as the Avatar, Aang, is rediscovered in an ice berg by Katara and her brother Sokka. Soon they set off to get Aang masters so Aang can bend all the elements and fulfill his destiny. 

Aang is the avatar so obviously he is the main character, but there is a lot of growth in his character through out the first book. When we first meet Aang he is only a fun loving boy of twelve who wants nothing but see the world and explore all the fun it possess. However as soon as he sees what the fire nation has been doing in his absence he starts to embrace his destiny slowly and works towards mastering the elements. Aang is lovable as well as someone that your heart goes out to. It is a lot of responsibility for a twelve year old to handle. 

Katara is the heroine in this anime and sometimes it feels as if she is the main character. Katara is the voice of reason and logic from the beginning as well as the only water bender left on the South Pole. As she tries to protect Aang she also has to grow up herself. She is so engrossed by learning to water bend and use her power that on more then a few occasions it gets the group into trouble. Sometimes I found myself a little upset with Katara, but then I had to remember that she is only a kid as well and even though she acts much older she is still subject to childish impulses. 

Sokko is usually used as the comical relief in this series, but he also does so much more. Unlike in many other cartoons where he would only be there for laughs Sokka is very important to the story. He is not a bender like most of the other characters that they encounter, yet he fights and holds his own when he needs to. The relationship between him and Yue was adorable. I knew what was going to happen because I saw the live action version *shakes head* but I still felt sad when Yue and Sokka kissed for the last time. Sokka quickly became one of my favorite characters because while Katara and Aang are all high hopes and ambitions, Sokka is grounded and practical.

Zuko, though he is seen as the bad guy for most of this season, is by far the character that develops the most. I have a hard time deciding whether he or Sokka is my favorite character in this first season. He has a wonderful heart and great passion, but he is torn between his loyalty and love for his father and doing what he thinks is right. Though this is only the first season, by the last episodes you can see that he is really confused about what he should do with his mission to capture the avatar.

Now a little time has to be given to tree very special characters. Iroh, Appa, and Momo really are important secondary characters even though two of them are animals. Iroh is just plan badass, there is no more to say then that. When you first meet him you think he is just a sweet old man, but as the season progresses you learn just how wise, powerful, and smart he is. He is the reason Zuko is half that man he is and will become. Appa is Aang's animal guide and kind of badass. He is all cute and flying until the Bato of the Water Tribe episode where he fights the bounty hunters beast. You can't watch this and not love Appa. The same goes for Momo who is comic relief. He is just so freaking cute! 

Now usually I pick my favorite and least favorite of a season, but I can honestly say that there are none that stand out from the pack as really good or really bad. Now don't take that the wrong way, I mean they are all awesome that there are none that I this is much better or worse then all the rest.

Overall I think that this is a rather deep show for what is supposed to be a child's cartoon. Watching it as a nineteen year old it deals with deep issues and though you can watch it for pure entertainment you can also learn a lot from it. This is probably the reason it is still so popular with a wide range of ages and they are making another series (which I am super excited for!) It is much like a Disney movie in the sense that there is a lot of things that is thrown in for the older audience and I love when they do that. This gets a 4.9 out of 5. 

Supernatural Season 1

This is the second or third time I have rewatched the first season and it is still freaking awesome. I can't even put into words how brilliant I think the writers are and the acting is wonderful. Of course is always help to have two sexy leads, but even if they weren't drop dead gorgeous I think the show would still work. Now I am a giant baby when is comes to horror movies and I admit that some of the episodes scared me, but this show has just the right balance of humor and creepy that is should work for almost anyone. However if you are like me I suggest not watching it for the first time at night, with the lights off, home alone. 

To put the show into a sentence it is two brothers who hunt demons. However there is a lot of internal and external conflict between the brothers as well as they father who they are searching for most of the first season. You learn more about each brother as well as their childhood as the series goes on, but the first season is both of the brothers getting to know each other again after being apart for the four years Sam was away at college. It would take far to long to go into each episode so I will just highlight my favorite and least favorite after a few character introductions   

Sam Winchester is my favorite of the Winchester boys, but what can I say I have always had a thing for the nerdy ones. Sam is 22 when the series starts and reluctant to go back out hunting because he is trying to have a normal life. However after the same demon that kills his mother also kills his girlfriend Sam goes with Dean to find their father and kill this demon once and for all. Throughout the first season we get to see Sam and his difficult relationship with his father as well as Dean, but we also see how much he loves both of them. A lot of people don't like Sam, but I think he is a lot easier to relate to then Dean at the very beginning. Maybe it is just because I have always thought Jared Padalecki was drop dead sexy, but if you had a normal life with a woman that you were thinking about marrying why would you want to go out hunting for things that went bump in the night? As the season progresses Sam develops a kind if psychic ability in which he as visions that come true. I love Sam's character and he kind of reminds me of myself when I get together with my older brother.

Dean Winchester reminds me a lot of the people I usually have as my best guy friends as well as my own older brother. Flirty, smart ass, yet deep down really good guys. He is 26 at the beginning of the series, but it's Sam who is the serious one. Dean is all badass, great lines, and a whole lot of mess up your day attitude. I love Dean so much and even though he isn't my favorite brother I get a lot more emotional when Dean gets angry or tears up then when Sam does. Dean is trying to hold everything together when it just wants to fall apart and I love him for that. I also can't handle how much he loves his dad and Sam, he is always saving him and looking out for him even when Sam doesn't know or appreciate it. I wish I could put Dean into a more clear statement, but I can't. He is a very believable character in a series that is about hunting demons which is saying a lot.  

My favorite episode has to be, and this was a very tough choice, has to be Hell House. The playfulness between the brothers, the Ghostfacers, everything was really well done. The fact that the brothers are playing pranks each other through out the episode already gave it a fun and up beat feel, but then you add the two dorks trying to do paranormal investigation and it is just amazing. Also the creature in this episode is a really interesting thought about being created just because people believed it was real. It was one of the 'lighter' episodes of the season and even though a lot of other episodes came really close (Something Wicked being the runner up) this has to be my favorite episode. Not to mention there is Sam in only a towel, what isn't there to like?

My least favorite episode is, again very hard choice, has to be Faith. Now before you take me out behind a building and beat me, let me explain. The reaper is one of my all time favorite creatures, I mean he is totally badass and the whole idea of the episode is awesome. However the whole dynamic between Dean and Layla makes me so sad. She is such a good person and she can't be healed because Dean and Sam have to stop the reaper. The end of the episode made me tear up the first time I watched it. I like the episode, but the awkward confrontations with Layla's mom and the overall sad tone of the episode make it my least favorite. 

Now let me just say that every time I get to the last episode of the first season I go "OMG WHAT THE HELL! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT! WHAT HAPPENS! WHY?!?!" even though I know perfectly well what happens next. It is by far the most aggravating ending to a season I have yet to come across in all of my TV show experience. I really can't say enough about this show and I am pretty sure I am going to bawl my eyes out when it actually finishes. Rating of 5 out of 5 for sure. 

World Literature In English = UGH!

Alright so I took this class to fulfill a requirement for something, a major or general education I can't remember, and I really am starting to wish I hadn't. I hate the books we are reading, the professor is a nice lady but I hate her teaching style, and I am pulling a solid B- in the class because I never have any idea what she wants us to write about in our papers which is the only thing we are graded on. I am just so frustrated with it and yet there is nothing I can do. I can't talk to her because she seems very set in her thinking and refuses to bend not to mention she kind of annoys me. It isn't a hard class, but I am going to get a mediocre grade in it because of the unclear nature of the essays. People have even asked her to clarify, but it doesn't make any more sense. *sigh* that's college I guess.

Psychic Dectective Yakumo

I actually stumbled upon this anime by pure chance a long time ago, almost two years I think. I watched the first few episodes, but then got side tracked by other things and never finished. I recently ran across something about it on my tumblr and decided that I should finally finish it since there is only 13 episodes.

I am a big fan of anything that has to do with the paranormal, which is odd because I am a giant baby when it comes to scary things. What really struck me about this show was that Yakumo couldn't fight the spirits only talk with them. The main story revolves around Yakumo's parentage and the events leading up to his birth. We find out early on that as a child Yakumo was almost killed by his mother. As the anime progresses we find out that his father was a man that kidnapped his mother and held her captive. There are a lot of other interesting developments in the case as well as how Yakumo and the other characters are connected. 

The dynamic between all the characters is really complex and interesting, which gives the series another layer of mystery other then the base story line. They are all connected by unknown connections or by new relationships, which is a very Buddhist principle, the red string of fate. Due to my History of Japanese Art class I have learned a lot about Buddhism and I feel like I understood a lot more of this anime, especially Isshin, because of it. There was a lot of depth to this anime which I really liked. 

Yakumo is a rather fun hero in this anime because he acts as if he doesn't like anybody which leads to a lot of fun dialogue. He is a lot like a cat, but Harika finds little bits, like the fact that he is ticklish, that make him more human. He is also very dark and even though he appears to always be in control you can never really tell. With everything that he faces it is easy to believe that sometimes he gives into his hate and despair. The inner turmoil that he faces by not being able to do anything but talk to the spirits is another interesting part of this series. He wasn't the normal happy go lucky main character really was a nice change. 

Haruka is the normal heroine in an anime, cute, a little ditsy, but caring and sweet. She is the first person not scared of Yakumo's red eye that let's him see spirits, which is a first for Yakumo. I was really upset that she never really took on the situation herself besides in the episode in the cabin. She always needed pushed or proded by someone to go to Yakumo's side which really made me mad. Even in the very end she needed Gotou to tell her to go to Yakumo. I liked Karuka, but like most females in anime I think she needed a little common sense knocked into her. 

Now another thing that I really like about is that the police aren't depicted as idiots and are actually a big part of this anime. Gotou and Ishii completely believe in Yakumo as well as help him with his own personal issues while Yakumo helps with investigations. They worked through all the cases and really were apart of the series instead of side characters to push the plot forward. Gotou, his wife, and Nao was the most adorable thing in this series. Nao in general is just super cute. 

The ending was sad, but a good ending for an anime about death and the spirits of the dead. I would have like Yakumo and Haruka at least hug at the end, but saying that he would protect her was enough I guess. I wish that it wouldn't be left open but with the manga ongoing I guess they left it open so they could make a second series if they wished. Overall it is a really interesting series and I will probably look into the manga when it is finished. I try not to start a manga that is ongoing so I don't forget what is going on or forget what is going on. Rating of 4.2 out of 5

A Hundred Years of Solitude

This book has to be the most entertaining I have read for World Literature in English as well as the most bizarre. The story follows a family line who were the founders of the imaginary town of Maconco. This novel is written in the style of magical realism so everyday things are paired with the fantastical, such as washing laundry and then being taken by the wind up to heaven. When reading the novel you really just need to go with the flow and not stop to think about how weird or gross some of the events are or you are never going to get through the entire novel. There is a lot of incest, sex with random women, illegitimate children all over the place, and just plain odd stuff.  

I enjoyed the ending of the novel. It came full circle, like Ursula had has been saying the whole novel, back to the gypsies and the scrolls. To be honest at this point and time I was just happy that the book was over, 417 pages of all that nonsense was a little much, but looking back it was a good way to end the novel. I also enjoyed the fact that the thing Ursula feared the most, the dreaded pig tail, was on the child that would have saved the line if he had lived. We talked a lot in class that all the mental instability in the family was actually the pig tail and the child born with the actual tail would have been sane. However you never find out since the father totally abandons the child after the mother's death and the child is eaten by ant (yes you read that right, ants) 

Now the most confusing thing about this novel was that every male in the novel had almost the same name or at least a name close to that of his father. In the first couple of generations it wasn't a huge issue, but with all the children, grand children, and onward it was extremely difficult to remember who belonged to who and which geberation the person belonged to. By the fourth generation I just gave up and kept reading thinking that I would get a marker somewhere to know which person it was. 

Overall it was fun to read, but I don't think I will read it again for a long time. Maybe over the summer if I am truly bored I will go back and take my time reading through it. Rating wise I give it a 3.5 out of 5 due to confusing parts, names, and overall just being much too long. If you are interested in Latin America or magical realism give it a read, but allow yourself time and don't get too frustrated. After a while it will either start making sense or you will just go with the flow. 

Sherlock - The Great Game

I have finally found the time to sit down and watch the final episode from the first season of Sherlock, if you don't count the unaired pilot.

I am glad that it I didn't get into the series right away so I don't have as long to wait for the new episodes, but at the same time why are there only three episodes in a series? I find that cruel and unusual punishment. The Great Game is the first time that Sherlock and Moriarty battle wits that Sherlock is actually aware of. Moriarty straps bombs to innocent people and then sends Sherlock off to solve cases that the police aren't even looking at. Sherlock only has so many hours before the bomb goes off to solve the puzzle. Sherlock solves all the cases, but when an old blind woman tries to tell Sherlock about Moriarty she gets killed. It is a rather fast paced episode because so many cases are solved. 

Sherlock in the beginning of this episode was absolutely brilliant and even though I have never heard of Benedict Cumberbatch before this series I am madly in love with him. He is a brilliant actor and plays the role wonderfully. When he is playing the grammar police against the inmate at the very beginning I couldn't stop laughing and then when he didn't know the solar system I was laughing to hard I was shaking. It also shows that Sherlock doesn't know everything, which is a different view of him from the perfect model we see in a lot of other adaptations. I loved the fact that John keeps making fun of him for not knowing about the solar system. Sherlock also shows a large range of emotions in this episode, one of which being sadness when the old woman is killed, and fear when John is strapped to the bomb. It shows that there is a lot of depth and heart to Sherlock even though not a lot of people think so. 

John again grew to be a lot less of a push over at the same time as being a helpmate to Sherlock. He gets upset with Sherlock, yet at the same time realizes that his mind does not work like the rest of us. He runs the social side of the case, talking to Lestrade when Sherlock refuses and anyone else that they come into contact with. In this episode we see John slowly falling into the role that he played in the original series. However he still is not the fat doctor that follows Sherlock around like a lost puppy. John works the missile case by himself, or so he thinks, and comes to conclusions about it. Even though he is wrong it shows that Sherlock is influencing and teaching John just as much as John is influencing and teaching him. Though I am not smitten with John the way I am Sherlock I love him dearly. 

*I did not make this gif credit to maker in bottom right corner*

I would also like to take this time to admit that I have a slight crush on Moriarty. I know I am not the only one so stop making those faces at your screen. At first I thought his voice was odd, but then I realized he was doing that on purpose and after he dropped it I was rather taken with him. I mean he is an evil genius and kills people, but I always like a man with a lot of personality and character. If I liked Sherlock though I was bound to like Moriarty since he is his opposite. He wasn't what I expected at all however I was pleasantly surprised. I can't wait to see him appear again in the second series. 

The only problem I had with the episode was the man standing on the same street corner, in the same place for all those hours and no one taking notice. I mean honestly a normal person maybe not, but didn't police notice this poor guy crying and standing in the same spot? The one in the car was understandable, as was the old lady in her house, but that one rang false. Also the cliff hanger ending really isn't a cliff hanger because we know he comes back for a second series so Sherlock and John can't die. Was I upset that it ended there, of course, but I am not fearing for John and Sherlock's life. Overall I give this episode a 5 out of 5 because it was extremely witty and wonderful and Lestrade was back (I have a soft spot for him)

What is this?

Dear Pittsburgh,
I hate to inform you that you are supposed to be a city that has four season, one of which is fall. I know that you are very excited for winter with the snow and watching all the college students bundle up like Eskimos to get to class, but please show a little restraint. It is not even Halloween yet so I would like to not be wearing a coat and have it threatening to snow. I am sure being as reasonable as you are you see how unfair this is for us who like wearing a sweater and not a coat for these few months before the cold of winter hits. I would ask you to refrain from this cold and rather unpleasant weather for a few more months when it would be normal for you to freeze us all the moment we step out of houses or dorms.
Thank you,
Me

American Short Fiction

This is a journal for, as the title suggests, short fiction and I had to read for a project for my Intermediate Fiction class. I happened to come across that 51 Issue and I am really glad that this was the issue our bookstore had because it was absolutely amazing.

When they said that they only accept the best I thought they were just saying that, but after reading all these stories I am convinced that they really meant it. All five stories were amazing, but the two that really stuck out to me were Marie Tells All by Ann Claycomb and The Wrong Chemicals by Matthew Baker.

Marie Tells All takes the fascination America seems to have with celebrity dating shows and puts us inside the head of one of the girls that lived it. The story starts after the show is over and Marie is telling us this story because we never watched the reality show so it was okay to tell us. It is not told in a linear matter, but through out the story we are told about Marie's experiences on the show as well as what got her there. Her sister, Teena, convinces her to go on the show after their father dies of cancer so they both can get some money and forget there fathers slow decline. Marie was the one who stayed with their dad and took care of him, but after finding out that their father cut Teena out of the life insurance Marie agrees to go onto the show. Though a lot of the story is told in the context of the show, by they end we learn it was never about Jesse or the show, but about Marie getting rid of her memories about her father and separating herself from her twin.

The Wrong Chemicals was rather slow and confusing to start with, but after I got into the story and understood what was going on it became really interesting. The narrator is depressed, but we don't understand why. Time in this piece is a big factor as it runs backwards and we see a man in his deep depression before we even learn what made him that way. However at the end of the story we learn that he witnessed the World Trade Center get hit as he worked in one of the towers, but was out for coffee, and that his children were killed inside and their bodies were never found. By the end of the piece we feel so much for the narrator who is rather annoying that the beginning of the story. It was an extremely moving piece and I suggest everyone at least gives it a read.