News and New Year's

I do not actually have much news. I am a third of the way done with The Last of the Mohicans. I am planning a shopping excursion where I will probably talk myself out of every purchase. I am suffering through one of the apathetic teenage girl phases whereupon I am stuck on the theme of UNENDING SINGLENESS (read in Danisnotonfire's voice). Oh...all caps. Did you see that coming?

I am actually a little amused by this phase. It won't last long. They never do. I do not even want a boyfriend. I have no interest in anyone. No prospects. I do not even have time for a boyfriend; rather, I won't when classes start in three weeks. This break is horrendously long. I suppose what I really want is just to know that some male might be interested, even in just getting to know me. An intelligent, marginally-or-more attractive male one day-to-five years older than me, though. Yes, specific.

I have work tomorrow morning. Since I must awaken in seven and a half hours, I am going to pretend I live in Greenland and say, "Happy 2012. May the odds be ever in your favor!"

Love and thanks for reading,

Genni

P.S. This song is how I cognitively feel about relationships. The rest is representative of how many chick-flick type movies and country songs with which I have been spending my time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5ZwnmJgC-g

P.S.S. Oh, and more news! Beauty and the Beast will be in theatres on January 13, 2012! Guess what I will be doing?

Christmas and Crazies

I have tired of beginning posts with some variation of, "Hello." It is implied.

Today was Christmas, apparently. In my world, today was Sunday, meaning up at 5:30A.M. for work. I thought Christmas was in December. Not in Ohio, it would seem. It was in the upper 40s today. What is that?! ( I want an interobang on my keyboard, so bad.) It was also sunny and muddy. I love sunshine, usually. On the first sunny day in over a week, I had a migraine, of course. Is it pathetic that I delibriately slowed my usual working pace to spend an extra hour at work? Probably.

Never in my life have I celebrated Christmas. People look at me weird when they are told. When I was younger, people assumed it was my mother's choice; then, it was. I never felt deprived. Now, the first year I could have celebrated Christmas, I did not. I was not remotely interested. I did not celebrate Christmas. Nope, no desire whatsoever.

As odd as people used to find it that I did not celebrate Christmas, it is nothing compared to what they seem to think when I say that I do not want to celebrate Christmas. The idea seems to boggle their minds. Why people celebrate Christmas - most holidays, actually - boggles mine. I know the given reasons. The given reasons for Valentine's Day, Easter, May Day, Independence Day, and Christmas do not add up for me.  Maybe I am able to look more analytically at holidays having no emotional attachment to them.

Some have told me that one need not believe the underlying whatever to celebrate Christmas, just give and receive presents. That makes less sense to me than Christmas itself. Besides I do not like presents. They make me cringe. I never know how to react.

 I was originally going to outline why Christmas does not make any sense to me, but I've changed my mind. Instead, hear are some other things people do that make no sense to me.

Driving:
     Not Using Blinkers/Directionals: There seems to be some sort of phenomena in Ohio where people don't use their turn signals. It is not that hard! Just use them. Please.

     Ignoring Signs: Signs are posted for a reason. When a lane is designated "Turn Only" that doesn't mean, "Continue forward; almost cause an accident; blame the driver using turn signals and the correct lanes."

     "Lane Ending": For reasons I cannot begin to understand, there always seems to be one car that wants to continue in the lane  that is closing. Even when it is posted for over a mile. Then, of course, that car seems to think everyone else should just let them in when they are finally forced to move into open/continuing lanes. I do not like those people.

Lying:
     I don't really understand why people lie so much in the first place. Honesty is easier. Hiding the truth almost always either back fires or merely delays the inevitable. What completely baffles me, though, is when people keep lying when they know they've been caught. Just own up to it. At that point, redemption may be possible.
    For instance, when I was in year 12, I had a "private" relationship with someone for a month or so. By "private" I do mean "expected to by monogamous but not a publicly recognized couple." The other person chose to not me monogamous. Okay, fine. I'd been cheated on before and I wasn't exactly emotionally invested. There are two things about this that made no sense at all. One: The other person he chose to be involved with was my closest friend in school. We talked on a daily basis. Two: When we realized what was going on, we joined forces and confronted. Not to intimidatingly...at first. When one has incensed two females that are on the same side, the wise decision is not to keep lying. The dumb idea is to keep lying. The really, really stupid thing to do is keep changing one's story. If one must lie, stick to the same lie! When a hole is punched in one story, don't concoct another. This is where redemption is unattainable. <3 Peace!

There is whole list of more things that baffle me, but that looks good for the moment. I still need to read The Last of the Mohicans. Maybe I'll watch Doctor Who or CharlieIsSoCoolLike instead...

- Genni

P.S. What do people do that doesn't make sense to you?

Doctor Who

Bonjour all.

Just a heads up: Doctor Who is the single most phenomenal television show ever. I have watched exactly one episode and am utterly addicted.

I have enjoyed other television shows. Bones, Psych, Criminal Minds, Dexter, The Big Bang Theory, CSIs, Law and Orders, etc. Doctor Who has blown them all off the map.  True, most of the shows I mentioned are past their prime, especially Bones (this is the last season) and BBT. Doctor Who is just ... I do not even have an appropriate word for it. Suffice to say, if you have not, watch it! I would be marathoning if I was not obliged to go work.

Thank you to Charlie McDonnell, Alex Day, Chameleon Circuit, Danisnotonfire, AmazingPhil, and Raven for encouraging me to watch it.

So, I have come to a determination: my next boyfriend must be a Time Lord.

Why is so much U.S.A. media consumed in other countries, but so little media from other countries makes it to the U.S.A.? It's a little mental if you ask me.

Merci et avec amour,

-Genni

Procrastination and Fantastic YouTubers

Bonjour all!

Yesterday I was a smidge miserable when I posted. While I am still not in the best mood for the same reasons, my initial panic/depression/inadequacy has passed. After all, I suppose I can handle not being Cambridge-level...probably not, but I can ignore it for the moment.

I have started another book. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper and I completely do not want to read it. I am an entire one chapter in - about as far as I made it last time - and have not picked it up for two days. I find it dull. I suppose some explanation would be good now-ish. But I'll get to that in a few days and another post.

Basically, I am procrastinating. I will read at least one more chapter tonight before I sleep. Meantime, I would like to make up for any misery I may have spread to you through yesterday's post. Maybe you just laughed at my mental implosion.

So, I am going to link you to some of my favorite YouTubers. They make me laugh lots and lots. I give them Penguin Points. Those are pretty much Kudos, but with more cuteness and general "win."

Danisnotonfire: I have officially watched every video on this channel! He has 40 videos on this channel, a second channel called Danisnotinteresting, and a collab channel with his best friend and roommate AmazingPhil. My favorite video is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esP6Sc0Pelc&feature=g-u&context=G2aebea7FUAAAAAAAKAA

As for Phil, my favorite video on his channel is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_7Z9SuZYjI&ob=av3e

The collab channel is superamazingproject.

Charlieissocoollike: Charlie! I have dibs on him if for some odd reason we meet and get on and such. J'adore his videos. My favorites are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVo-S9ns2_A
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHgyLa7zurA

Nerimon: Also known as Alex Day, Nerimon is Charlie's roommate. (Are you sensing a theme with me about cute British boys with ishly-cute roommates?) My roommate at uni has dibs on him. My favorite single video is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzj1OF7d9m4&list=UUqyku6Kofy1nV86yh9R8n8A&index=43&feature=plpp_video
but he also did a series of him reading and mocking Twilight. As some who has read all of the published Twilight books - no, I don't read them anymore - I can say, honestly, that this series is the most interesting they get. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L253VLwH3w Do enjoy!

Alex also wrote this song that he is trying to get to Christmas #1 on the UK charts. It is called "Forever Yours." I think it is amazing. Charlie directed it and the video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOW2eEz9cYk

There are a couple other  channels I could recommend: Sarcaschicks, JeremyJahns, RayWilliamJohnson. Those others though, for humor, are my favorites.

I also uploaded a video today. It's pixlated. I don't know why. If you are interested, though, it is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd2L49sWAyk

Cheers!

-Genni

Academic Crisis: I am Officially not Intelligent Enough.

Hello all,

I am minorly freaking out as of about thirty minutes ago. I started looking at requirements for study abroad programs. Two of the three schools I at which I was really interested in study are gone from my world. Not really, just somewhere on the edge of the stratosphere and I am tethered to the Earth's crust by a short and very hefty chain.

I want to study in England or Ireland. Those are the two places I most want to go in the world, with the possible exception of Auschwitz. Naturally, University College Dublin, Cambridge, and Oxford were the highlights of my list. I have not yet spoken with whichever department I need to about study abroad. Based on some preliminary research I have done in the last hour, Dublin and Cambridge are both somewhere South of "Difficult." 

My University does not have an exchange program with University College Dublin. Okay, I still have two other tentative selections. Oh, wait, Oxford qualifications include a 2,100+ SAT and three SAT subject tests with a 700+. For anyone not familiar with the SAT, the general exam is scored out of 2,400. The Subject Tests are out of 800.

Now, I did not do horribly at the SAT. I scored a decent 1,890. I chose this university with Early Decision, so I did not take any subject tests as I would have if I had looked more at Princeton and Brown. I like the University I chose. I do question if it were the right choice sometimes. It is not as intellectually rigorous as I would like; far too much of the focus is on sports. Hooray U.S. priorities! I would have graduated with less debt had I chosen Brown or Princeton, odd as that sounds. I wanted to bring my horse with me, though. That and I graduated secondary school with 18 other students. Yes, you read that correctly: 18 1-8, dix-huit, eighteen! I did not think it would be too wise to jump to a University with several hundred students in each year. There are fewer than 350 students in my year at this university.

I am sure Cambridge would be out as well, if I had managed to locate their requirements. So, I have to meet with a representative of the department responsible for coordinating study abroad when offices open after Christmas Break. Maybe University of Montreal will be willing to take a (only slightly, apparently) above-average student from the U.S. I despise feeling utterly inadequate.

Bon soir.

"The Hunger Games" Book Review

Hola,

As promised, I have, for the second time in two months, read "The Hunger Games." My older brother had been telling me I should read this for about five months when I bought it. I trust his book judgment. When I entered the bookshop, I discovered a film version was eminent. The film is due out 23 March 2012. I immediately had a time frame. I prefer to read an entire series before the first film is released: books, then films, always.

I did enjoy "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins. It is one of the best young adult books I have read in two or three years, especially in the futuristic genera. It is well written with a - as far as my reading history - unique plot line. Romance is included. Said romance is not the primary topic. Though set at an undetermined future time, the basic premise is believable. Characters are not capable of fantastic feats. Even technology, though somewhat more advanced, it is not far from currently publicized abilities.

Some of the book, especially the first two or three chapters, is predictable. Primrose will be chosen for the female tribute; Katniss will volunteer to take her place. Even if not written on the back cover, one can easily predict this from the first few pages. After that, it tends to diverge from the path one may anticipate. When one has read as many books as I have, especially for my age, one is used to a fairly predictable plot. Being surprised by a book is spectacular.

One of my favorite aspects of how Collins wrote this book was her handling of backstory. In any book taking place in the future, an author must address how society went from how it is today to how it is in the book. Some give a flood of information at the beginning, but readers are not interested at that point. Collins gave bits of the societal backstory, entwined with personal and intra-character background. She gave enough information for a reader to grasp whatever point she was making, but not so much that it exasperated the reader. In fact, I would say she gave the perfect amount of backstory: enough to get the point across and leave the reader wanting more information. I want to discover more about District 13 and why it was that district that was eliminated.

Character-building was also done well. Especially with Peeta, Collins made a point of making her characters multi-dimensional. This made them more believable, but also a little less relateable, which I think is good. It helps keep the reader's attention on the characters. Solid characters hinders projection of a reader's characteristic onto whichever character he or she finds most relateable. The characters retain the personalities the author intended.

In a few different places, Collins used fantastic imagery. One section reminded me - in feel, not specifics - of Scott Westerfield's "Uglies" series, (Thrilled that has not been made into a movie, by the way.) as well as "Beauty" by Nancy Butcher. Another section had me thinking a Tim Burton-Salvidor Dali cross. I also admired how she incorporated that section.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. One chapter I think could have been a paragraph instead. Chapter 10, in my mind, would have been a better fit in Part One. I think the romance was a little overdone, and somewhat forced at the end, but Collins could handle it well in the beginning of book two, "Catching Fire." My other main issue is that I would have liked more background on the some of the other tributes, not much, just a few sentences.

If you would like to see my video review, it is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfDnWX92YQA

The volume is low and it was my first video, so I went through quite a lot of trial and error.

Merci et bon soir,

-Genni

Romance in Literature

Hello Internet-land!

Last night, I began re-reading "The Hunger Games." I read it in November, even took notes, but I decided to go through it again before I review it. The review should be up by the end of the week. Meanwhile, I still have one significant problem with the book: too much is about the relationships.

All told, about 8% of the book deals with relationships. That isn't too bad. Mostly, the problem that I have is that a portion of that 8% seems forced. It does not flow; it does not even make sense in the context.

Granted, I am not much for romance. Of the 200+ books on my shelves, four are romance novels. I do not like the notion of them in general. I have read many of Janet Evanovich's novels; she uses the same plot line for each one: woman meets man - often in an embarrassing way; woman fixates on man; woman is reveled to have some sort of problem - money, job, in over her head with housing self-improvements, etc.; man offers help, which woman refuses; man "helps" any way; they fall in love - and into bed; the woman jumps to a conclusion about something,  decides the relationship is doomed; woman leaves relationship; woman decides she loves the man enough to handle the consequences of the relationship and returns; happily-ever-after heavily implied.

The general message is that women need saving. If a woman does not have a man, she is missing some critical part of her happiness. Some message from a female author. I do not buy into that message. Having a significant other can enhance happiness; I do believe that. But happiness does not come with a partner. It has to be there in the first place.

I am not anti-relationship/romance. I believe in love. I also believe that love is a variety of things. There is "love" in the sense of something that enhances one's life and happiness. "Love" is something that means one will fight for something or someone. "Love" indicates a desire to include something or someone in the rest of one's life. Another meaning of "love" is a desire to procreate with someone. To me, romantic love requires all of the above listed. Most romance novels and movies shame this concept, showcasing instead the necessity of  a man for a woman to be truly happy. Except "Pride in Prejudice." Well, except for Jane Austin novels. Those are simply smashing.

I know why authors include superfulous romances in their stories: romance sells to females, especially those of teen and middle ages. When done in tiny doses, or well written, these can enhance the story line.  Nothing is innately wrong with incorporating romance, even a "love triangle" in a story. It just needs to fit.

-Genni

First Term Reflections

Bonjour all,

Three days previous, I wrapped up my first term as a university student. No classes until 23 January 2012. Now, I have almost six weeks on a nearly empty campus. I have received many strange looks as I have told people I am not going back to Oregon, either for break or for Christmas. C'est la vie.

I enjoyed my first term quite bit. I had a full schedule, but I chose all but one of my classes. I went to almost all the home football (soccer) games as well as one away game. For the first month, I was really social, for me at least. I spent a lot of time with Jordan, who I met at a scholarship competition last February, and Gabriel, Jordan's roommate.

Most people were and have continued to be kind. Though I do not consider myself to have made more than one or two friends here, I have met many remarkable people. Of all the people I have met though, most all were either footballers or girls in my dorm house. My roommate and I get on well; she I consider a friend. I do - or at least did - consider Jordan a friend until a few weeks ago. For personal reasons I do not know that I even could explain, I chose to end it.

Easily the most disappointment I faced  is the general atmosphere of this university. I had this beautiful idea that university would be a dramatic change from secondary school: the drama would vanish and education would finally be more important than athletics. It is not so. Maybe if I went to one of the other universities I was considering the focus would be more on education. Which is not to say this particular university does not care about education; it does. Sports take precedence.

On the upside, the focus of the student body on athletics does make it easier to choose to remain single. I have often said that I cannot tolerate idiots. I have no patience for them. Having previously dated two relatively intelligent but extremely slacking jocks, I know what I want to avoid. Besides, I came to university to earn my bachelor's, not find a husband.

All told, I adore university. I am extremely excited for study abroad; England, we shall meet. While I would love to make some changes to this university, I do not regret my decision to come here. I have finally seen autumn! Northeastern Ohio, USA, makes me feel like I am living in a puzzle. It is beautiful.

Before I line out what I envision for this blog, I would like to "shout out" a few people.

Jordan: I do not know your opinion of our new situation; I have not given you a reason and I will not try. Thank you, for making the transition from Oregon easier, for being an intelligent conversationalist, for introducing me to others, for introducing me to your beautiful niece and some of your other family members. I hope to see you on the field next year.

Gabriel: In three months, we spent a fair chunk of time together. Thank you for the help in football and helping me understand how others see me. I would tell you to keep doing your thing, or something along those lines, but no one could stop you anyhow.

Amber: You have been a wonderful roommate. I know I am weird, quirky if one is feeling generous. I am not always easy to get along with or understand. However it happened, I am glad we ended up roommates.

Dr. Schulman: Thank you for being difficult to please. It makes me work harder. I did not do as well as I would have liked in your class this term, but I must have done something, because you and Dr. Johnson are helping me on the path to the career you both know I want. Long live Biology!

Daniel and James: I would give you each a blib, but you are almost completely linked in my mind. It always throws me slightly off balance when I see you separately. You two drove me a little mad in French, but you were more entertaining than aggravating. Though we will have no classes together next term, I look forward to seeing you. Thank you for use of your kitchen when I wanted to leave the party at Marco's but was not ready to walk home. Enjoy your return to England. Oh, and Daniel, I think I confuse you a little; for the sake of clarity: I am not interested.

Moving on, you may be a tad puzzled; the blog title is "Literary Decadence," yet I have only been writing about my university experience and some of the people I have met here. A good deal of what I post is sure to address books in one way or another. Complete bibliophile, at your service. I plan to do a number of book reviews, beginning with Suzanne Collins "Hunger Games" series. Some will be videos - depending on how effectively I can video edit - and some will be text; maybe some will be both.

However, I will also write about my life, little factoids I find interesting, and who knows what else. Especially for the next almost-six weeks, I would like to post twice a week, but I will not swear to that happening. I hope I will enjoy writing these and I hope you enjoy reading them. For now, let us just see how this goes.

- Genni