The Pirate Episode

So, I've managed to already break my promise by not updating as much as I planned.  (Really!  I am going to do it!  Eventually...)
I did get enough time to watch more Doctor Who.  The Pirate episode could have easily just turned into a bad remake of Pirates of the Caribbean, but there was a totally great twist at the end, worthy of any great, old school episode of the show. 
I loved bewitched!Rory.  Rory's such a terribly silly character, and he's growing on me.

The Hotness!

I've mentioned before on this blog how I am obsessed with Matthew Gray Gubler, who is on Criminal Minds.  The last couple of weeks on the show have been great, because they brought J.J. back and because Gubler got to direct another episode. 
I have been missing J.J., and I honestly was totally surprised by her coming back.  I figured that once she left the show, that was it. 
And of course, anything that lets Gubler be is cute and creative self makes me happy.
The only sad thing is that Prentiss is off the show now.  I loved Prentiss and I am sorry to see her leave.  She was great on this show and Andy Ritcher Controls the Universe, which I also loved.  I heard that she apparently is getting her own show, and hopefully it'll be good.
Someone recently asked me how I'd like to see the show end (if it ever ends; my suspicion is that they want this show to be like Law and Order or CSI: it'll go on as long as possible.)  My ideal ending would have all the characters who have since left coming back for one final showdown, and maybe reconnecting with the characters they never interacted with and picking up their old relationships.  This show, for me, as always been about the characters. 

Novel Research

I've been knocking an idea for a novel around in my head for a while.  This afternoon, I sat down and started doing some research for it.  The research gave me all sorts of ideas for things for my characters to do.  I also got some ideas on what kind of setting I want to create.

I think that I am going to have to return to some old classics for some points of canonical reference.  I was thinking of maybe having a certain amount of illness, so I was thinking that maybe I would need to return to the early parts of Jane Eyre where Jane is living in that terrible "Christian" school.  And then I thought about returning to Wide Sargasso Sea, and then after that maybe the Anne of Green Gables novels. 
I've only decided on a few characters, but I know I want there to be a specific group of characters and have all sorts of dramatic things happen to them.  The one character I have decided on has personal motivations and I've already parsed out motivations other characters have concerning her. 
I don't think I'm going to have enough time to write this novel anytime soon, but doing the preliminary work for it is fun.  It sort of feels like day dreaming, only it's all about how I'm going to write something amazing and important.

Literary Gentlemen

While on my trip back to school earlier this week, I had the strangest thought: I felt like I could understand the lives of many of the male characters in Jane Austen novels and the other literary gentlemen. 
Allow me to explain: A lot of what I understand about how British gentry behaved in the 19th century comes from reading novels and seeing movies from the time period.  How accurate to the actual historical breed my imagination has conformed I couldn't tell you.

But as I was there, at Ben's place, having brunch, I found myself thinking that I was much like Colonel Brandon.  I was enjoying some time in the country with friends, but because of events at home (a sick relative and a dead friend's father) I was about to race back to the city to attend to business.  I very much wanted the riding hat and white horse that Alan Rickman has in the 1995 movie version of Sense and Sensibility so I could arrive home in the city in style.
Yet, when I'm home, sometimes I feel as if I live a double life, like Jack/Ernest from The Importance of Being Earnest.  I have potential admirers both in the city and in the country, and I even though I'm not lying about my name to either of them, sometimes I feel like I am very different depending on the place I am.  

Of course, this then means I'm not so much like Jack but Jane Eyre, who travels about England in her novel.  I'm doing the same, looking for employment whenever I can and even occasionally running away from troublesome men.  I guess as long as I don't find myself homeless and wandering the countryside only to exhaust myself in the wilderness like Eyre does at the end of the novel then I'm mostly alright with that.  

Over the years, I've found myself comparing my friends and family to various literary characters.  I have an uncle, for example, who reminds me of John Middleton.  I haven't seen him in almost a year, but he is always throwing parties for the family and I like spending time with him.  I had an English teacher who once reminded me of Henry Tilney, in that he was very kind and understanding.  I find that I too am severe as Mr. Darcy, and sometimes misunderstood for it. 
It's peculiar how I find myself thinking of literary characters in this way.  They're not just fictional people I enjoy spending time with when lying on the couch reading, but I think of them as if we exist in parallel universes, separate but not far apart.  This speaks to the universality of 19th century characters, and maybe to how little our lives have really changed from characters who were suppose to exist, in some cases, almost two hundred years ago.  I don't find myself doing this with many of the other characters I discover, and never for as long. 
At the same time, I feel very silly saying all of this, because I can imagine that most literary nerds such as myself feel this way about the characters they read.  They become part of their lives, and even though it often sounds silly to an outsider, those characters are like ghosts.  They live in our minds, but they exert this bizarre influence on how we view the world and how we choose to interact with it.  Perhaps this is a testament to why so many people are afraid of what their children consume culturally, because those ghosts might linger on into their adulthood, and might not be as charming as a bunch of people from two hundred years ago. 

Something Blue

I painted my toenails.  It's something far girlier than I would usually do, but I like them.  They're a really dark blue, and given that most girls my age paint their toenails something bright (especially in the summer), there's something very striking about them.
Usually, when I change something about my appearance, my mother disapproves.  When she saw them, I was pleasantly surprised, since she liked them too.  They're not perfect, which means I'm going to have to do another layer over it. 
My Dad noticed them too, as we were coming out of a shop.  He asked me if it was something to do with a character I was into.
As much as I am loathe to admit it, it does seem like something I would do.  I have been inspired by various characters to do things.  Scully from the X-Files inspired my current haircut.  Ten years ago, Hermione from Harry Potter inspired me to be as crazy about school as possible (with what seems like mostly positive consequences.)  In this case though, it was mostly me thinking that maybe I should try something new. 

Night at Grandma's

It looks like I am going to spend tonight at my Grandma's.  It's not that big of a deal, but after all that has happened today, my Grandma threw up right as my Mom (who is also with me here tonight) got her into bed.  She was literally sitting on the side of the bed. 
I don't really want to spend the night here, since the power has gone back on now at home, but there's not a lot of choice in the matter.  I'm just grateful I don't have to go to church tomorrow. 

I watched a little of SNL tonight, which featured Taylor Lautner.  Like I've said before, I don't like Twilight, but I'm falling further in love with Taylor Lautner.  He's so sweet, and I get the feeling that he is at his happiest when performing, as all great actors are.  I love that he can't give an interview for beans. 

Oh God.  Am I emotionally cheating on my current celebrity boyfriend, Vincent?
I'm so sad Lautner is going to GVSU, a school not so far from my school.  In my imaginary world, I totally charm Lautner, not by throwing myself at him or by dolling myself up, but through my wit, like Elizabeth Bennet.  This is, I know, crazy talk. 
I texted my sister, since my Mom told me she likes Lautner.  This surprised me, because, well, she hates reading, so there's no way in hell she's read the books.  And she never mentioned the movies.  It's good to know that we have the same taste in men in at least one way.  Usually we totally disagree. 
Then I texted Nate, since he thinks Lautner is a moron.  He complains that he sounds like an idiot in interviews.  I disagree, obviously.  I just think he's nervous when he gives interviews, afraid he's going to say something stupid.  As someone who has given interviews before, I can tell you it's nerve wracking, especially when the interviewer comes at you with something you didn't expect.  And I've said some super stupid things during interviews.  It's like a curse I have. 
Nate and I talked a little, giggling over stuff.  I love him so much.  He's a nice boy.  
My Mom is falling in and out of sleep as I move around in the apartment doing things.  I'm trying to read through that romance novel that I mentioned. 
So far, it's been okay.  There's been some explaining of Amish culture, which I like.  The character keeps talking about how obedient she is, and that drives me nuts.  I hate hearing about women who are obedient.  Seriously, it's the most famous archetype for women, right behind women who are sluts and leave the narrator/stand-in for author all confused as to what women want. 
The other thing this book discusses is the tourist trade associated with the Amish.  Josie is into the Amish (she likes to take pictures of them, which I quietly disapprove of.)  But I was thinking, maybe if I ever make some money worth talking about, I'll buy her a weekend trip to Pennsylvania to see the Amish.  She'd love it.  And how expensive could it be, really, since the Amish are notoriously old-timey. 
Of course, what I should be doing is watching the end of this season of Doctor Who, but there are other distractions, like my Grandma getting up in the middle of the night. She just threw up again.  Christine has been talking about the season finale all day, making vague illusions to what happened.  I want to yell at her to stop, because, seriously, it's annoying me. 
This is the first time I've ever spent the night at her new place.  It's going to be kind of strange to see how it compares to when I was a kid and spent the night at her place. 

Women's Writing Book Shopping

I'm off on another round of book shopping online.  This time I'm looking into lesser-known "classic" works.  Things that look good, so far:
The Enchanted April About four women who don't know each other but rent a villa together.  I'm wondering how much of this book will be like all these modern works with four female characters interacting with each other (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Sex and the City, etc.)
Belinda It's a feminist book that makes fun of the upper crust of England.  That's really all I needed to hear. 

Silas Marner  About some old man who finds redemption in raising a child.  I'm interested in it because it has such a silly name and because it's by George Eliot. 
Captivity and Restoration The authoress chronicles her time being captured by Native Americans.  This could be used in a both a historical or literary interpretation. 

A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains  Again, a woman talking about her experience that is both historical and literary.  The only problem with this one is that I can only find it via Kindle, which I don't have. 
The Circular Staircase Another Kindle-only one that I'm going to have to try to scout out elsewhere.  I'm interested in this one because it's plot is similar to The Turn of the Screw.  I'd like to write a comparison of them. 

Selected Stories of Katherine Mansfield Because I haven't got short story collections on this list yet. 
The Upas Tree One of the many things I look for with books is the possibility to write about them academically, and this book, about a (almost certainly white) man who experiences the magic of an African tree.  Probably an easy book to consider race under.  

The Life of Charlotte Bronte  I actually don't like Jane Eyre strictly as a reader, but I like it as a work to analyze.  I've heard that this Bronte was particularly interesting, so I want to read about her. 
Wuthering Heights  Saw a film version of it, thought it was trash-licious.  Want to read, again, because I'm a feminist. 
Ruth Hall About a woman who loses her husband and is forced to write to support herself.
Night and Day I've read A Room of One's Own a couple of times now.  I like what she says, but I've never been impressed by her writing.  Maybe trying another book will change my mind?  Also, look at the cover of the book on the link.  That is the most ridiculous cover I've ever seen for a Woolf book.  Someone had no idea what they were doing when they designed that. 

The Laughing Cavalier It's by a Hungarian woman.  So it's a must read for me. 
The Slyph  I had no idea that the Duchess of Devonshire was also a writer.  I'm curious now to see how good of a writer she was. 

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl See above explanations about literature and history and non-white characters. 
Curse you Amazon, curse you Internet for making it so easy for me to see that yes, there are even more books out there that I want to read.  Because God knows I don't have a huge pile in my room right now.