14 December 2002 CE 2:15pm
hate hate hate.
No, I haven't been blogging much, or even writing much in general. Deal. I go through cycles where I don't have anything much to say.
In case you weren't sure by now I hate rain. Okay, next thing. California needs laws to ensure that certain people don't drive when it rains. There are far too many people in this state that are in capable of driving in wet weather, heaven forbid it should ever freeze or snow. There's the idiots that don't brake in time, the ones that try to peel out from a stop, the ones that hydroplane around corners, and a personal favorite of mine, the idiots that get on the freeway and persist in driving no faster than 35 mph because it is RAINING. These people should be restricted to public transit when it rains because I'm sick of having them almost hit ME on the road in this weather.
8 December 2002 CE 5:00pm
Bibliophile wanking.
Probably the most interesting thing about Michael Moorcock's writing is that he manages to write almost entirely in archetypes. In all his books there's only about 12 different characters:
Err...I suppose I should warn you there's possibly spoilers here.
The primary archetype is of course the eternal champion. Easy to blow that off as a tragic hero; the champion almost always loses everything he holds dear. But the eternal champion doesn't quite fit the traditional criteria for a tragic hero; often in Moorcock the champion lacks a tragic flaw, or the flaw does not play any major role in the circumstances which occur. The eternal champion is constantly thrown into the heroic journey, but never really achieves the final step (reintegration) before being forced to begin the journey once again.
The love interest. She's the one woman that understands and loves the poor beleaguered champion. She dies or gets lost of course (because the champion loses what he holds dear). They're kinda like Bond Girls though, there's always another one down the line.
The RIVAL! Sometimes also the devil's advocate. There's always some jerk out there who wants nothing more than to get the champion to join his cause, or failing that, try to kill him.
Every hero needs a sidekick. Therefore there's the less powerful but loyal and still useful sidekick. Not generally comedic.
The next archetype is the sword. Yes, the sword is an archetype. The hero always has a magical sword with to a greater or lesser degree, a will of it's own. Unless of course he's Jerry (more about Jerry later). The rival would be more than happy to take the sword away from the hero for his own use.
The weapon of goodness. Either the Runestaff or the Grail (same thing different forms). The rival wants this, often more than he wants the sword.
The guardian of the weapon of goodness. This is someone who is supposed to keep bad people from getting their hands on the thing (duh). Usually the Von Beks guarding the grail, but can be others.
Jerry Cornelius is a special case. He's something of an archetype unto himself, he pops up all over the place in different stories, timelines, and universes, and has taken on the roles of various other archetypes (champion, sidekick, and guardian, iirc).
Now, having read all that, you'll never read a Michael Moorcock novel the same way again.
7 December 2002 CE 7:52pm
My cousins annoy me no end.
One of my cousins has decided to become a sociology major, focusing on, of all things, race. Most of you are probably saying "so what?" but you don't understand the circumstances. This is a white girl who lives in a homogenous white town and is an annoying know-it-all (the type of person who reads books to say she's read them rather than because she cares about the content). So I end up talking to her (because my parents think I should like and interact with my family) and I mention that I almost decided to major in sociology and she starts blathering at ME about race like I'm ignorant. I go to a school where very nearly every nationality is represented and you can hear no less than five languages other than english every day at school (Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Vietnamese, Arabic, and I think Hindi). As early as elementary school they start teaching you about race and multi-culturalism. For English classes you are REQUIRED to read books from authors of different ethnic backgrounds in the hopes that students will gain understanding. And my cousin thinks she can tell ME about the social issues surrounding race. I damn well LIVE with those social issues every day.
Interestingly enough my mother I think has managed to explain why my cousin is focusing on race in her studies: my cousin thinks it's exotic. Which would make sense given that she's never had any experience with the issue.
6 December 2002 CE 8:36am
So I don't have much to say.
I'm decidedly shallow lately and haven't had much to say worth mentioning apart from watching the fandom wars, which I'm sure most of you don't want to hear about. Anyways, primarily for the interest of me and steph and possibly kourin:
New Shiina Ringo single: STEM - Daimyou asobi hen Jan 22, 2003
New Shiina Ringo album: Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana Feb 23, 2003
There's also a dvd, but since I can't play R2 dvds, I don't give a damn.
27 November 2002 CE 7:47pm
Rar.
I would like to establish once and for all that I FUCKING HATE MY BIRTHDAY.
Case 1: 10th grade, all my friends forgot. All of them. Not even a "happy birthday".
Case 2: 1998, a saturday dinner. Everyone who was supposed to show up had to work. Even my dad got called into work.
Case 3: This year, even though my birthday is tomorrow, my life has turned amazingly shitty. My mother decided to rage at me for 2 hours about all sorts of little things and then stormed out of here leaving me to make my own birthday cake.
And none of these count the fact that because my birthday falls on thanksgiving every few years nobody can do anything unless I postpone it for a week. (yeah, I do try to laugh it off as "haha, my birthday is a national holiday" but the truth it more often than not people simply forget about it with everything else going on)
My genuine "happy" birthdays are fairly rare. Therefore this year my wishes are simple. I hope the apocalypse occurs and everyone fucking dies. I'm bloody sick of everything.
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The chibi demented Lisa heads are something interesting aren't they?
I told you I'd put something interesting here eventually.