Holding the Line in 2009

Last Year and This Year

2008 was not my year - the stats on my blog show that. I posted less than 30 times, compared to over 100 posts in 2007. A few things about this year were beautiful. Bear and I have been together since December 20, 2007 and we celebrated when he came to visit over New Year. Most of 2008 were stressful though. I moved away from home and Bear and everything I love. Graduate school in Richmond has been a culture shock and many times I wish I had stayed closer to Texas.

Now that Bear is gone back to Little Rock the house is quiet and not nearly as warm. I do a lot of laundry and try not to notice little things like the change he stacked on the coffee table or the cologne he left on the bathroom counter. I can't express how happy I was while he was here. At the risk of sounding sentimental, I'd say that I'm more in love with him now and I know for a certainty how good life will be with him. I'm glad for that, but at the same time, it's hard to be here without him.

His visit jump-started my interest in my longtime work-in-progress, North of the Line. I've drafted a few scenes and currently, I'm working on the plot for the next few books. One of the major problems is that I'm torn between the idea of a trilogy and just running with the story for as long as I can, book count be damned. I'm also working on developing a few subplots and romance threads that have never been a major part of the story.

I hope you all had a happy New Year!

Holding the Line.
Bri

Little Red Needed Her Huntsman

After a rocky but good weekend in Portsmouth, our Halloween costume party and viewing of Clint Eastwood's beautiful beast The Changeling, I'm glad to be home. I picked up a few ridiculously cute pieces of clothing before heading back to Richmond, but I regret nothing.

While the Halloween party was a train wreck at first, it evened off. I think we had an alright time. The girls who came over were almost ten years my junior, so the generation gap was incredibly obvious. I was not an immature teenager and neither was I ever really much of a girl; these girls were my antithesis. It was surreal and so I will leave it at that. As you can see, I went as Little Red Riding Hood. My huntsman called me in the middle of the party and got me out of the awkward teenage-ness for a little while and things were better after that.

This week, I don't have to do much, so instead of watching election coverage, which only stresses me out, I think I will probably watch the last season of Sex and the City and read a few Harry Potter books as I attempt to wrap up the series. I may write some, but after last week's illnesses and meanness and cold, I think I might relax. Alot. How was your Halloween?

Holding the Line.
Bri

A Reading List for Graduate School

From what I hear, graduate school is supposed to be, pardon me, a bitch. Finances, classes, jobs, grades, students, etc. I don't know if I manage my time and my money very well, but I've not run in to most of this evilness. So far, I've picked up thirty books, a few DVDs, and enough fresh fruit to survive the apocalypse. Life is good my friends. Life is pretty freaking good.

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Sula by Toni Morrison
• Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
• The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
• Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
  
• Tuck Everalsting by Natalie Babbitt
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
  
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  
• Anthem by Ayn Rand
  
• Heaven's Net is Wide by Liam Hearn
  
• The Harsh Cry of the Heron by Liam Hearn
  
• Brilliance of the Moon by Liam Hearn
  
• The Collected H.G. Wells
  
• The Collected H.P. Lovecraft
• Winter's Tale by Mark Heprin
  
• Big Bang by Simon Singh
  
• Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
• The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
  
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
• New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
• Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
  
• Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
  
• Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson
• Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

Holding the Line.
Bri

p.s. Thanks for the encouragement on the last post! Knowing you guys understand helps.

Suckage and Twilight...Shopping Too

Shopping Spree

The money from the school finally came through, along with two paychecks they’d been holding. That’s the first thing you need to know. Second is that after my money from the school came through, I went on a shopping spree. I bought cute outfits, cute shoes, cute jackets. The WHOLE nine yards. I look classy and adorable. Its amazing what money can buy: it may not buy happiness, but it comes damn close. The only thing that would make this week any better is if Bear could be here with me.

Suck-age

The thing is that long distance relationships suck. The Long Distance Relationship of Bri and Bear is probably not as bad as others. We talk throughout the week. He’s busy. I’m busy. Those are the facts. But it still sucks. Here are three reasons why.

1. He can't be here to check and see if there are zombies or other monster-esque things downstairs when I hear a noise at night.
   
2. He can't be here to say things or make faces or do dances that make me laugh.
   
3. He can't be here.
   

And so it goes. But the thing is that when I do get to talk to him on Skype, or I do see pictures of him on Facebook, it is enough for now.

Twilight...and Feminism

I just lately finished the second book of the Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, when I hear an uproar on the Internets. There is apparently a row about the author being an anti-feminist pro-stalker vampire lover. Honestly. I read the series. I adored it. I chewed through the first two books in days. I'll tell you this. It is pulp. It is entertainment. It is base. But that doesn't mean its not a good book. That doesn't mean that kids shouldn't read it.

I'll be going into Twilight more later this week. I'll just say for now that this sort of book is the reason I eventually picked up the classics. Formula books, books like Twilight are the reasons students stick with reading long enough to develop taste and good sense in literature.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Notes from a Debate on God - Hitchens v. Turek

Last night, I attended a debate between Christopher Hitchens and Frank Turek on whether or not God Exists. The debate was handled well, but I felt Frank Turek was a little outmatched. I was relieved that no chairs were hurled or pitchforks and torches brandished. I left during the Q&A because Turek started circling his arguments and I got bored with the dogma. I am a monstrous fan of Christopher Hitchens, so to actually see him debate in person was incredible.

The sum total of the debate was that Hitchens believes that religion requires a person to become an absolute slave to a totalitarian dictator who may not even exist. Meanwhile, Turek was pretty much the run-of-the-mill Christian Apologetic and made the typical arguments for God (note, specifically the God of western religion). The debate shifted near the end, focusing on such typical subjects as a woman's right to chose, morality, ethics and so on. I found this slightly disappointing in that I wanted a more substantial debate that did not fall into the routine and predictable dogmas.

I could think of various ways to answer Turek and I felt that Hitchens sort eased around the questions, either because he didn't want to answer or because it wasn't worth expending the energy because someone like Turek wouldn't have cared to listen anyway. It comes the point that it's not worth arguing, since the other side isn't interested in listening to reason, only in proving their moral superiority or justifying their beliefs. Its not that I condemn one side or the other. I just feel a public debate should rise above such childishness.

Here's a great review of the debate that goes into more detail.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Hoping for the Best...

Mediterranean Markets and Bagel Shops

Over the last few days, I've been working through graduate school assignments and trying not to completely freak out over rent and bills. My money still has not come from the school and I could really use it right about now. I try to relax, walking through downtown Richmond. There's a Mediterranean market not far from here and every morning it makes my mouth water. The bakery puts off a cloud of smoke and steam, thick with spices and herbs. I also discovered a homemade bagel shop right down the block where they make their own cream cheese and will stack turkey and bacon as high as I want. While living without funds from the school, life is fairly good.

A Fiction Class...Without Any Writing

I've taken to writing in a Moleskine after last week's fiction class. I left feeling about two inches tall, doubting why I ever wanted to be a writer in the first place. The professors pedagogy was all lecture. In a two hour and thirty minute fiction class, I didn't get to write a single word. At least as an undergrad, I left almost every class with over two hundred words. So, Moleskine to the rescue. It looks fancy and nifty, and I like writing nifty and fancy ideas in it. Take that, lecturer! My notebook is superior to your pedagogy.

Politics...Hopefully Not as Usual

I saw an article this morning on CNN suggesting the likelihood of Palin being dropped from McCain's ticket later in the election cycle. While I'm not sure of that, I do know that picking her was probably a mistake. I follow politics closely, though I rarely discuss my opinions on the state of the union and our (regrettable) president. But in watching the news this morning, I was struck by a melancholy and the realization that we cannot continue on our present course. Of politics, I remember most clearly the first Gulf War, when I was five, the prosperity of the Clinton years as a teenager and the wanton disregard of the Bush administration for the Constitution, American foreign policy and human rights through my entire college career. Watching the news this morning, I was glad I already cast my vote, via absentee ballot. I've just got to wait till November to how the chips fall.

What Was He Thinking and Some Writing

Waiting for Funds

I've settled into the life of graduate school. The routine is comfortable, for now. Bear has been able to talk more lately; I don't feel like we're so far apart when I hear his voice. I'm still waiting on my loan money, but once I get it, I'll have a heyday. I'll get a cute little laptop, an adorable blue bicycle from Walmart and a ton of books, beginning with The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil and A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. I'll paint the apartment and buy the Ultimate Chair. There you have it. My plan to rule the world.

Wheat Field Heresy

On a much more serious note, I've been working on the story about the scientific minded girl in the rural southern town. One of the scenes I've drafted deals with what happens when the young boy takes one of her books home, without her permission. When his father finds him reading it, he rails against his son and demands the book be taken from their home and destroyed. The boy complies, mourning even as he burns the book in a trashcan in the driveway. When he tells her what happened, the following conversation takes place. It's not so much what I'm wanting, but it's a rough idea.

"I'll buy you another copy," he said.
"It's not that," she said. "What burns brighter? The book in your trashcan or the idea still in your head?"
"I hate you," he said into the curve of his elbow. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed.
"No," she said. "You hate what you fear and fear what you don't understand."

In Other News

McCain's VP choice is mind boggling; what was he thinking? Better...was he thinking? Also, I'm not sure I like my graduate level fiction class and I wish the rain would go away so I could go swimming. That's about it.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Adam and Eve: Controversy in YA Lit

I attended my first batch of grad classes this past week and assisted in a class of almost 420 students. At some point, I'll receive my financial aid, decorate my apartment and pay rent ahead for the next six months. I figure once all the grad school issues are resolved and I'm settled, I'll be able to talk to Bear and not be at my wit's end.

Adam and Eve in YA Lit

One of the requirements for my Young Adult literature class is that I have to draft the first few chapters of a YA novel. I've decided to write on a subject that is terribly close to my heart and terribly controversial. I am of the persuasion that science and reason have been fighting an age-old battle against religion and superstition in order to bring understanding, maybe even compassion, to the world. Through people like Galileo and Copernicus, Darwin and Lyell, we learned our place on earth and in the universe was not privileged. Through countless others, we learned that the universe was marvelous in itself and vast beyond our comprehension. In short, we learned that everything did not revolve around us.

I've drafted out the first few pages, modeled on the story of Adam and Eve as well as the myth of Prometheus. Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge and because they learned, because they did not remain blissful in their ignorance, they were thrown from Paradise. Prometheus brought fire and knowledge to humanity and was destroyed for his efforts. My YA novel follows a similar pattern. A young girl moves into a small southern town with her family and the local boy is completely infatuated with her. He is pulled into her world of knowledge and science, wonder and, to his mind, blasphemy. He becomes a halved person. He can no longer believe in his God as he did before, but the fear of Hell and the uncertainty of his soul does not allow him to live fully without his religion.

It's a work in progress and I have a feeling it will ruffle a few feathers. I'm drawing from my own experience for this book, so I'm wondering if I should put some distance between myself and the work. Any thoughts?

Holding the Line.
Bri

Writing: An Oroborous Tradition

After reading Stephanie Vanderslice's post on boy's literacy, I thought I'd add my thoughts. One of the themes I found the examples she gave was adventure stories. This is probably how most people come up in the literary tradition: pulps, comics, magazines, ten-cent westerns. When we're young our parents grab the cheapest, safest books that are close at hand. My progression was as follows: Laura Ingalls, Louis L'Amour, J.R.R. Tolkien, William Golding, Joseph Conrad, Cormac McCarthy. Slowly, I climbed toward more complex storytelling, character development and themes.

We all have horror stories of early English teachers who took away our story notebooks because it wasn't the assignment or who commented on the lack of substance in our reading preferences. Every form of art or creative endeavor makes this cycle, though, from genre to genre. Everything moves through cycles of epic, pastoral, romantic and so on. I use the word cycle because I don't believe that people evolve in a linear fashion. We're like Oroborous in that we come back to the beginning, time after time. We find what is useful in our literary tradition and create our own voice.

In my own work, I developed my own voice by studying the deeply personal characters from Laura Ingalls, plot from Tolkien, setting from Conrad, moral themes from Golding and beautiful language from McCarthy. The Epic is no more valuable to us culturally than the Romance. Each has a place and each offers us a tradition for our own writing.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Skinny Scarves, Orange Soda and Textbooks

Beginning the Skinny Scarf and My Books

I took it easy this weekend, cleaning the house, doing laundry, talking to Bear, and drinking bright orange soda while I listened to Pandora and wrote. I picked up my textbooks, eleven books of young adult fiction, for my class. I've already eaten my way through two and plan to devour the next eight in the next few days. I also learned to crochet over the past week and started a skinny cranberry-colored scarf. It has grown in epic leaps and is now almost eight feet long. I am sure it will look completely charming, come winter.

Grad School Update

Tomorrow, I go to meet the professor I'll be working for this semester and to attend various workshops and orientations for graduate students and TAs. I'm excited, but also a little nervous. I cut my hair today, shaping it back into a cute bob, a little long in the front, but just how I like it. At least I can be confident that I look good when I walk in there.

What's Coming

After studying the Big Bang and various other cosmological phenomena yesterday and today, I find myself in awe. I'm not sure how people can look at this information and all these centuries of research and not be astounded at our abilities and our determination to find and understand our place in the universe. I'll be posting more about this later...trust me, I won't bore you. It's fairly fascinating.

Holding the Line.
Bri

Too Pretty to Survive the Snow

When I woke up this morning, I looked out the window and saw something every student wants to see - a thick fall of snow coming down in flurries and torrents and veils. Immediately, I realized all the things I would actually be able to get accomplished since I didn't have to go to class and lab. My roommate and I watched the news reports that I-40 and most of the state was under ice. Yet...when I called the university, our classes were not canceled as we'd hoped.

So, after trudging through sludge and ice I arrived at Thompson Hall for writing and speech, only to discover that my professors, either iced in or staying home with their kids decided to cancel their classes on their own. The day was not a loss though: I brought my camera with me.

I'll have more of a post in the next few days, concerning a few concepts I've been working into my writing and a few thoughts on a series I just finished. Until then, enjoy the frosty photos.


So say we all.
Bri

This Broadcast Continues...

An Explanation

After so long with no posts, I'm surprised this blog is still here. My deepest apologies. University has started up again, and with it all the stress that built up over the holiday season has come rolling down on me.

After I completed three admissions applications I was sure I could probably crawl into bed and sleep for the next four years without a single qualm. Once I complete the official graduation hullabaloo by Friday, life will settle back into the most pleasant of routines, I'm sure.

Amid all of this stress, the most wonderful thing has occurred. My creativity has returned after a long winter nap. I meet with my thesis adviser this week and hopefully my chapters will sing off of the page. As the semester goes on, I'll post sketches and summaries to accompany my progress in the actual writing process.

Imitation and Art

In my classes lately, I've noticed a trend where people consider imitation an art. I'm not sure how I feel about this just yet. I know in my own artwork, I learned through imitation and mimicry. At what point does a plot become original and innovative instead of cliche and predictable?

I know there came a point in my own work, as a writer and an artist, where I developed the techniques I learned and created an entirely new style that was mine alone. I'll probably continue this conversation in the next few posts but the question is plain: What differentiates art from imitation? Is learning through imitation hurtful or helpful to an artist?

An Offering and An Apology

In my illustrated narrative class, I was given the assignment to create a collage from several photographs and any other work I wanted. Below is the piece I created. Enjoy and please accept this as an apology for my long absence.


So say we all.
Bri

Merry Christmas All

Merry Christmas. I hope you are all with your families and safe. See you after the holiday season.

One More Thing...

And the wonderful news I promised? You know, I never noticed it before. Then one day, he walked into the room and I couldn't stop smiling and the world sort of went vivid and just lifted, as if gravity didn't matter. Bear told me he liked me - wanted to date - and I agreed. Just that simple. Now life and everything else in it is wonderful.

So, I found this boy -
A dark-eyed chemistry boy -
A boy who likes me.

So say we all.
Bri

The Difference Between Obsession and Passion

My coworkers informed me today that I am obsessed. At first, I let it go. I shook it off. But it followed me through the day and I can't get away from it. I shouldn't feel the need to defend myself, to justify what I do. But I do.

I adore my novel and develop it scene by scene, chapter by chapter every single day. I'm submitting short stories to magazine and designing artwork for a class I'm taking next semester. I adore playing HALO 3 and the community of players who game with me. I adore my work at the university where I tutor students and create workshops to build up a writing scene on campus. I've carried 18 hours for my junior and senior years. I've kept a near perfect GPA while working +15 hours a week.

I don't discuss these things that I love with my coworkers or my suitemates. Generally, I'm afraid I'll bore them. So I mostly keep it all to myself and geek about it all on my blog. So am I obsessed? Hardly. Am I driven? Most definitely. The difference? A value judgment against my lifestyle.

Do my co-workers make this value judgment against something they can't understand? Against someone else's ability to be passionate about something? Or is this a form of elitism, which allows the few to determine what is useful-legitimate or base-entertainment?

Either way, I don't really have time to figure that out. This post took up enough time. I'm off to write another chapter, to play through the last two campaign missions on HALO: CE and then to eat dinner with the guys. What are you doing this weekend?

So say we all.
Bri

The Good, the Nameless and the Faceless

This past Tuesday, I turned 22. I actually forgot about it until Sunday night and then suddenly remembered. Bear bought a cake on Tuesday night and we're still munching on it as the week goes on. This weekend the plan is to write, have a HALO 3 LAN party, (maybe) get some homework done and sleep. Also, Vespacian carved Master Chief's face and my HALO 3 insignia into a pumpkin for Halloween. It's absolutely adorable. Pictures will ensue.

The Good, The Faceless and The Nameless

I have various reasons for adoring the faceless, nameless hero.

When a hero is faceless or nameless he is more emotionally accessible to the audience. We love him because he are unknown to us. We fill in the gaps of his past, his childhood, his psyche. Most of the time, we add our own experiences in those gaps and envision a hero more and more like us - maybe to the point of actually being us.

We love him because he is cool and collected. Eastwood's Man with No Name endures as a pop culture icons precisely because of his detachment and his grace in times of crisis. The Master Chief from HALO and Samus Aran from Metroid also share this characteristic. Neither are overly emotional or talkative.

We love them because, at the end of the world, when the lead starts to fly, they stay low and frosty.

Update on Research

As I have previously mentioned, I'm conducting a research project to see if someone could accurately judge a player's gender in the anonymity of HALO 3. I'm focusing on game play, appearance, choice of weapons, player profiles and stats. So far, the only area I'm getting any sort of determining factor is in team vs. solo play.

Apparently, most females enjoy tactical, strategic object-based games, instead of random slayer matches. I'm gathering film and photos for this project and will probably post them here as I go.

I think a "Nameless-Faceless" hero story is due.

So say we all.
Bri

A History of Crazy and Cool

My apologies for the lack of Friday Snippet. Things have been incredibly crazy this past week with University.

A Brief History of Crazy

I register for classes today, so I had to go visit my adviser on Thursday.
I have five novel chapters due today for my thesis.
My project in Writing for New Tech - the HALO 3 and gender project - is due this week.
My project for Technical Writing is due this week.
I still need to observe two more Comp. 1 classes for my Composition theory class.
Graduation is coming up in May and I have to pay and start the process now.
Application deadlines for Grad School are all in January, so I'm starting that process as well.

A More In-Depth History of Cool

First, I am pleased that you guys like to geek. Assassin's Creed is being released on November 13 for the PS3 and th XBox 360, courtesy of the same guys who brought you the pleasure of the Prince of Persia games. I think the thing I enjoy about what I've seen so far for AC is the fact that Altair doesn't seem to show much of his face and hasn't spoken once in a trailer that I've seen. See any similarities? I should probably do a post about my fascination with the Heroes with No Name and the Heroes with No Face. It's fascinating. I promise.

Second, my parents came up to the Rock for the weekend and we went down to the River Market where we saw jugglers, pipers, an antique carshow, and a parade which included Darth Vader, Batman, Superman, an Imperial Storm Trooper and a Jedi. It was overwhelming in its level of cool. I have pictures and promise to post them.

Third, I managed to play some of the most amazing team battles in my HALO experience this past Saturday and Sunday mornings while everyone was either asleep or in church. I have pictures and some incredible video, but I'm setting up the clips for optimum coolness. It will accompany my Friday Snippet this coming Friday, so prepare to have your socks rocked.

Fourth, I'm leading a workshop at my University for the next two weeks. I am thrilled.

Lastly - my marine-friend is safe. His brother talked to his mother who, in turn, passed the word on to us. Matt had to spend a few nights on the tarmac near the smoke, but he is safe We say thankee.

So say we all.
Bri

Three Things I Want

Rain in the Rock and Fires Near Camp Pendleton: I Want My Friend to be Safe

Yesterday, while it rained and went chilly at university, my umbrella, faithful and friendly, decided to turn traitor. In a giant gust of wind, umby flipped inside out and hurled water all over me. It was so funny I could just stand there and laugh like an idiot as my shoes soaked up the cold rainwater and stained my socks black and blue. My bout of "singing" in the rain ended in a bout of sneezing later in the evening.

I learned, amid the sneezing, that a marine friend of mine might have been evacuated out of Camp Pendleton due to the fires in California today. We had a few fiction classes together while he was at University and he roomed with a few other guys from our group last year. I keep him in my thoughts and hope he is safe. I saw him for he first time since his graduation just about a week ago. It made me all kinds of happy that he stood up to say hello in his schnazzy uniform when I came in the room. He told us of his exploits in gaining his various medals and included an entire story dedicated to what a wonderful meal the Warriors' Breakfast was. He'd made a list of everything he ate! :D I hope he safe and pray for those in harm's way.

Forever New Things I Should Read: I Want These Books

The Forever War is the next big "Bri Needs to Read This" project. I've heard so much about it and Tim mentioned it in his Friday Snippet comment last week. The author came to our sister campus across town, but I wasn't able to make it to his talk. I've wanted to take on much more military-heavy science fiction since last year. So, I think, along with The Forever War and Ender's Game Series, I might try to take in some of the newer pulp stuff (the HALO and DOOM books). I know, they're cheesy, but so were the pulps from which our greatest sci-fi writers emerged.

My New Game (Read: Geek-Love): I Want Altair

Below, we have the next game Bri wants for the XBox 360: Assassin's Creed. I know, I attempted not to blog out my geek-ness, but this is the one thing that I am allowed to be an incredible nerd about. I adore playing HALO 3 and AC looks to be (almost) as incredible. According to the demo video, most surfaces in the game are climbable as you do assassin-ish things through the character, Altair (doesn't he look nifty?).

Also, the AI in the game is apparently fairly responsive to players' choices. Scaling a wall in midday garners attention from the crowd below, which in turn calls the guards. Slaughtering someone in the street or knocking someone over gains you the mob's hatred. In short, a player's actions are not without consequence. The game seems to imply that a player must move on a much stealthier and realistic level. So. Much. Fun.



Despite the gamer talk and the geek-urges, my thoughts are with those in California and my friend. Please be safe.

So say we all.
Bri

Mr. Haha, Sledge Hammers and Sexy XBox

The XBox

This past weekend, I finally purchased my first gaming console. The XBox 360 has since become a way for me to save the universe, race million dollar cars and tend a garden of pinatas. Here, we have a display of way-too-much-sexy in one place. Btw, check out the gamertag on the left! I added it...and I think it looks sexy too. Gamertag, 360 controller and The Spirit. Say amen. Amen.

The Wall and the Sledge Hammer

On Caldwell Street, there was a Wall. Those of us at the dorm never understood the purpose of this Wall. It was too short to keep people out, but too tall to be anything else but a Wall. It was hideous. While it was tall enough to keep out neighborhood animals or small rodents, there were no gates at the entrance or exit. All told, the Wall was an anomaly. So imagine our amazement when we drove by Caldwell and saw a sign advertising its demolition. V and I decided to take pictures.On Saturday, after my GRE, V and I, returned to the dreaded beast along with Bear another friend whose name matches his appearance. We demolished a good chunk of the Wall with 10 lb. sledge hammers after we beautified it with a spray paint mural. We also saw two of my professors. (I discovered today, that Dr. V has a blog. Go look!) We had an absolutely terrific time drawing graffiti and pulling down the Wall while the Symphony played on the front porch and collected donations. The fact that two such extremes, refined culture and brute-force-barbarism, could exist in such a small space was amazing.

I'll post the pictures of our transitory art as soon as I figure out how to get them off of my phone camera. My main project read: ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE. I tried to draw The Watchmen shot-up-smiley face, but that got nixed when I ran out of yellow spray paint. Also, I'd never sledged anything in my life so we had fantastic amounts of fun until the people running the show told us we should stop.

Apparently, they advertised that the community could sledge the wall, but didn't actually think college kids with pent up frustration over standardized testing and academic midterms would come with hammers. Oh well. We got in a few good hits.

Mr. Haha

Afterward, Bear, V and I pulled over in the Episcopalian church parking lot where we met a gloriously fat stray tabby named Mr. Haha. He was friendly and wanted attention so we enjoyed a photo opportunity. A little girl climbing into her mother's minivan nearby informed me of Mr. Haha's name, and the fact that he didn't like to be picked up, that he would scratch me and give me the evil eye. As it turns out, he might just not like little girls who think they know everything. He loved me. And he gave a cursory hello to V. He liked Bear too. He loved me.

We continued through our downtown on foot, took a few lovely pictures. Here they are, for your viewing pleasure. I'll post more pictures of our exploits on Wednesday, at the latest. For now, behold!

So say we all.
Bri

Take a Haiku Break with the Chief

I'm There

On Tuesday, I helped run the first Creative Writing Workshops at my university and they were a smashing success. Several students stayed after and asked questions, requesting specific workshops, like how a writer might handle a series or how a writer might develop a horror story. Obviously, I would be thrilled to lead some of these later in the semester. I'm keeping an eye on it. Also, I'm still considering Graduate Programs and I'll keep you guys posted as that develops.

Now, storytime with Bri.

Rhetorically Speaking

On Wednesday, I decided I needed a break. The class I was meant to observe for a Comp Theory assignment canceled. In my Rhetorical Theory class, I realized every single one of us had read the wrong assignment and didn't have the heart to tell our professor. So frustrated was I over the canceled class and the massive misunderstanding that ensued in Rhetorical Theory, I was put out. I decided to head back early to the dorm.

Massive confusion
Rhet Theory baffles us all.
I'm going home now.

Boy, Interrupted

And that was when I met a pretty boy. He plays HALO and thinks Master Chief is the coolest. He wants to play online with me and my friends. He loves my writing. Sigh. I was about to ask for his Gamertag (yes, go ahead and laugh it up). But, before I could (you saw that but coming, surely), a friend of mine walked up, interrupting our conversation. She ignored the situation.

He made a sad face (aw) and said he had to get to class. He promised to give me his tag on Facebook and as my friend continued to talk, all I could do was watch him walk away. The only thing that would have made the whole scene better would have been if thunder rumbled and rain poured down around me in the middle of Thompson Hall. I just glared at my friend and then went back to the dorm.

And I met a boy
Pretty-writer-gamer-boy.
We could so be friends.

Heroics and Gender in HALO 3

When I proposed my idea of discussing HALO 3 and gender to my class, a rather fine fellow responded that he didn't think it was relevant. I didn't dignify him with a response. I'll wait to give my presentation before I answer insults directed at something I adore and something I consider a valuable study. He considers HALO 3 a simple video game for guys, featuring a faceless super-space-marine who slaughters alien scum.

I see the nameless-faceless Master Chief as a cultural icon, on the level with Eastwood's The Man with No Name. More than anything though, HALO 3 supports a gaming environment that almost invites studies of gender by the very nature of its anonymity.

I've been out gaming
Shooting up alien scum.
Now, I need some sleep.

So say we all.
Bri

Our Day in the Rock and a Papa-san

Today, a few of my friends and I drove down into the Rock, our capitol, and visited an exhibit of Jim Henson's work as well as a few of the more famous galleries. I saw various works from Rivera, Degas, Monet, Seurat and a few others. When it was all over, we sat for a while in the museum garden and rested our feet. When we realized we were horridly bored with sitting, we walked down to the memorial park and I took some pictures. Hope you enjoy! Also - there's a picture of the papa-san so you can see what I'm talking about. Again, enjoy!

Rain-wet flowers outside of our dorm.

Home, sweet home. This is a shot from our wonky downtown. To be very honest, I'm not sure there exists a downtown that is *not* a little eccentric. But I love it.

This is my favorite picture from the day. We visited the Korean War Memorial after walking around the Art Museum for most of the day. I thought this was the strangest stance for a heroic soldier. His feet are turned in - he's afraid. It's something so simple, but it changed the entire emotional feel of the statue.

Birds on top of a towering interstate street lamp. I was standing on a bridge over the interstate, and had to use my full 10X zoom to get this shot - and I think that maybe the birds are really using this as a covert meeting place to plot the destruction of the human race. *Beware*

The Bridge we crossed when I took the picture of the birds and their secret spaceship. This bridge arcs over about eight lanes of traffic in the center of the Rock.

This was the site of an ruined fountain, but I saw it as the perfect model for a fortress where I could survive, with the help of friends and a ton of ammo and high-level explosives, the worst zombie invasion you can imagine. Now, on to more serious material.

The dying light of our most lovely day. Hope you enjoyed.

Oh! Behold! Papa-san - Most Comfy Chair in the World

So say we all.

Bri