my cat is famous. but not really.

Hey everyone! Today is my birthday, and this is how I'm celebrating: sharing videos of my cat.

He and I made a guest appearance in a TSwift music video parody by my brill CP Christine. About writing! Yay!



Featuring the wonderful and cheery Jeigh!

And guys, in case you're feeling scuffled up about it... I had no idea the cat dancing would look so extreme. Bahah. No felines were harmed in the making of that video (sadly, the index card will never be the same).

Speaking of felines who were not harmed, here's Oliver being his weird self at a church community group get-together:



Yes, the old boy is a finger-sucker.

Hope everyone has a lovely June 10th. I'm going to spend it doing happy things and welcoming myself into the vibrant world of my late-twenties. Onward!

april is the wild card.

As you may have noticed, I am not participating in the A-Z blogging challenge. Sweet relief! There's no way I was gonna pull that off.

And since I've developed a false sense of no-one-can-see-me, I've switched to a font that does this blog absolutely no favors. The words are difficult to read, but they also LOOK WHIMSICAL, and let's not forget our priorities, here.

Also, no guarantee on the background. I am in IDENTITY CRISIS MODE.

MORE NEWS:

I'm in Martha's Vineyard. This morning I woke up in Boston. Yesterday we went to Maine. This weekend we'll be in Manhattan.

And I've forgotten what day of the week it is (Wednesday. It's Wednesday).

random cat picture says,
"how productive can you really be on this thing?"

Perhaps I will post something that makes more sense tomorrow (now that we have internet again).

Until then, here's some unadulterated nonsense, for all you phone-puter gaming fans:

Ah, Whale Trail.

about the campaign, goals, and this awesome thing called "doing the work."

First and foremost, if you haven't entered to win a signed copy of Article 5, and you would like to, click here! Kristen Simmons is a dear friend, so let's keep supporting her. {Note: the more entries I get on this giveaway, the more winners there will be!}

To all my new Campaign friends and followers and soon-to-be friends, hello!

I have a quick something to say. I've decided {just now this very second}, that until the official Campaign start date next week, I am going to take a mini-break from blogging. Kind of an awkward time, I know, but it's for a good reason.

I'm writing again. For reals. Like, with goals and everything. And if I could take that Blogger icon down from my bookmarks, even if it's just for a handful of days, that would be really helpful.

I will still be doing my Campaign-ly duties, of course. Just not until next week.

To tide you over, here's the song that pretty much epitomizes everything I want my main character to be:

The mood is a little chippy, but seriously, even the title {"Attaboy"} is perfect.

Okay, here I go.

if you can't think of a witty title, just say... tuesday stuff {tuesday stuff!}.

So, a second ago, I was all pouting and frustrated, scrolling down my blogger dashboard looking for nothing in particular, telling my husband, "I don't want to go to small group! I have to write, but I forgot how!" And he kissed me and said, "You haven't forgotten how." And I said, "Yes-huh I have! And I just remembered that I have to blog today and I haven't done that yet either and I'm never-- Oh! 'How to Return to Writing After A Long Break!' Well, looky there." Thanks, Nathan Bransford.

Today is Tuesday, the day I usually participate in this:

But since my brain went all mushy and happy after Kristen's interview {don't forget to enter the giveaway, if you like!}, and I decided to regain control of my writing habits... I totally forgot about it. To tide you over, here is an interesting and pertinent video of Agent Kristin explaining the difference between YA and MG {another thing I've been stressing over, lately}:

And last but not least, it's time for the Campaign! I'm very excited about this one because it's only a month long, with two challenges instead of three. And, as always, it will be a fun chance to get to know other writers and sharpen those commenting skills. I hope you'll join me!

nano update: day three.

Guess what I'm not doing right now? It's not about not knowing what to write. That tends to come on its own. It's the distractions, the overpowering urge to collect cartoon money from make-believe zoo animals on my phone. Have I mentioned that I no longer take ADD meds? Truth.

Okay. Time to get back on my feet. Did you see the fabulous NaNoWriMo buttons that Sommer Leigh made? Here are three that I snagged:

Of course I went for the one with Shakespeare on it.

And, since this is fun from time to time, want to hear my current musical inspiration? It's Chopin, and I love it. The person who uploaded this video wrote "sad song" as the description, but I've always felt it was more of a subdued-happy song. Oh, music, you and your subjectivity.

Okay, so, here it is: Chopin's "Tristesse." It plays a major part in my NaNo story, which, contrary to what the images on the video may lead you to believe, has absolutely nothing to do with angels.

Alrighty, back to the grindstone I go.

Oh, and uh, by the way. We're going to NYC tomorrow! Husband's running the marathon, we're going to see Warhorse {hee! puppets!}, eat at at least one restaurant we've seen on TV, and hang out with fairbetty, herself. All the more reason to write a crap ton this afternoon.

I can do it!

angst-baking, nano, and youtube {oh my}.

So, I did that whole "sick" thing this past week. Great fun. I did not sleep AT ALL last Friday night, which I'm sure didn't help. I never got tired enough to even try. Bizarre. As you may know, I've had a lot on my mind. You know how stuff is, and how it always comes in threes {or, in my current case, fives}. At four in the morning last Saturday, after I stopped trying to sleep, something happened for the first time since college... or perhaps ever.

I angst-baked.

Flourless peanut butter cookies. Yurm. Want the recipe?

Mine did not look like this.

1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of white sugar
1 egg

Mix it all together, spoon out your dollops, hashtag those puppies with your fork, and bake for 8 minutes. At least, that's what the website said to do. Methinks I should have left mine in for about 10. They ended up tasting like hot dough in cookie shapes. Granted, I have never had a successful solo cooking experience in my life {not counting spaghetti, microwave meals, or frozen pizzas}. So, for me? They were awesome.

Speaking of insanity {weren't we?}, I have decided that I absolutely must participate in NaNoWriMo, regardless of these things:

1. I will be in New York the first weekend of the month, and at camp the third.
2. I have no basis for the story, other than two characters and a vague idea.
3. I will have rehearsals to go to almost every night {oh yeah, I got into a play}.
4. My best friend has a brain tumor.*
5. I have a perfectly good WiP that does not deserve to be abandoned any further.
6. This thing freaking starts in four days.
7. Coffee is expensive.

*Remember the health issue I mentioned a few weeks ago? This is that. I've been not-saying-anything for a while, and it's been eating at me. If you don't want to read about Katie's grade II astrocytoma, I apologize in advance for the inevitability of my posting about it. I know I'll feel A LOT better if I can be open with you all.

On the flipside, here are the reasons *why*:

1. I have confidence that I'll be able to make up for lost words, before and after these trips.
2. I'm sure I have more of a basis than I realize, and I love what I do have.
3. Rehearsals don't start until 7:30.
4. Katie wants me to got for it.
5. My perfectly good WiP has been giving me the evil eye.
6. I'm {mostly) a pantser... why should I worry? I'll wing it, after all.
7. Tea is less expensive, and we have plenty of it.

As stupid as this endeavor sounds, in light of everything else that's going on, I can't help but be excited. Oh, the sweet release of going into another world. I sure could use more of that.

In keeping with the incoherent nature of this post, here's a music video. I've loved this song for years, but never saw the video {the wonderful, delightful video} until this week. I forget about things like YouTube. What a weirdo I am {and thanks, Katie, for finally getting me to watch it}.

Love to all! Tune in next time {or, the next few times} for lists of things I love, an award or two, and a dissertation on why I am OH MY GOSH still awake at this hour.*

*Probably not one to get your hopes up about.

solid advice for a bad day.

Chin up, friends.

We all get down.

We all feel low about ourselves from time to time.

And on such a day, there really is no better medicine

than watching clips of Arrested Development on YouTube.

You're welcome. Feel better!

UPDATE!
In other news, my crit partner, Jeigh, is giving away some awesome stuff to celebrate reaching eleventy-one followers (and then some!), and you DEFINITELY want to be a part of it.
Follow that link!

the champion drooler makes friends in real life.

Notice anything different? Fair warning, my friends: I may like consistency elsewhere, but on the blog, j'aime le change... ment. My previous hold of five months was a record. {On the Xanga page I had in college, I changed the look more often than I posted.} And so, if this blog starts to look different every time you visit, my apologies. For now, though... you like?

Mmm, new things. I am a champion drooler* over new things. And I don't mean material things, necessarily, lest you harrumph at my covetousness. This is not a post about my covetousness {that one will involve shoes and iPhone apps and books}. This is a post about the rosy cusp of possibility, where the best outcomes still seem the most likely. Ahh.
*ick.

We are back from our 15 days of America-hopping madness, and it's got me feeling... new. Like, there was my life before going to Yellowstone/meeting Jeigh freaking Meredith in person {and sleeping on her comfy couch for a weekend}, and now there's my life AFTER.

Here, have some Tang {Orange! Great for Breakfast! Possibly Flammable!} whilst I list {am I the only person who likes Tang? With lists? And whilsts?}:

1. It is, perhaps, not as creepy as I once thought to make writer friends on the internet. Fancy that. Of course, you're all like, "Derr, isn't that what the Campaign is FOR?" Yes. But I was once hesitant.

2. Something changes when you meet a blog buddy/crit partner/story cheerleader in person. You notice things you could never pick up from emails or phone chats, like the color of her hair {kind of reddish! did you know?}, or her piano skill level {much higher than expected}, or the fact that she actually is a mom, with real live children and stuff. Amazing, I know.

Towely is watching you.

3. Also wonderful is that, when meeting with a writer friend, you can leave the saucy minx of book-shame at home. It's not the same as telling a new, unaccustomed friend that you're writing a fantasyish novel-or-something for young people, or maybe grown-ups, if they like to read stuff for young people, stop looking at me like that. Jeigh already knows. Our friendship was catalyzed by the fact that we are BOTH writing fantasyish novels-or-something for young people, etc. It's liberating to not fear the knee-jerk, sideways glance, you know? {Is that just me?}

4. Sleep is for later-times. Five AM is for giggling.

5. If you've been following Jeigh for a while {what's that? You're not a Jeigh-follower? Well, you'd better get on that {she totally knows a short-cut}. I'll be here when you get back}, you've probably seen something about her freakish reading speed. It is {...going to be?}, as one Barney Stinson might say:

Truth. WELL. I got to experience the legend first hand, and let me say... what, 350 pages, Jeigh? Yeah. In five hours. I have a lot to learn from this woman.

6. In other news! Remember this picture from our adventures in Gatlinburg?

Yeah? Yeah? Any last guesses? No? Well, here--from 6:40 to 6:57--is what it immediately made me think of:

And that's two Phineas and Ferb clips in a month. At least this one was in English.

Alas, this post is not as much about the rosy cusp of possibility as I'd planned, unless you count that I am so excited to be back in my own home after half a month, it makes me want to be *productive.* I might even exercise.

This has potential to be STELLAR.

Or, perhaps... legendary.

{Y'all watch How I Met Your Mother and Phineas and Ferb, right? A perfectly logical combination.}

7. Huh. Y'all.

updates: chattanooga/sparkfest/campaign edition.

Boy howdy. If I wasn't averse to cleaning before, I most certainly am now. On the upside, there's this neat little city in southeast Tennessee, practically (in fact, partly) in Georgia, and I live there now. It's called Chattanooga. Maybe you've heard of it.

There's this thing called the Choo Choo, and it sure was the swizz in 1941.

Dang. (This was also my only association with Chattanooga as a little kid. LITTLE DID I KNOW, HUH?)

Anyway, I hope you all are excited, because it's Sparkfest week! Meaning, pretty much, that a bunch of cool folks are going to spend a lot of time in the next several days telling other cool folks about the books that got them hooked on the notion of... all this. Stay tuned!

Here are some other important things:

1. The Chattanooga Library is HUGE. It's not quite as quaint/bright/user-friendly as my beloved Blount County, but it takes a close second. Definitely better than downtown Knoxville. Anyway, the point in all this: it's only about a block from where my husband works, as well as within a few blocks of both a local coffee joint and a Starbucks, and a park with free wifi (where I am right now). So, pretty much, I'm set.

2. This city is so... spacious. It's really not any smaller or bigger than Knoxville (not including their respective universities), but it's so much nicer. I could really get used to these wide, wide streets (you can always see the sky! Even in the middle of downtown!), this plaza, that place over there with really good coffee and super-nice baristas, not to mention the gorgeous library (complete with book sculpture/fountain*), and all the awesome things that aren't even in this little chunk of the city.

*a fountain that is a huge, metal sculpture of a pile of books-- but could also be read as books flowing out onto more books, which is a less organized version of what's going on inside, anyway.

3. I am going to gush about Chattanooga for a long, long time, so buckle up. You will want to visit, I am determined.

4. I did the two CRAZIEST things just now:
   4a. I signed up for Rachel Harrie's Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign. It's like I suddenly grew a spine or something. I'm excited to meet other bloggers, for sure. I'm not as excited about/actually terrified of participating in the challenges, because, in case you haven't noticed, I don't really share what I write online. Too many eyes! Not enough clever! Oh the well. Can't hurt to stretch (my camp counselor is showing, isn't it?)!
   4b. I signed up (I think?) for NaNoWriMo. We shall see where this leads. It kind of doesn't make any sense, being as in-the-middle of a WIP (oh yeah, I started New Draft, finally) as I am, but I figured, What the hey? I need to write something other than this one story, over and over again, anyway. I'm thinking female MC. First person*. You know, something normal.

Ha.

*I actually did just throw down a bit of New Draft in first person, just for fun, just to see what it was like, and, uh, yeah. So much better. Surprise!

5. Because of all this, I've found myself staring down some new goals.
A of all: diligent, daily work on--and hopefully the completion of--New Draft, from now until October 31.
B: I'm shrinking my Booksplurge 2011 goal to 50, instead of 60. Bummer, I know, but I think it just has to be this way. And it will still be the most books I've read in one calendar year, if I get there (pretty shallow claim, since I've never kept track before. OH WELL).
And C: Um, the Campaign and NaNo.

So... wwwwwish me luck.

Okay!

(Edited to add: this isn't in English, is it? Ha!
Well, that's trying to watch youtube outside in the city without headphones, for ya.)

See you next time! We'll talk about my favorite book in 5th grade! And then my favorite book in high school! And then, you know, college, and why I started writing, for reals. And then maybe we can eat pizza, because Chattanooga has really great pizza (it matches all the other really great stuff). Ooh! And we can go to the Tennessee Aquarium, because it's awesome and I could walk there right now. (!)

Oh, wait, I did what? Set a ton of unreasonable, unattainable goals for myself that will pretty much take up the rest of the year?

Really?

Okay. We can go to the Aquarium in January, then. HAAAAAAA. (oh boy.)

As much as I would love to regale you, gentle readers, with all my thoughts on moving, reading in the car while moving, my first week of owning an iPhone, and the wonder that is a latte with hazelnut, alas... I have three u-haul truckloads of junk to unpack.

So, instead, I thought I'd share with you my current favorite youtube videos.

First of all, I think I want one of these in a couple years:

And if you think that's great (because it is), here's Billy Collins himself reciting "Litany."

I'd be lying if I said the following dumb song hasn't been stuck in my head for three days...
but it is surprisingly conducive to getting things done.

Okay, we're about to spiral into mega little-girl-territory (but it's so worth it!). If you don't want to sit here for 22 minutes to watch an episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I understand.
But if you think you can handle it? Oh man. So great.

And... my current very favorite. I posted this a while back, but it won't hurt to post it again.

(sigh.)

Have a lovely Monday, friends! I'll be here. Loving on some boxes. :)

this is for my dad.

Happy 60th!

For any of you who don't know, my dad is a rocking dude. There is a lot of him in me. We both love eating grapefruit for breakfast, for instance. I got my thick, wavy hair from him, though his has calmed down a bit since he was my age. I hope my hair grays like his, too, eventually. He has the best salt-and-pepper thing going (you're taking all of this as a compliment, right, Pops?)

My dad has a lot of good things going for him. He's an accountant, which is a job many people are loathe to consider. But he loves it, and he's so good at it. He inspires me to do what I love. My whole life he's told me, "If it doesn't make you happy, Julie Bird, don't do it." My dad has called me Julie Bird since I was a baby. When I was really little, I just about thought "Bird" was my middle name. I sort of wish it was. Julie Bird Palmer (... Maughon).  Perhaps I could use Bird as a not-completely-untrue pseudonym, one day. [Why yes, this is where my online-persona name came from. How did you know? (I added the "my" because "Juliebird" was already taken on one of the platforms. Hence, Juliemybird. And now you know!)]

So, to celebrate my dad's birthday, here's his favorite old cartoon. He still makes himself laugh when he thinks about it. "I love to sing-a, about the moon-a and the June-a in the spring-a, I love to sing-a..."

Love you, Daddy!

(Yeah. That was the post featuring classic cartoons you were looking forward to. Surprise!)

movie vs. book smackdown: for once, it's a tie.

Wow, so, who's been a bad blogger? *shyly raises hand*

Over a week ago, I promised that I would talk about the differences between Howl's Moving Castle as a book and as a movie. And, to be honest, the idea has been daunting me since I promised it (I've also been traveling and working the whole time, so, you know). The truth is... I'm flummoxed.* I rarely experience this, where I love both the original book, and the movie that was spawned from it, equally, but for vastly different reasons. Because, no, they are not the same. I was surprised at some of the things I discovered in the book that weren't used in the classic, sweeping, gorgeous Miyazaki film, which has been a favorite of mine for years. Maybe that's the cure: fall in love with the movie before you're even aware the book exists.

I'm going to try to shed some light on the differences, here, but it might get a tad spoilery. If you'd rather find out for yourself, I completely understand. But some things were very interesting, and it would be a shame not to work through them.

If you love the movie, like I do, here are some things you might wish were in the book, but aren't:
> Howl as a war hero/shapeshifter. I know! I thought this was so integral to his character. Turns out, in the book, Howl is even sillier, and even more interested in flirting. If you can believe that. He still proves himself in the end, though, so don't worry.
> Sophie's early feelings for Howl. It is very thickly cloaked in the book. Also, there are no lucid moments where she is young-ish again, like in the movie. I missed that so much.
> The ENTIRE dynamic with The Witch of the Waste. I was on pins and needles reading the book, waiting for some insight into how that relationship came about in the movie, but it never happened.

I miss you so much, dream sequence.

> The end, with Sophie's hair and the pail of water and the cliffside and the scarecrow and all that. Most of the same basic things happened (minus Sophie feeding Calcifer her hair, which made me so sad, it being one of my favorite parts of the movie), but it was, I don't know. Lighter. Like the end of a Shakespeare comedy.
> The dream sequence with the tunnel and the trinkets and Howl and black feathers... oh. I was so sad that this wasn't in the book.


If you love the book (also like I do), here are some things you might wish Miyazaki had left alone:
> Sohpie's sisters. There's only Lettie, and she isn't the most integral of characters. There's not any indication that she's even met Howl! Or Michael! Oh, right, because...
> Michael Fisher. Oh, I know. What a little charmer. He may have been my favorite character in the book, but in the movie, he's... not the same at all. Somehow,  Howl's 15-year-old apprentice became a backstory-less eight-year-old named Markl.** And that makes me wonder, is Markl an odd Japanese transliteration of the name Michael? Hmm?
> Howl's backstory. Sadly sadly sadly, there is no jacket that reads, "WELSH RUGBY," even though that was one of my favorite parts of the book.
> The whole Wizard Suliman/Prince Justin thing. Warning: the prince is SO minor, you hardly even know he's an issue, and Wizard Suliman is not missing at all, but a woman (hey-oh, that was a major change) who advises the king. She is the one Sophie climbs all those steps to see. Weird, huh?

My advice for anyone who's been in love with the movie for years, but is hesitant to read the book: do it anyway. It's excellent and fun and beautifully written. It's a different version of the story you already love. There will be new things to enjoy, like seven-league boots, a fiercer-looking Calcifer, a mysterious place called... well, I won't spoil that one.

My advice for anyone who's read the book but hasn't seen the movie: see it. It's excellent and fun and breathtakingly animated. Make sure you watch it in Japanese with subtitles, because that's the way you watch Miyazaki. It's a different version of the story you already love. *smile* There will be new things to enjoy, like flying machines and Howl as a winged, feathered warrior. Just forget what you thought you knew about Diana Wynne Jones' fabulous novel. Hayao Miyazaki definitely puts his own spin to the story. But! What's great about it, is that all the differences (yes, there are still more) make it so uniquely his, and if you are fan of Miyazaki's other works, you know how unique his touches are. It's a testament to Miyazaki and his storytelling that he can almost entirely remake a beloved work, and have it become a new, separate beloved work.

And you will all be glad to know that some things do stay the same. Namely, temper tantrums and green slime. Baha.

*I'm not terribly flummoxed, obviously. I just really wanted to use that word.
** Guess who voiced Markl in the English-dubbed version of the movie? (Answer to be revealed in the next post, which I will probably write immediately instead of going to bed. Ha.)

Extra HMC tidbit: Legos?

And, uh, sorry if you haven't read this book OR seen the movie. I guess it goes without saying that I highly recommend you do both. For once, it's a tie.

How's about a little exit music? This is incredible:

monday mixtape... on sunday?

I had this idea that I would do a regular thing called "Monday Mixtape," wherein I would fascinate you all with my exquisite taste in music.  I made a playlist on iTunes for it and everything.

It was going to be SO awesome.

But then I went to a Greencards concert, and I can't NOT share that with you, even though it's not Monday, and, technically, neither a "mix," nor a "tape."

If you take these two videos, pretend like they took place at the Square Room in Knoxville on Febraury 26th, and imagine the audience sitting at tables with candles and wine, you've got the opening of the show we went to last night.  Sigh.



Don't ask me why the second video is so much smaller.  I have no control over such things... apparently.




These people delight me.  I know this is silly, but I'm even amazed at the... attractiveness of all involved parties.  I mean.  Just look at them.

Australia never made bluegrass look so good.

Well, Australia and the Philippines and Oregon, respectively.

saturday night special: abigail washburn.

When I pick favorites, they tend to stick.  Even after I've found something that speaks to me on a greater, or just profoundly different level, I don't change my answer.  It takes a lot of thinking.  A lot of deciding.  And tonight I'm owning up to my "official" favorite musician.  Abigail Washburn (with and without The Sparrow Quartet), you win.  Any album I can listen to repeatedly for almost a year, and not want to stray from, is rare.  And valued.

And, hey, I saw you at Relix in Knoxville back in November.  One of the best concerts ever.  Now the only thing I have to ask myself is, why was I not at the Blue Plate Special the day you guys played?  Seriously?

Really.  I work right across the street from this place.  I eat lunch there (they make a quality pimento cheese sandwich), from time to time.  How did I miss this?



How many times have I rocked out to that very song while driving past that very building?*  I'll tell you.

Lots.

But it wouldn't be an Abigail Washburn post without my favorite Abigail Washburn song:



Oh.  Oh.  Be still, my heart.

P.s.  I love your hair.

*Yeah, I rock out to bluegrass.  What about it?

how to be alone.

Maybe everybody already knows about this video, but my dear friend, known on the interwebs as Lycaeides, just introduced me to it.  Enjoy.

life with cats.

You see, it's funny because it's true.  Just picture a coffee table instead of a dining table, place mats instead of a tablecloth, and this happens just about every day.

it's like they knew: a pondering of poor adaptations.

::I wrote this in July.  

I didn't post it then because I was too embarrassed.  

I'm over that, now.  

Confession number one:  I heart Avatar: The Last Airbender.  

This post is my love-splurge on the cartoon and subsequent "what-the-bluh?" on the film. ::

I must confess, I do love a good story, with great, well-developed characters, humor, heart, and a compelling plot. I must also confess, I hate it when these things are turned into films that miss the point, no matter how fun they are to look at through those abominable 3D glasses.
Two weeks ago [read: five months ago] at Creative Music and Art camp, our only boy (hereafter referred to as "Little Josh") had an adorable habit of waterbending in the hallway at Munday. I loved it. I even joined him, and we had epic battles in the lobby. Here's a picture of us, mid-showdown:

I'm not trying to be dramatic.  I just can't get the photo to go up any higher.

I was just about giddy when I first realized what Little Josh was doing. I asked, "Are you waterbending?" And he said, "Yeah, watch this one!" I practically squealed, "I love that show!" Little Josh said, "Me too! And my brother loves it too!" And then he taught me how to waterbend. My good friend and fellow counselor, Jesse, who has yet to see the cartoon, said, "What about... groundbending?" And I said, "Earthbending, Jesse, get it right." (Jesse, this is your second shout-out on this blog, which proves that you are super-cool.) [Jesse, now that five months have passed, have you gotten around to watching this show? You still need to. If anyone makes fun of you, you can blame it on me.]

Not many people will take me seriously when I tell them to watch Avatar, the cartoon that came before (and has absolutely nothing to do with) that James Cameron thing. But, trust me, if you're anything like me, you'll enjoy it. Then again, I am continuously, hopelessly drawn to things made for kids (two of my three favorite movies are Spirited Away and How to Train Your Dragon, after all), so take me as seriously as you want.

When I first dove into Avatar: The Last Airbender, I didn't want to tell my husband, knowing he would make fun of me for watching a kids' show, even if just a little bit. And, once I confessed, he did. Then he started watching it too. The next day, he requested that I not watch any more without him. Victory! We finished the whole series in about three weeks. We both laughed out loud, time and again, and I cried SUCH happy tears at the finale. The first thing I said when it was over was, "This does NOT need to be made into a movie."
But, alas, it had already happened, and we could not undo it. Thankfully, I had read enough to know how low my expectations needed to be in order to not throw popcorn at the screen. Actually, I suggested that we not even see the film, or just wait for Netflix, but my Joshua, who loved Avatar as much as I did, could not resist. So, for the first time in possibly forever, I went to see a movie on its opening day. Ha! Oh me.
Well, it wasn't SO bad that I wanted to leave, but I was tempted to take a bathroom break, which would have broken my usual hold-it-no-matter-what standard. In fact, the last time I left a movie to use the restroom (and buy a soda, and dawdle the whole way back) was when my best friend in ninth grade dragged me to see Love & Basketball.
I shouldn't go on and on about the misery of Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, because you can read about that anywhere. Or you can experience it yourself for $10 a piece on a Thursday night, like we did. [Or, you know, rent it, or something.] But I can't help it. Leaving the theater, Joshua had steam coming out his ears and kept saying, "I knew it would be bad, but I didn't know it would be THAT bad!"

I, on the other hand, couldn't stop laughing.  

I don't know what I thought was so funny. It definitely wasn't Sokka, whose lovable goofballery had been sacrificed for a more serious, "brooding" type.  Just look at Jackson Rathbone over there, pursing his lips. Who is this guy? Come to think of it, the whole thing seemed like it was trying to be the "serious version." Why?
[Hold on while I digress:]
Also, half the characters' names were pronounced wrong.  Maybe this is what cracked me up.  "Ahng? Soak-a? Ee-ro? [Ah-vatar?]" I wheezed. "What was that all about?" Joshua replied, "Maybe they changed his name to Soak-a because he always ends up getting wet," which made me laugh even more, because such moments were actually funny in the cartoon, but SO awkward and unnatural in the movie.  
Speaking of awkward pronunciations, none of the actors seemed convinced that they were saying the names right. I felt like every time the girl who played Katara said "Ahng" instead of good ol' "Aang," a tiny part of her died. I bet she'd been a fan of the cartoon, too. In fact, I think the only thing the new pronunciations gained was an alienation of the original fan base. Everything about these actors seemed shy, really. Shy and ill-fitting. Not including Dev Patel, of course, who pretty much set the bar way over everyone else's heads [dare I add, even over the head of the production itself?]. He was the only character I believed, though they totally dumbed down that wicked scar. Considering how great the other characters were originally, and should have been in the film, this makes me more sad than happy. The really funny part, I suppose, is that the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this could have been done right, but wasn't, and we may never know why.  

Oh.  Money.

On the way home, Joshua and I laughed at the fact that the first thing we wanted to do was go back to the cartoon and watch some of it that night, to get the bad taste out of our mouths. So, we did. And then, while perusing the internet for consolation, I found absolutely the best possible thing to make a sour Avatar fan feel better. 
This quote, and its corresponding video.
"Don't worry, folks, this movie isn't a live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but of the Ember Island Players." 

To quote everyone who commented on this on Youtube, " [o.m.g.] it's like they knew!"
I suppose the effects were decent. Buh.

This is what Little Josh said when I asked him if he was excited about the movie: "Yes! It's going to be awesome!" I asked him why he thought so, and he said, "Because, it'll look real, and everything's better when it's real!" I wonder what he thought of it, in the end?

**Addendum: Little Josh and I also went through earthbending and firebending, that afternoon in Munday Lodge. On of the absolute highlights of my summer at camp was when I asked him, "Oh, can you redirect lightening?" And he said, in 100% seriousness, "No, I haven't learned to do that yet." Seriously. I love kids.

proof that the youth are revolting.

Yes, that title is a Five Iron Frenzy reference.  I am the "youth," and here is your proof:

And then Katie and I dyed it:

Which you can't tell AT ALL with it wet/against my pink shirt, so I put on my blue jacket.

It'll totally look redder dry... right?  Maybe not.  We did run out of dye too soon.  Yeah, even after cutting off like 5 inches, my hair is THAT thick.

P.s. I know that video is WEIRD and something is way messed up.  If anyone knows what I did wrong, please inform me.  I am not techno savvy in the least.

EDIT.  I was revolting against long, light brown hair, in case you were wondering.

prized possessions, a shell with shoes on, and some fancy fiddlin'.

Perhaps I changed the look of my blog AGAIN because I wanted to see it as retro blueish... wallpaper.  I don't really have an explanation for this, other than not having found the design that I Absolutely Love yet.

My Katie is here, and we had a well deserved girls night out.  Girls evening out, really.  I finally bought a thing I've had my eyes on for quite some time:

Coconut shell earrings.  I ended up with two pairs, actually.  A light and a dark.  Only $5 each!  And I was all like, yeah I want two!  Then I sat down in front of the full length mirror-- right there in the store-- and wiggled and fumbled until I was finally able to work those fastening posts.  It's not like you can see anything back there.  It was kind of like putting in contacts for the first time.  Hopefully I'll master these the way I mastered that.  Also, Fizz is a really neat place.  Go check out that link.  Jewelry/funky stuff heaven.  Hmm.  Kind of like the rest of Market Square.  But I am not complaining about that.

So, here are 7 things I'm loving right now:

1.  This video:

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Thank you, Leslie.

2.  Coconut earrings.  Check.

3.  Our new kitten, of course.  And the fact that said kitten likes to sleep under the covers.  And that he is nursing on my pinky finger right now.  

4.  Dahlonega, GA.  The name "Dahlonega," which comes from a Cherokee word for gold, is not pronounced, "daluh-NAY-ga," which is what I would have thought, but "dah-LOHN-ega," which is so much more pleasing to my ears.  Everyone in North Georgia is rolling their eyes at me right now, but I wanted to share my delight anyway.

5.  Poetry.  I want to read more of it.

6.  All the music Crooked Still has ever made.  Sampling, here:

7.  The way I feel on fall nights.  Romantic.  Adventurous.  Nostalgic.  Excited for nothing in particular.

That's all, I suppose, though surely I could go on for hours.