St. Clement

This actually isn't about St. Clement at all....it just reminded me of that rhyme:
Oranges and Lemons, say the bells of St. Clement's....
Anyways. I wrote this when I was very bored the other day. I honestly don't know very much about it. It is very odd. So odd, you may give me funny looks next time I see you. But, after all, desperate times call for desperate measures. No one has posted anything for a very long time! Someone needs to save the blog from utter ruin! Esmeralda to the rescue! (:-P) I needed something to post, and something quick. Thus, I give you,

Lemons on Sunday

P.S. There are a few wonky allegories in this. So wonky, you may wonder if I actually understand the meaning of allegory. However, I'm curious to see if any of you can figure out what all it means. If you can't, that's ok. It prolly doesn't make much sense. It made sense in my head :-P


'I do like lemons,' he said.
He was gazing out to the street, not looking at her. She was staring at her feet.
'Yes,' she murmured, 'But limes are far more effective.'
'Oh, I don't think so.' He leaned back against the wall. His voice was drawling and bantering. 'Lemons can hide things, sour things that certain people shouldn't see.'
'Yes, but limes are stronger,' she replied. 'They can keep certain people from coming in. They are too slippery for attackers.'
She turned to him, her face earnest, almost pleading.
He glanced at her, one eyebrow raised, then turned his gaze back to the cold street.
'So you prefer limes to lemons?' he asked in a rather acidic voice.
She blushed. 'I'm not saying I like either of them, actually. As far as it goes, I'd rather have a strawberry, or a peach, or an apple-' She stopped, and quickly put her hand over her mouth. She had been disturbed by his coldness, wasn't thinking clearly in her effort to defend herself. She had let-that word- slip out. She had said it. What would he think of her now?
She was trembling now, shifting her feet.
He turned to her. His face was like stone.
'What did you say?'
His voice seemed to have grown deeper. Her mind went blank. Fear swept over her. She tried to speak, but her voice shook.
'No, no, I- I didn't mean- don't think- oh, please-don't be mad at me!'
She was near tears. She couldn't look at his face. A tear slid down her cheek and plopped onto her shoe as she waited fearfully for him to respond. She was both dreading and hoping his words. She finally summoned enough nerve to look up- and he was gone. She let out a wail, and fell down weeping on the steps.

Speaking of the Matrix...

Neo!!!!!!!! :)

The Matrix

A while ago some of us were talking about The Matrix. Some of us had seen it, some of us hadn’t. I think it’d be cool to have another sleep over and watch it together…a Matrix Party! I’ve seen it, so I decided to do a post on it to get us all excited about it :-P
Now, the Matrix is rated R, I think for violence. I’d never seen an R rated movie before so I was pretty excited. I can’t say I saw the whole thing though…my younger siblings were watching so we skipped a scene or two. We don’t have Clearplay, but we have my dad, which is just as good :-P He remembers where every obscene swearword is and every inappropriate scene. And there was a lot of swearing. BUT despite the constant muting it was AMAZING. I mean, you know a movie’s epic when they all wear black leather clothes and sunglasses and carry so many guns they just throw them away when they’re done with them and pull out some new ones. You also know a movie’s epic when it’s about rebelling against world domination. I love those kinds of movies. The Lord of the Rings, the first Narnia, Star Wars, and (if you think about it) I am Legend. There’s a big bad guy (in this case, a computer program) who’s taking over the world, and a small group of good guys try to get rid of the big bad guy. It’s also very much science fiction (with the whole ‘what is reality’ thing going on and the Matrix itself and all the computer programs), which makes me love it even more. :)
I also loved the imagery going on with the names. The hero’s name is Neo, Latin for New. Very appropriate, since Neo is the One they’ve been looking for and the only One who can save them, etc etc.
The leader of the good guys is Morpheus. The name Morpheus is from the Greek (or Greekish word) morph, or change. After all, what bigger change could there be than bringing down the matrix? His name could also be Orpheus with an M stuck on the front. Orpheus sang so beautifully that the very rocks were moved…I guess you could say Morpheus was effective in moving Neo and the others…hahah but that’s going a little far maybe….
The heroine’s name is Trinity. Now, I wonder what they were trying to get across with her name?
The colony of people rebelling against the Matrix is called Zion. The city of God. Interesting, no?
I also liked the Oracle. It seemed like such a Greek, archaic thing to have in the midst of black sunglasses and guns. And the kids in the Oracle’s house were all in Greekish robes and doing Jedi-things with spoons…it all seems sort of unearthly and archaic…and then you meet the Oracle. Haha! That whole scene seemed so ironic.
Along with Zion and Trinity, I noticed a couple other…idk… similarities that reminded me of the story of Jesus…maybe I’m going a little far…if you’ve seen the movie you can tell me what you think. So, Neo is supposed to be the Savior (obvious parallel there). He is betrayed by that creepy wimpy dude (Judas-figure) in to the hands of the Agents. When they are trapped, he lets Trinity go through the telephone (giving up his life for hers). The agents then attack him. He has a few moments when he either dies or is so close to death they all believe he’s dead. But then he gets ‘resurrected’ and defeats the agents (which, btw, is THE most awesome scene in the whole movie). Obviously, Neo is of course sinful and not without fault, and the story doesn’t follow that of Christ’s passion perfectly, and I’m not trying to make it. I just noticed some interesting parallels :)
The thing that bugged me most about the Matrix: The fact that Neo is “guilty of every internet crime”. And when he has that underhanded dealing with those creeps in the first bit…It’s not a big part of the story, but it bugged me that the Hero used to be a criminal, even if it was in the Matrix.
The part I liked the most: Of course, the most redeeming part of the movie is when Neo decides to save Morpheus, even though he risks death and the ruin of their ship, instead of killing Morpheus to let themselves escape.
I also loved that a déjà vu is a glitch in the Matrix; when they change something…. RUN!
There is no spoon.
And they had a martial arts fight scene :-P
So, yeah, epic movie.

Music tag thingy

Ok, so this doesn't really have anything to do with literature, but it's music...which is still the Arts.... :-P Besides, I figured maybe there were people who needed cheering up and thought it would be a good idea to post something fun!


Put your iPod on shuffle and press FW for each question. Use each song title to answer each question!


1) How am I feeling today? Paper Heart – All American Rejects
2) Will I get far in life? Deathbed – Relient K. Ouch.
3) How do my friends see me? The Bird and the Worm- Owl City4) Where will I get Married? Swallowed in the sea- Coldplay; now that doesn’t bode well, does it?
5) What is my best friend's theme song? The Call-Regina Spektor. Yes, definitely.
6) What is the story of my life? Falling out – Relient K. Haha, isn’t it just.
7. What is/was highschool like? Hey Stephen- Taylor Swift. NOT. I don’t even know any Stephens.
8. How can I get ahead in life? Move Along- ARR. Sage advice, I suppose.
9. What is the best thing about me? Fearless-Taylor Swift. Indeed :-P
10. How is today going to be? Love Story-Taylor Swift. Hahah.
11. What is in store for this weekend? Lothlorien – LOTR sound track. Hey, wouldn’t that be cool!
12. What song describes my parents? Lion-o. Haha. I’m not sure my mom would appreciate that…
13. How is my life going? Tidal Wave – Owl City. You could say that I guess.
14. What song will they play at my funeral? California- Hawk Nelson
Let’s pack up and move to California, hop on board before we get older…hmmm
15. How does the world see me? Must have done something right- Relient K. HA
16. Will I have a happy life? Who I am hates who I’ve been- Relient K. Uh- oh
17. What do my friends really think of me? The Hardest Part- Coldplay. Really?
18. What should I do with my life? Rush of blood to the head- Coldplay
19. What is some good advice for me? Change your mind- The Killers. Hahaha!
20. How will I be remembered? Viva la Vida- Coldplay. Huh.
21. What is my signature dancing song? Strawberry Swing- Coldplay. There ya go!
22. What does everyone else think my current theme song is? Bring me to Life - Evanescence…Seriously?
23. What best describes my personality? A Beautiful let-down- Switchfoot. Oh dear.
24. What do I like in a guy? Halo –Beyonce. HAHAHAHAHA
25. What is my motto? Fidelity- Regina Spektor. Haha!
26. What do I think about often? Vanilla Twilight – Owl City
27. What do I want to be when I grow up? Stay Beautiful-Taylor Swift. Don’t I wish…
28. What do I think of my best friend? Never Alone – Barlow Girl
29. What do I think when I see the person I like? Breathe – Taylor Swift haha!
30. What song will I dance to at my wedding? Falling apart- AAR. Oh boy, wouldn’t that be sickeningly ironic….
31. What is my biggest secret? White Horse. Um.
Now it’s your turn…. :)

Alice in Wonderland!!!

So, technically, Saturday is my day to post, but I’m having a crazy weekend, so I thought I’d do it early to make sure it gets in. :-P

ALICE IN WONDERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Technically speaking, this isn’t really a review; it’s more of a rave. I loved it. Everything appealed to me; it’s crazy weirdness (typical Tim Burton), the characters, everything! It really was clever to place the story a few years ahead as a sort of sequel instead of making ‘a movie out of the book’. They could make up their own plot without Lovers of the Book yelling at them and accusing them of murder.

It had all my favorite actors:

Johnny Depp! (I’ve only seen him as Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka; but that’s enough to make me like him.) As the Mad Hatter, he was crazy and brave and sweet and weird and hilarious and sincere without appearing forced and wacky all at once. I loved his dance at the end. :-P

Helena Bonham Carter! She was SO AWESOME as Belatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter. Her role there was similar to the Red Queen; a delusional Villainess. Although, I have to say, I loved how they made the Red Queen a more complex character than just an essence-of-evil villain; she is the way she is because of a background of estrangement and lack of love. You can almost see glimmers of hope for her when she says, “Is it not better to be feared than loved? I’m not sure any more.” (Though of course she denies it in the end). And you can’t help feeling sorry for her when that creepy creep with the eye patch tries to kill her. She thought he loved her! What a creep he was! JERK!

Excuse me.

Continuing:

Anne Hathaway!!!!!! Her makeup was pretty wacky. But I liked her as the white queen. She made me laugh. I want to walk the way she did in the movie in the store one day and see how people react.

Stephan Fry! (He was only the Cheshire cat’s voice, but he’s still awesome). The Cheshire cat gave me bad dreams, though. His grin. Freaks me out.

Alan Rickman! Again, he only did the voice of the Caterpillar, but doesn’t he have the coolest

voice ever?
And Alice. Actually, I found Alice a little annoying on occasion - her attitude just seemed so typical of the young movie heroine. But what I really liked was what they did with the whole Fabjous Day (Calloo! Callay!) Battle and Alice being the champion. Usually, when movies have a girl do the killing they’re trying to score a point for their Feminist views, sort of a So there! Girls can fight too! But in this movie they didn’t seem to emphasis the fact that Alice is a girl fighting and winning, but rather Alice as a person who has lost her muchness, and is finding it again. It’s not about Feminism, or telling us girls can do that as well as boys; it’s about gaining personal courage to do the right thing. Queen Susan fighting with the boys in Prince Caspian? A jab from the feminists. Alice fighting the Jabberwocky? Anything but.

I didn’t think they should have let the Jabberwocky talk. It’s less scary that way. But his purple blood was cool.

And I loved the dog :) He was so sweet!

The movie was also hilarious. In some parts I couldn’t breathe for laughter! I have GOT to own that movie when it comes out on DVD!

Another thing: Though it was weird, it wasn’t merely weirdness with no point. It had a structured plot. It was funny without being cheesy or forced. The characters had depth (though those depths may have been just more craziness) :-P And I liked the song during the credits.

I need a pig here!

So yeah :) I loved it. I told you this post wasn’t going to be much more than saying over and over how much I liked it. But there it is. Beware, I shall quote it often in the future.

Take 6

Something odd. I enjoy these guys in short doses. They actually have a very cool David and Goliath song, but there wasn't a good version on youtube.
Their singing is amazing and always without accompaniment. Just thought I'd post something (and something rather odd) since I missed my day.




Enjoy,
Miss Pickwickian

84 Charing Cross Road.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a very short and sweet book. A compilation of the letters of Helene Hanff, and Frank Doel, the proprietor of an English book shop (I like how she used the term "book shop" instead of "book store"), and, eventually, the remainder of the book shop staff, and the wife of the proprietor. Very witty and charming.
The movie, I confess, was more appealing, as it showed the story of the writers of the letters. It starred Anthony Hopkins (one of my all-time favouritest actors), as the book shop proprietor, and Anne Bancroft, as the New York City playwright with peculiar taste in antiquarian books.
The movie makers faithfully used the majority of the letters found in the book.
I think I'd like to read some more of Hanff's works, since the way she wrote her letters was funny, witty, sometimes sharp, but very likeable. There was humor sprinkled liberally throughout the whole thing, along with the sweet, the touching, and, in one or two cases, the sad.

I wish English book shops of the sort existed today. I'd strike up a correspondence with the proprietor, or manager, or whoever would sell me the books, and become fast friends, and, eventually, go to England personally.

View all my reviews >>

Thus the review of Me. I'll try to have something more elaborate for next week. ;)
Thanks for reading!
Love you all!
- aisha