I feel like May may be my big month for books. I have a ton on my list and I'll be traveling which is always a good way to get in some more reading. But until then, the movies are quickly outpacing the books for this challenge.
I saw this movie last week that I thought I had blogged about but maybe I didn't (sorry if there is a repeat!). It is called "Disconnect" and it's this dark look into the social media world. I work with social media on a daily basis and see the positives, but I'm not blind to the negative aspect of it which includes things like bullying and "catfishing." Jason Bateman is in the movie as overworked "disconnected" dad and the whole movie follows several different stories and pulls them together into one movie.
The darkness of it was a drastic contrast to the other movie I last saw which was "Pain and Gain" starring The Rock and Mark Wahlberg. I thought it was pretty funny. It's mostly buffoonery, but I was in need of a good laugh. I liked both "Disconnect" and "Pain and Gain" but for obviously different reasons.
Then, to round out my update I saw another Denzel movie - "The Hurricane" - which he won the Golden Globe for for Best Actor. It was a good story about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a middlweight boxer champion who was wrongfully convicted of a murder in the 60s. He has a team of attorneys and a foursome of people dedicated to his case to help free him decades later. The most interesting part about the film was Carter's transformation while in jail and how he handled his circumstances.
Three movies and I'm still working on getting to double digits book-wise. I think I'll be to 50 movies by mid-summer, so maybe I'll have more time to read books? That's what I keep telling myself at least.
Movie #20: Disconnect
Movie #21: Pain and Gain
Movie #22: The Hurricane
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Sunday Randomness
Sunday is my favorite day to write. I usually don't put a lot on my calendar just in case I want to sleep the afternoon away. Planning for a nap isn't the worst idea let me say. But whether I have anything important to say (isn't it all important?) or I just want to "clear my thoughts" writing helps with that.
So this Sunday I have some random things on my mind:
1. I know in my blog I post a lot about my dreams. They are so vivid and weird and real to me that I consciously try to figure out what my subconscious is trying to tell me as I sleep. I had several dreams last night. In one there was a skunk loose in the house. Except when the skunk ran by me it just looked like a black and white cat. Everyone wanted to catch the skunk and I said, "Why don't you just open the door and let it out?" Which is what I did in the dream.
Dreammoods.com has this to say about the dream:
To see a skunk in your dream suggests that you are driving people away or turning them off. Alternatively, the dream indicates that your suppressed anger is on the verge of exploding. You are not expressing your true feelings even though you do not agree with a decision.
Well, that's just great.
Who am I driving away? How do I make it stop? Who have I offended in the last week? Better question: Who haven't I? Or, I have suppressed anger? The last part of the dream interpretation could be true, but how do I fix this problem without fearing backlash? And what about the fact that the "skunk" in my dream was really a cat? Am I being paranoid about driving people away? Am I ignoring my anger?
I wish I could just have normal dreams about Ryan Gosling instead.
2. I hate when things that I know shouldn't annoy me annoy me. My friend and I were talking about how it feels seeing ex-crushes/boyfriends/flings get engaged. It shouldn't be annoying, but it is. Like they couldn't get it together when they were on our radar, but magically with the power of time, they are committed enough to get engaged?! Some other girl is reaping the rewards for all the hard work we put in to deal with their nonsense, make them better people, hold them accountable for their actions? Annoying!
3. The other day my co-workers and I were talking about the foods we eat when we want to feel "fatty." My fatty, let me sit on the couch and be a slug food is Long John Silvers fried fish with fries and hush puppies. It tastes like it's been fried in butter. It's fantastic. Eating healthy is a constant struggle for me. Maybe LJS is less my fatty food and more my rebellious food. Like so what, I still like heart-clogging, half-hearted attempts at fast food.
4. I'm devoting 15 minutes today to writing. Not blog, word vomit writing but real, let's try to write a novel here writing. This will most likely happen after my nap.
Happy Sunday!
So this Sunday I have some random things on my mind:
1. I know in my blog I post a lot about my dreams. They are so vivid and weird and real to me that I consciously try to figure out what my subconscious is trying to tell me as I sleep. I had several dreams last night. In one there was a skunk loose in the house. Except when the skunk ran by me it just looked like a black and white cat. Everyone wanted to catch the skunk and I said, "Why don't you just open the door and let it out?" Which is what I did in the dream.
Dreammoods.com has this to say about the dream:
To see a skunk in your dream suggests that you are driving people away or turning them off. Alternatively, the dream indicates that your suppressed anger is on the verge of exploding. You are not expressing your true feelings even though you do not agree with a decision.
Well, that's just great.
Who am I driving away? How do I make it stop? Who have I offended in the last week? Better question: Who haven't I? Or, I have suppressed anger? The last part of the dream interpretation could be true, but how do I fix this problem without fearing backlash? And what about the fact that the "skunk" in my dream was really a cat? Am I being paranoid about driving people away? Am I ignoring my anger?
I wish I could just have normal dreams about Ryan Gosling instead.
2. I hate when things that I know shouldn't annoy me annoy me. My friend and I were talking about how it feels seeing ex-crushes/boyfriends/flings get engaged. It shouldn't be annoying, but it is. Like they couldn't get it together when they were on our radar, but magically with the power of time, they are committed enough to get engaged?! Some other girl is reaping the rewards for all the hard work we put in to deal with their nonsense, make them better people, hold them accountable for their actions? Annoying!
3. The other day my co-workers and I were talking about the foods we eat when we want to feel "fatty." My fatty, let me sit on the couch and be a slug food is Long John Silvers fried fish with fries and hush puppies. It tastes like it's been fried in butter. It's fantastic. Eating healthy is a constant struggle for me. Maybe LJS is less my fatty food and more my rebellious food. Like so what, I still like heart-clogging, half-hearted attempts at fast food.
4. I'm devoting 15 minutes today to writing. Not blog, word vomit writing but real, let's try to write a novel here writing. This will most likely happen after my nap.
Happy Sunday!
50/50 Challenge: Could I Read Any Slower?
I feel like I used to be a really fast reader. But I find more and more I go through spurts. One weekend I read three whole books! Granted, two of the three books were about 200 pages, but still three books is sometimes more than I read in weeks.
For this challenge, I keep thinking we're more than a third of the way through the year and I still have 40 books to read! Holy shit, how is this going to happen? But one thing that was so kind for the person who runs the @fiftyfiftyme Twitter account said was, "Hey, you're 7 books ahead of most of America!" So then I thought, well, regardless of whether I actually complete this challenge (which doesn't have a prize mind you) is that I'm reading more, which is the overall goal and I should be happy about that.
I still have not hit double digits, although I should by the end of this month. Book #9 was "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah. It's a story that spans over three decades and follows the very intense friendship between two women through their teenage years and as they grow into adults. It has a very "Beaches" feel, but it's one of the longer of her books. Apparently, this book has a sequel too that is coming out this year (possibly next month?) and I'm interested with how the author follows it up.
Kristin Hannah, for those who have not read her writing, is a very formula type writer. Meaning, much like Nicholas Sparks or a Jodi Picoult, she targets one central "issue" and really makes a strong voice for her characters so readers can get attached to them. She's a writer that has easy-to-read books. I've read a few of her books now.
So I'm still trucking along and have decided that if I reach my goal by the end of the year and complete the challenge that I'm going to reward myself. I'm not sure yet what the prize will be, but a personal sense of fulfillment will most likely not be enough for me.
Book #9: "Firefly Lane" - Kristin Hannah
For this challenge, I keep thinking we're more than a third of the way through the year and I still have 40 books to read! Holy shit, how is this going to happen? But one thing that was so kind for the person who runs the @fiftyfiftyme Twitter account said was, "Hey, you're 7 books ahead of most of America!" So then I thought, well, regardless of whether I actually complete this challenge (which doesn't have a prize mind you) is that I'm reading more, which is the overall goal and I should be happy about that.
I still have not hit double digits, although I should by the end of this month. Book #9 was "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah. It's a story that spans over three decades and follows the very intense friendship between two women through their teenage years and as they grow into adults. It has a very "Beaches" feel, but it's one of the longer of her books. Apparently, this book has a sequel too that is coming out this year (possibly next month?) and I'm interested with how the author follows it up.
Kristin Hannah, for those who have not read her writing, is a very formula type writer. Meaning, much like Nicholas Sparks or a Jodi Picoult, she targets one central "issue" and really makes a strong voice for her characters so readers can get attached to them. She's a writer that has easy-to-read books. I've read a few of her books now.
So I'm still trucking along and have decided that if I reach my goal by the end of the year and complete the challenge that I'm going to reward myself. I'm not sure yet what the prize will be, but a personal sense of fulfillment will most likely not be enough for me.
Book #9: "Firefly Lane" - Kristin Hannah
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