Pint-Sized Fred, Sha-Shawty-y

Ahhh. My life now has time to have meaning.

No more physics. No more physics. No more physics.
(well, at least until SAT subject tests next week...)

I be thinkin' that for this post, I might actually stick to a topic (or several).

First off, this last week, while reviewing for my final Inman exam, I was lucky to discover a new amazing talent by the name of Will Thwaites. He's sort of like a "white Lil Wayne" for nerds/literature buffs/white kids who love rap/all of the above (me).
Listening to "Daisy's Lullaby", a rap version of the Great(est?) American Novel: The Great Gatsby, made me fall in love with this suburbian rapper with luscious rhymes and sick beats who attends the Great Catholic University: Notre Dame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiajdDYYMaA

I pretty much informed everyone I know about this video, but in case I missed you, please watch this. Actually reading the novel will heighten the experience by 7 times 77. I recommend it.

But, as much as I adore this video (I have probably contributed to at least 45 of the 47,000+ views), it was "Remix to the Suburbs" that
a) convinced me to visit Notre Dame
b) convinced me to spend this summer developing my rap skills (need suggestions for a rapper name? haha)
c) made finals week as enjoyable as it could possibly have been
d) made me send off a creeper email to Mister Thwaites himself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cg59ob-nFs&feature=related

I also recommend "Blue-Eyed Sunrise" and Will's short videos as well. Checkk him out foshizzle sure.



Next on my list of recommendations is a psychological thriller novel- "The Talented Mr. Ripley" - and all the successive sequels following that. Beware, though. Mr. Ripley is a cold-blooded murderer who is able to rationalize his grotesque acts and convinces you to rationalize them as well. By the end of the first book, I felt sorry for Mr. Ripley and wanted the police to lay off already (I mean, he only killed two people! What's the big deal?). So, if you are mentally unstable, either don't read this book, or avoid people for several weeks following. (I also was nauseous after reading Ripley's Game - numero 3 in the series - Ripley got a bit too involved in the dirty work of the French mafia...) I have yet to see the movie - starring Matt Damon and Jude Law, but my sister assures me it is awful[ly scary].



IN case you want some lighter reading for the summer months, I recommend a delightful murder mystery series which mixes Agatha Christie with a bit of honey and darjeeling. Laura Childs, in her Tea Shop Mysteries, writes a decidedly "chick" book (unlike Patricia Highsmith-author of Ripley's books-who writes decidedly "not chick" books). The one I am reading now, The English Breakfast Murder, has the owner of the Indigo Tea-Shop, Theodosia Browning (amazing name, I know), discover a dead body in the middle of Charleston Bay while she is volunteering at a Save-the-Turtles event. Great, right? My intake of tea has increased exponentially since I started perusing this series. Some titles I recommend: The Teaberry Strangler, Oolong Dead, Chamomile Mourning, and Gunpowder Green. Yes, after reading those nacho-cheesy titles, you are probably thinking that I am kidding about the immense enjoyability of these books.
(P.S. I'm not)

I hope you enjoyed this week's edition of Karen's thoughts. Tune in often, for this summer is going to provide a constant source of blogging inspiration.

The End of Arthropoda

Worms thrive in the dust
Growing fat and contented
Till a bird flies down

Grasshoppers jump high
Ants build their hills all around
Pest Control kills all

Lobsters are pulled fresh
From their normal habitats
Boiled red in a pot

Cockroaches are doomed
Crawling and Creeping around
Crunched under a shoe

Gnats by the fruit bowl
Gnats flying near the compost
Gnats fried by lightbulbs

Though spiders form webs
To capture bothersome flies
They’re flushed anyways

Captivity

Captivity is the burden of humanity, the ropes binding ideas to reality. Captivity is more than a jail cell; it is all of life. Captivity is the cage of a bird or the kennel of a dog. Captivity is the chains that secure Prometheus to his rock. Captivity keeps us from following our dreams.

Captivity is the food we eat, determining our size, and the clothes we wear, determining our appearance. We walk in the shoes of captivity. Captivity tempts us to choose bad over good.

Captivity is the obsession society has with celebrities, alcohol, drugs, passion. Captivity is the reluctance to tear away from the television or Internet.

Captivity knows there is freedom on the other side of the door, but a key is not available. Captivity is fear; fear of bugs, fear of storms, fear of loneliness, fear of people. Captivity is a dark room with no nightlight or moon to shine the light of hope. Captivity is the heart that has been broken and damaged irreparably.

Captivity is the bonds we have with relatives and friends. We feel so obligated to love them that we forget ourselves. Captivity is the awkward conversation with a stranger. Captivity is having a crush on someone else’s date.

Captivity is the bird whose wings have been clipped. Captivity is the lost voice of a singer, the sprain of a dancer, the paralysis of an athlete, the diabetes of a competitive eater, the wrinkles of a model. Captivity is having your dreams crushed time after time. Captivity is the reluctance to try again, in fear that you will fail again.

Captivity is the feeling of helplessness when two cars are about to crash. Captivity is the realization that nothing can change a first impression. Captivity is the sudden consciousness that you really don’t like your friends.

Captivity is a road trip with the whole family. Captivity is being stuck on a full elevator during flu season. Captivity is arriving home after a shopping trip and realizing the security lock is still attached to a sweater. Captivity is sitting at a computer at midnight trying to come up with a thousand words.

Captivity is the tendency of an English teacher to correct a student’s grammar. Captivity is the good book that is impossible to put down or the horrible book that a report is due on tomorrow. Captivity is the show that you can never miss or the Facebook that must always be updated.

Captivity is poverty. No money to travel, to eat at nice restaurants, to buy designer clothes, to go to a concert, to go to college. Captivity is sickness on the first day of spring. Captivity is the lack of talent and lack of motivation to cultivate talent. Pressure to succeed is captivity.

Captivity is hatred, infatuation, zeal, passivity. All we feel, all we are.
However, the opposite of captivity is freedom, and, as we all know, opposites attract.

May the fourth be with you

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...


I don't really like Star Wars. The battle scenes get repetitious, the aliens freak me out, and whenever I see Anakin in the prequel movies, I hear Weird Al singing in my head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANmFVXhyAsk

But, still, I am a fan. As long as Luke isn't on screen, I enjoy the original three movies. A lot. (Sadly, I can't repeat that phrase for the new ones).

And here's why:
1) Harrison Ford- (aka Han Solo) my old man crush. If only he wasn't 67...

Epic quotes:
"I've got a bad feeling about this."

Leia: "Why you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerfherder!"
Han: "Who's scruffy looking?"

"Boba Fett? Boba Fett? Where?"

2) Alec Guinness- (aka Obi-Wan Kenobi)one of my dead old man crushes. Amazing actor (just watch The Bridge Over the River Kwai- a war movie I can actually enjoy). He hated the movies though:
"Guinness recounts grudgingly giving an autograph to a young fan who claimed to have watched Star Wars over 100 times, on the condition that the boy promise to stop watching the film, because, as Guinness told him, "this is going to be an ill effect on your life.""

Epic quotes:
"Obi-Wan Kenobi...Obi-Wan...Now, that's a name I've not heard in a long time...a long time."

"The Force will be with you. Always."

"Why do I sense we've picked up another pathetic life-form?"

3) Yoda- (aka Frank Oz, Grover, etc.) I wish I could talk like him without feeling like a complete dweeb. I also have a thing for big pointy ears (Spock...). I watch the prequels just to see him fight with his little lightsaber.



Epic quotes:
"No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try."

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size do you?"

"Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

4)Carrie Fisher- (aka Leia) because she's Debbie Reynold and Eddie Fisher's daughter and because of this one line:
"Will someone get this big walking carpet outta my way?"
Her hair is kickass too...

5)Chewbacca- inspired by the same dog Indiana Jones was named after. Big, hairy sweetheart.

Epic quote:
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!"
Obi-Wan: "Let the Wookie win!"
"Grrf."


6) Mini Chewbaccas- (aka Ewoks)I want one. Makes me cry every time when the one striped Ewok is killed...



7) The Millenium Falcon
8) C3PO and R2D2
9) The Garbage Crusher scene
10) Any scene with Jabba the Hutt
11) Jar-Jar Binks
12)George Lucas
13) The awful graphics
14) The original final scene of the very last one; before they decided to put Hayden Christensen in to make it correlate to the prequels...and the change in the party song :(
15) The attempt to make it scientifically viable.
16) Parodies of it
17) Darth Vader's asthma problem
18) The Emperor's electrocution
19) I am your father
20) NOOOOOO
21) The instant classification given to Star Wars fans. You watch Star Wars? Nerd.
22) The wacky fan base
23) Lightsabers and blasters
24) Anachronisms
25) Greedo

etc...

May the fourth be with you.
At least for 24 hours.

Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Nerd