I've Moved

In the spirit of a no-longer-college life, I've moved to a non-college blog. It's doubtful that I'll keep updating this blog. Visit my new personal blog here, or my professional freelance writing site here.

On Pause

As you may have noticed, I'm taking a little break from the blogosphere. I feel like I have a lot so say, but I need time to process everything. I prefer to do that right now by reading, laying in the sun, and walking a lot - not blogging. I need a little time to decompress. I'll be back, I promise. But for a short while, this blog is on pause.

I graduated...

...more on this later.

Postsecret

As I near the end of my college career, I wonder how many of my professors feel this way...
Part of me totally sympathizes.

I'm now approximately 96% of the way through my end-of-semester assignments. The comprehensive exams are done (and I got honors! yay!), the Sophie Kerr portfolio is handed in to the appropriate people, and my reading has slowly started to move into the "pleasure" category. Just two more days and I'm done!

Kick-Ass Movie Review (a little late... because I forgot I wrote it...)

“Kick-Ass” is a funny, smart, and exciting take on the superhero movie, but it’s certainly not for everyone. Words like “revolting” and “morally reprehensible” have been thrown around in reference to the film, which is based on a graphic novel and features its fair share of violence and over-the-top gore. However, in the tradition of movies like “Kill Bill,” “Kick-Ass” uses that gore not for mere for shock value, but to satirize a genre and make a point. The movie cleverly shakes up the superhero genre and is hugely entertaining at the same time.

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a quiet, nerdy high school student who, on a whim, buys a green wetsuit off the internet and attempts to fight crime as his city’s first real “superhero.” Having no powers or skills, however, he quickly finds himself in over his head, at which point he discovers the existence of true superheroes “Big Daddy” (Nicolas Cage) and “Hit Girl” (Chloe Moretz). That’s where things start to get intense.

The title of the movie is a bit of a misnomer, since the movie pays equal attention to the plotlines of all the characters. Because there is no single main character, the story can seem disjointed at times, and not all the character arcs are satisfying. Kick-Ass himself is only a part of the story, and many may find themselves rooting for other characters while Kick-Ass spends a lot of his time wallowing in inadequacy.

The gore in “Kick-Ass” is nothing that hasn’t already been seen in any Quentin Tarantino flick or other movies based on comic books –the main point of contention for a lot of people, though, is the fact that an eleven-year-old girl is the one primarily doling out that gore (having been trained from birth by her father to be a stone cold killer). But Moretz plays Hit Girl with impressive self-assurance, and I find it hard to fault any movie that has a girl not only taking part in the action, but also dominating it (without donning a leather push-up bra or hotpants, no less).

Though Hit Girl tends to steal the stage, all of the characters are well cast: Johnson as the nerdy but loveable Dave/Kick-Ass, Cage as the creepy but also caring Big Daddy, and Mintz-Plasse (of “Superbad” fame) as the rich kid trying to get his dad’s approval.

“Kick-Ass” more than your average superhero movie, though, because it takes on a premise that most viewers never question – the assumption that superheroes like Spiderman and Batman are “good,” not to mention sane, despite the fact that they routinely murder people – and shows how deranged or deluded a person would have to be to actually do what superheroes do. Big Daddy and Hit Girl are basically Batman and Robin (Cage even mimics Adam West), except the delight they take in slaughtering people is a whole lot scarier than anything Batman ever did and the moral questions are much more far-reaching.

But mainly, “Kick-Ass” is just plain fun. It’s hilarious and dark, and definitely a movie worth seeing. Just don’t take a page on parenting from Big Daddy by bringing your kids or younger siblings to see it. The five-year-old girl sitting behind me in the theater didn’t seem to like it very much.

Looking Forward to Summer

So as I slooowly inch toward the end of the semester, I've started thinking about the summer and what I want to do. I mean, I plan to make money (I have two jobs lined up), and take a summer course at the local community college, and I'll be thinking about my future and all that... but what about the fun things? The things I actually want to think about? Let's focus on those things, shall we?

Read. I want to read a lot. As I mentioned, I just got a Kindle and have been going nuts looking at all the cheap - or free - books available. I've been downloading, making lists, and generally reveling in all the bookness. I can't wait to spend hours in the sun reading whatever I want.

Cook and bake. Last summer Sarah and I met once a week to cook something new, and I did a lot of experimenting with an awesome vegetarian cookbook I have (not because I'm vegetarian, but because I love vegetables). I hope to do more of that this summer, as well as try out some recipes from my new cupcake book! Cupcakes shaped like pool balls, here I come!

Walk. And I mean a lot. Sarah and I plan to walk our dogs together as often as possible, and I wan to just walk more in general.

Also, drive. This'll be the first summer that I can go visit Corey and he won't have to make all the trips to see me! Plus, I've been driving all year and gotten almost totally comfortable behind the wheel, but it would be good to keep getting experience. I want to walk as much as possible, but I also want to keep it up with the driving.

Get some sun. Corey will kill me for saying this, but seriously. I'm as pale as pale gets, and I wouldn't mind laying out just a little and getting some hint of life in my skin. It would be nice if my legs didn't glow in the dark.

Enjoy it. This might be last summer without a real, full time job - in fact, I hope it is! So I plan to live it up, baby.

What about you guys? What are your summer plans/goals/hopes?

I chose this picture purely for my own amusement.

I am currently working on what I now not-so-affectionately refer to as my Stupid Sophie Kerr Submission. Frankly, I’m hating this thing. If you don’t know, the Sophie Kerr Prize is a money prize given to one graduating senior for writing. Last year the prize was something like $60,000. So… I don’t know, it’s kind of high pressure, in that that’s a lot of money and I’m an English major and a creative writing minor, so of course I’m submitting a portfolio and of course I want to win. On the other hand, I’m realistic about my chances of winning – there are many, many great writers in my class – so it’s also kind of a pain. Not that I don’t appreciate the chance to win thousands and thousands of dollars, but… in a way, I sort of don’t, if that makes sense. I wouldn’t necessarily mind sailing out of college, just passing my classes and getting the hell out, nothing to worry about except what's happening after the graduation ceremony. Instead, I have this portfolio, and eventually the announcement of the winner (announced for the first time at graduation), looming overhead, and it doesn’t really feel... well, at the moment it doesn't feel fun or exciting or anything.

But anyway. I’m home for a few days for a doctor’s appointment and to finish up my portfolio. I think I needed to come home for my sanity, as readying this portfolio has gotten on my last nerve. Revising old essays and articles, looking over poems for (literally, I think) the millionth time, writing the “perfect” introduction; it’s starting to feel overwhelming. Being home, though, has made it a little easier for me to breathe. Hopefully I’ll be going back to school on Sunday with a completed portfolio that I can hand over and not think about ever again.

On the bright side, however, is my awesome new birthday present from Corey – my Kindle! Yes, Corey is insane and got me a Kindle. This may mean he never wants to hang out with me again and is simply softening the blow… or he just doesn’t realize how much I plan to read on that thing. Because let me tell you, it is awesome. I’m madly in love. I’ve already read two books, downloaded a third, and bought a rough-and-tumble case for it so I can take it with me everywhere. Whatever doubts I had about reading on an electronic device (you may remember my debate with myself) have disappeared, because it is just that great.

To be honest, an English major doesn’t seem to have much time for reading. Not for pleasure reading, anyway. For the last four years I’ve been taking at least two or three (or four) English classes per semester, meaning I’ve been reading multiple class-assigned books almost all the time. Now, though, well. I'm not going to be an English major anymore (a strange, slightly disorienting thought that I will not dwell on now). With my college career nearly over, I can read whatever I want! And, oh, I plan to. (I dare say it may re-Kindle my passion for reading! Har har.) With thousands of books at my fingertips, ready to be bought (usually for half price or less) and downloaded in a matter of seconds, I plan to read a whole lot this summer. Like I said, poor Corey. Such good intentions…

Super Sunday

I know that's a really lame post title, but I don't care. I've used all my brainpower for the weekend writing my comprehensive exams, and now I'm done! Yay! I don't know when they'll let me know if I passed or not, but considering I managed to write two on-topic essays, I'm pretty sure I didn't fail. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, though writing an essay covering five books in less than two hours was kind of tricky for me to pull off. In any case, it's nice to be able to stop having nightmares about essay topics like "the old man in literature" and "the effect of setting on story."

So anyway. Today is my birthday! And it has been quite lovely. My parents and Gram came to visit and took Corey and me out to lunch. They gave me lots of presents even though I told them I didn't need anything! However, being the intuitive person that my mother is, she realized I needed something that I didn't even know I needed: this book. It's a book full of amazing cupcake recipes. For example, I can choose from making cupcakes that look like little dogs (they explain how to make at least ten different breeds), flying butterflies, or a bowl of spaghetti! Honestly, you can't even imagine the possibilities. Now I seriously can't wait to graduate so I can move back home and bake cupcakes.

Speaking of graduation, now that I'm done comps there is, presumably, almost nothing that can keep me from graduating! I consider this a positive thing, despite the fact that I have very few plans or prospects. I do, however, have my entire summer planned out, money-making schemes included, so that's good. I mean, now that I have this cupcake book, I plan to set up shop on my street corner and hope for the best.

The F-Word

I am a feminist. In fact, I’m a proud feminist. I believe in equal rights for women, equal pay for equal work, and the right for women to decide what to do with their own bodies. I think most people (or, at least, most women) would agree that’s a good thing. Maybe they’d even agree that they believe in those things, too. And yet, when I ask some of my friends if they, too, are proud of being feminists, they reply, “Well, I wouldn’t say I’m a feminist…”

Oh, really?

But you do believe women should have equal rights? You believe that men shouldn’t be paid more than women simply because they have penises? You believe women should have control over their own bodies?

You do?

Then guess what? Light bulb: you’re a feminist.

I feel like I’ve said this before, but apparently “feminism” is a far more subversive word than I realized. I hate to be pushy, but frankly I’m getting a little tired of having to defend what I think are some widely-shared opinions, simply because other people refuse to admit to a label that accurately and succinctly describes those opinions. I know many women are afraid to identify as feminists, because in subscribing to that label they may also have labels imposed upon them; labels like “man-hater,” “feminazi,” and even, absurdly, “lesbian.” Every time I think “feminist” might be losing some of those baseless associations, articles like Susannah Breslin’s most recent (inflammatory, ill-researched, rambling, and poorly-written) post pop up in my newsfeed and make me think twice. To quote Breslin:

“Every once in a while, I read Feministing, a ponderously feminist blog written by a collective of women who appear to be very angry about the patriarchy, misogyny, and, well, dudes in general, and they are not going to take it anymore, dammit!

To combat the rising tide of all-things-guy, they complain about sexism, posit themselves as victims, and agree to band together to fight an enemy that I never seem quite able to locate.

As a friend of mine likes to say: Isn’t this movement dead already?”

Yeah. Not exactly complimentary. According to Breslin, feminists are irrationally angry, actively seeking out nonexistent reasons to hate “dudes in general.” Harsh. Also egregiously untruthful. Because you know what? The patriarchy isn’t some made-up, magical land – it’s the world we live in, and for every woman's sake I sure hope that feminism isn't dead. Consider this: we live in a world where only 6% of rapists will serve time in jail, where 4 in 10 businesses worldwide have no women in their senior management, where women earn less than men in 99% of occupations, a world where many consider women too stupid to know what's best for their own minds and bodies. (Reflect for a moment on the meaning of that coat hanger image.) I could go on, but tell me: does that not sound like a patriarchal society to you? Yes, women have far more rights than they used to (erm, thanks to feminism), but that doesn’t mean we’ve reached equality yet, or that there aren’t people out there fighting to take rights away from women. Yes, those people actually do exist (*cough*SarahPalin*cough*GeorgeBush*cough*).

And to those of you who say that you don’t personally feel oppressed as a woman, well, in all honesty, neither do I. But is being white reason enough not to care about racism, or to pretend it doesn’t exist? I hope not. The fact is, just because I don’t personally feel the effects of sexism or misogyny right now, that doesn’t mean there aren’t millions of women in the world who do. And it doesn’t mean that I won’t be feeling the effects of sexism ten years down the line, when I’m making less money than a man for doing the exact same job. Or that I won’t feel the effects of the patriarchy when I go to fill my birth control prescription and am refused because birth control is “against the pharmacist’s personal beliefs.”

As for those of you who simply don’t like labels, fine. I won’t force one on you. But maybe you should consider why you aren’t willing to bear a label that simply says you believe in equality for women. I mean, really think.

“Feminist” shouldn't be a dirty word. Yes, it has connotations that are less than flattering, but the only way to overcome those connotations is to change how feminism is perceived. The easiest way to change the perception of feminism, in my opinion, to wear the label proudly and unashamedly, and to be the best example of a feminist you can be. Can’t we at least agree on that?

Honestly, I can't believe that in my last weeks of college, this is what I'm most driven to write about. But I felt it needed to be said, yet again.

For You: WAC Zombies II

So while I've been incredibly lazy about posting on my blog, I've been quite industrious in the non-digital world. I've been writing papers, studying for comps, revising poems, meeting with professors, making summer plans and trying my hardest to fend off intense senioritis. I'm really only here to say that I'll be continuing to do the aforementioned things for at least a few more weeks, so posting here may be sparse (graduating, after all, is my first priority...). However, in lieu of a real post, I give you this treat: Corey's winning 24-Hour Challenge movie! Watch part one here, then watch part two here (with bloopers!). It's quite funny and worth a watch, I promise.