So, Walt Whitman walks into a bar wearing rainbow hippie pants...

I haven't shown you my awesomely nerdy hippie pants yet. I made them about two months ago. They started out as a pair of jeans that I didn't wear very often. Brynne slitted them at the front and back and added triangles of denim fabric cut from some other pants to make the flares very, very wide. Then I took a set of rainbow Sharpies (left over from my tie-dying efforts here and here) and wrote the first half of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself on them.

Those of you out there who have read John Green's Paper Towns will surely appreciate the reference, as the poem is a major plot point in the book.

Front view:
Side-ish view:

Detail:

And the wonderful flares:

bemoaning the popularity of Twilight

More than ever, I'm shocked and a little bewildered at the popularity of Twilight, both the movie and the books. As someone who wasn't able to make it through the first book, I don't feel qualified to make judgements about it, but I have seen the movie, and therefore this video and article really hit home with me, and embodies the reasons for my disgust with the series. 

"Winter Moon" covers

So. Aunt Sarah is printing hard copies of her latest novel (which has yet to be published) and asked me to design the cover.  If anyone wants to order it you can contact Sarah at dr.sarahwoodbury -at- gmail -dot- com. The horror ones were just for my own amusement, but I've included them anyway. 

 

These first two I love, even though the second doesn't quite fit the tone of the book: 

The next few are horrific:

 

And she ended up picking this one: 

My absolute favourite: 

The end. 

bopity-bop*

I'm only popping (bopping, popping, what's the difference?) in here to tell you that I've been reading madly this past week and that anybody who hasn't read anything by Terry Pratchett should go and read some of his Discworld books immediately, and that anybody who hasn't heard of Diana Wynne Jones should go and remedy that sad state of affairs. 

Now I'm off to decide which book I want to read after I finish The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones. :)

----------------------

*You're supposed to say "bop" before I finish! 

sorry for going AWOL

Lately I have been: 

1. reveling in the mindlessness that is watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. learning how to crochet
3. making an afghan with the aforementioned skills
4. reading
5. rearranging the room Brynne and I share
6. catching up on sleep

I'll probably post a picture of the afghan when it gets done. That may be a while though. 

no pithy title

I'm sitting in the Little Rock airport using up my computer battery. I know that I'll regret it later, but I really don't wont to read the Terry Brooks book I have, because it's bad enough to actively annoy me, and I don't have another book. Plus, being on my computer lets me people-watch without them knowing that I'm doing so. 

Oh! I read Paper Towns yesterday, and it definitely was the best book I've read this year. (I know that isn't saying much since the year isn't even half over yet, but...) I sat in Barnes and Noble and read the whole thing in about three hours, which I think is the good way to read books. I read sad Margo, whom I think I like slightly better than happy Margo. And the book was so good that I can't think of words to describe how good it is. You'll have to live with my vague 'it was awesome' unless I think of something on the plane. 

Greywalker

...by Kat Richardson

The first half was tolerably good, but the ending was atrocious. The writing, plot, characters and setting weren't bad, some of it was quite good, but the ending of the book just...wasn't in alignment with my view of the universe. It was too dark, too hopeless, too out of balance, and simply didn't have that sense of completion and fulfillment that I look for in the ending of a book. The ending felt more like an angsty middle than a conclusion. 

However, the beginning was good enough to actually make me read the book, which is quite a feat, since I usually don't like mysteries OR paranormal fiction, much less both together. 

is 'schlump' even a word?

I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak yesterday, along with Prince of Time, so today I'm going to work on the previously mentioned stack of library books. I've always been an immensely balanced person. Ha. Ha. Hee. Ho. Hum. 

I've been in a pretty bad shlump for the past month and a half, in which I couldn't get excited about any of my writing ideas, and none of the pieces seemed to come together. Hopefully my brain has gotten over its little funk. 

Also, what the heck am I doing listening to a Christmas carol? 

I think I'm a knowledge-worm

This is what happens when I go to the library. 

The Ideology of the Aesthetic by Terry Eagleton

Reason & Religious Belief by Peterson, Hasker, Reichenbach and Basinger

Ethics Across Cultures by Michael C. Brannigan

Elements of Cartography by Robinson, Morrison, Muehrcke, Kimerling and Guptill

Environmental Science by Cunningham, Cunningham and Woodworth Saigo

Psychology and Life by Gerrig and Zimbardo

Cultural Anthropology by Conrad Phillip Kottak

I didn't make it to the literature section, since I only get to check out seven books at once. 

P.S. I spent half the morning watching The West Wing though, so I'm not quite as saint-like as you think. 

unless my brain runs away again...

Hey. The blog-mistress is officially back. 

I've reorganized the links, cleaned up the tags a bit and can think of nothing else to delay my return to (kinda) regular blogging. 

Meanwhile, here's a pick of random photos from my hard-drive. They really are random. 

Books. Lots of them. I must be in heaven: 

Old ad: 

Me, in the middle of a sentence, after brushing my hair: 

Some pretty place: 

Me, talking again: 

I must either talk a lot or else only get photographed when I'm talking. What is with that? 

prompting me to say...

Yes, another one of those writing prompt posts. Because nothing that I've been doing lately is blog-worthy. 

#1

List ten things you want to accomplish before it's too late. 

1. Own a puppy-sized elephant
2. Eliminate small-talk from the world
3. Cure klutziness
4. Explore an alternate universe
5. Figure out why I don't like licorice
6. Find out why the answer to everything is 42 and not 41 or 43
7. Own all the books I want
8. Read all the books I want
9. Get a cat
10. Meet Dumbledore :)

#2

What one gift would you like for yourself? 

Um... wisdom. Definitely. 

#3

Things that make me fearful... 

1. People knowing what I'm thinking about/feeling
2. Disappointing someone
3. Having someone be angry with me
4. Not knowing whether I can trust someone or not
5. Being bad at something

#4

My ten favorite movies. 

I'm actually not a huge fan of most movies. There's too much action, and not enough character development, and worldbuilding for my taste. Plus, if the movie's based on a book, the book is almost always better than the movie. 

#5

People that irritate me... 

...generally either have no idea that they irritate me or think I'm jealous of them. 

#6

Describe a typical day in elementary school: 

6:00- wake up, sit in bed and do homework due before lunch that I was too lazy to do the night before. 

6:45- get dressed, eat breakfast, do dishes.

7:15- walk out the door, try to sneak a novel or four to read in class. May or may not get caught. Walk for five minutes, catch bus. 

7:28- Get off the bus. Run. I'm going to be late! Aaaaah! 

7:30- Do morning exercises (choreographed aerobic thingies that everyone hates) if it's spring r fall, jog (highly choreographed as well) if it's winter. 

8:00- Start classes. Usually as soon as the teacher was safely in front of the blackboard, I would either start reading or go into a semi-comatose state, depending on whether or not I was able to sneak a book past my vigilant mother. 

11:30- Look at sauerkraut (if winter) or other disgusting food (if summer) on my plate and gag. Try to hide it in my rice and sneak towards the scrap pail outside my classroom door. Usually get caught by the student monitor who's supposed to make sure we don't waste food. Try to sweet-talk said student monitor into letting me dump icky food, on success, dump food, and on failing, go back to my seat and choke some food down. 

11:45- Sit at my desk and read or write. After everyone else finishes eating, get shooed out of the classroom either by the teacher or the students whose job it is to clean the classroom that week. Grumble, gripe, plead, but go outside eventually (taking my book/notebook of course) unless it's really miserable outside, in which case mention that I might have a cold. 

12:30- Finish my book/realize that my hand is cramped. Go search for some human being that might play with me so that I won't look like a complete loser. Push to play a game that I'm good at/enjoy. Beat them all at it. Feel smug. 

1:00- Sit in class and either talk to the people in front/next to/behind/opposite me or doodle. 

2:30- Do another round of stupid choreographed exercise thingamajigs. 

4:20- Start gathering up my things in preparation for getting out of school. 

4:30- Shoot out of the door as soon as class is dismissed. Walk down the street, buy myself a snack, take my time so that everyone else gets on the bus in front of me. 

4:45- Get home, eat another snack, do homework. 

6:00- Eat dinner. 

6:15- Read. 

9:30- Go to bed. 

#7

Do you work too much? 

No. I don't work enough. 

#8

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to being 18? 

Um, I really don't know if I can think back to the future. I'll get back to y'all on that one after I turn 19. 

#9

My favorite time of day... 

I like dawn and evenings, even though midnight is pretty cool too. 

#10

What is truth? 

Whatever I command. 

(very short) book reviews

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

...by Douglas Adams

I don't know why I own this book. I think someone gave it to me when I was about nine, and I reread it when I had the flu. It makes for a good I'm-stuck-in-bed-and-don't-have-anything-to-do read. Other than that, I can't recommend it. Most of the novel fit in very well with my hallucinations, and I enjoyed it when I was reading it, but I don't think I would now. There's something about being feverish that doesn't make you the best judge of literature. 

***

The Whispering Mountain

...by Joan Aiken

Someone definitely gave me this one, maybe a year ago, and it's on my bookshelf because I never turn down a book. It's a fairly good YA fantasy, but nothing more than that. The characters are generally believable, the plot is okay, and the writing passable. It was the sort of book that I read just to see what happens in the end, and then the ending disappointed me. Oh well. 

***

City of the Beasts, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, Forest of the Pygmies

...by Isabel Allende

Fairly good YA fiction. I love the characters to death, I love the writing, and they make up for me not loving the plot(s). They're okay, and interesting to read about, but just not quite my thing. But the characters... I could go on and on about how much I love Alex, but I won't. Suffice it to say that I read all three books in one day and had to be dragged out of the second one for lunch. 

***

Speak

...by Laurie Halse Anderson

I really have a sore spot for this book, because I can really, really relate to the protagonist, Mel, and because I love the commentary on high school. I've probably read this book five times, and it's never disappointed me. A lot of other books fade after a couple of readings, but Speak is always just a little bit darker and funnier than I remember it being. 

***

Pebble in the Sky

...by Isaac Asimov

Not my favorite of Asimov's, but still good. I love the concept, the theme, the voice, the writing... I just felt like the ending was too predictable, too forced, and it didn't have that twist that I expect from Asimov. It's still a very good book, just not quite up to some of his other works. 

***

The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories

...by Isaac Asimov

I love his robot stories. All of them. Unfortunately, I'm of the opinion that short stories are like one chocolate chip. you get a teeny taste of the characters and the setting, and then it's over. Despite that opinion, I love all the stories in this book. They were the first robot stories I ever read, and they're definitely some of the best. 

...

I am not Brynne. I am not Fast Like a Freak. I also have other things to do. Which is why I have only written 22389 words in the past week. 

However, yesterday I read Beowulf in its entirety, write 4000 words, did my Chinese homework, did my English quiz, started Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, forgot to blog, did half of my math problems for next week and did laundry. 

November is a dreary month. And it's pouring rain again. 

a lament about my lack of shelves

As I've been putting books on my shelves, I've noticed that I have er... interesting taste in books. And is it weird that I have eighteen books by Isaac Asimov? And I have Iranian poet Rumi sandwiched between J. K. Rowling and E. Rose Sabin. 

Here's a brief overview of the books on my shelf so far (I'm begging for more shelves, we'll see if I get them or not. ): 

• science fiction, 29 titles
  
• fantasy, 26 titles
  
• classics, 20 titles
• historical fiction, 9 titles
• young adult fiction, 7 titles
  
• Baha'i fiction, 3 titles
• children's fiction, 1 title
  

And that's all that fits on my pathetic shelves. :(

mysteries

I'm still reading "The Hippopotamus Pool" by Elizabeth Peters, despite my determination to have it done with and blog about it tonight. I'm usually not a huge fan of mysteries, but I seem quite willing to put aside my belief that they are boring and repetitive for Elizabeth Peters, whose books have enough egyptology and intelligent dialogue to keep me interested, Dorothy Gilman, who I read just for the characters, and Dick Francis, who is stunningly good at writing what I call 'variation on theme' novels, and is never boring. 

prompted by a response to the prompts

Just for fun, and because it's late and I have nothing to blog about (again), I'm going to respond to BRYNNE'S PROMPTS. 

Prompt #1

My heart sings when...

The air smells fresh. When everything is clean. When I'm with someone amazing. When I can stay in my own little world for a while and straighten things out in my head. When I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep, and it's quiet enough for me to imagine that I'm somewhere else. When I manage not to lose my temper at someone, even though I really, really want to. When I can have an intelligent conversation with someone. 

Prompt #2

Do you hear yourself when you are speaking and really listen to what you are saying?

No. I usually know what I'm going to say for the split second before I say it, and once the words start coming out of my mouth, I start thinking about what the other person might say and possible responses. 

Prompt #3

You are ten years in the future. Write a letter to your today self. 

Dear Almost-Fifteen-Year-Old Layli, 

I can't tell you what happens in the next ten years of your life, because if I did, it would change your actions, thus creating a paradox in which it would have turned out as I said, had I not told you. But take chances. Stop caring what other people think, or at least pretend to. The people who judge you have no right, and you'll find out who doesn't judge you. Keep the people who accept you around. 

Plus, sanity is overrated anyhow. 

Almost-Twenty-Five-Year-Old Layli

Prompt #4

What was a good high school memory? 

Sorry, I really don't have one. 

Prompt #5

When I look up at the sky, I feel...

Sad. Why don't people care more about the fact that most of China's sky is blank and smoggy? 

Prompt #6

Is true love real? 

Yes... and no. Even true love won't come to anything if both parties believe that relationships are effortless. 

Prompt #7

How did you meet your closest friend? 

• We saw each other for a day when I was seven, and we were both too shy to say anything to each other. Then, when I was thirteen she lived right up the street from me, and we saw each other every day. 
• Talked nerd when I was seven for a day, spent quite a while when I was thirteen talking nerd. 
• She babysat me when I was two and she was nine. 

Prompt #8

What are you currently fascinated with? 

Books. 

Psychology. 

Linguistics. 

Dystopias. 

Writing. 

Various forms of government. 

NationStates. 

Philosophy. 

Etymology of names. 

The differences between cynicism and pessimism. 

Prompt #9a

If I could trade my adulthood in for a second childhood, I'd...

I probably wouldn't do it. 

Prompt #9b

Did you go camping? Tell about your experiences. 

I've been camping at Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin, but I had a bad case of jet-lag and really don't remember much about it. 

Prompt #10

If tears could speak to you, what would they say? 

After you've had your cry, why don't we go do something that will either go towards fixing the problem or distract you from it? 

***

P.S. The reason I'm blogging this late at night is because I've just been out to dinner with some of my mom's coworkers and then grocery shopping. I will spare you all the details of my torture. 

prompts

I don't have anything to blog about, which is why this post will consist of me answering writing prompts from THIS SITE. I'm interested to see what sort of things I'll end up writing about. 

Prompt #1

Your 10 favourite scents or smells: 

1. vanilla
2. coffee
3. jasmine
4. osmanthus fragrans
5. fabric softener
6. fresh bread
7. old books
8. coconut
9. lilac
10. lavender

Prompt #2 

Define love. 

Um.... Love is undefinable. Everybody should just acknowledge that and move on. When people 'define love', they are only talking about the ways love is manifested, or the way that they perceive love to be. 

Prompt #3

10 things I learned at school that weren't part of the curriculum. 

1. The people who try to make your life difficult are scared
2. There are always people who will try and pick a fight with you
3. There are always people who will find a reason to dislike you
4. China isn't really communist
5. 'Thought and Morals' teachers are the most likely to be leaders of the communist party
6. 'Thoughts and Morals' teachers are the most likely to give you strange looks when you mention religion
7. Don't talk to yourself at school. EVER. 
8. Writing poetry in biology class is not advisable, unless it happens to be about dragons, in which case you can make a cheeky remark about studying the anatomy of other-worldly creatures
9. Reading 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' in math class is not permissible even if you have already done all the practice problems and finished the day's homework
10. Correcting someone in authority, even respectfully, even when they are wrong and you are right, is frowned upon

Prompt #4

What do you do with all the things you write about? 

I dream about them, talk to them, think about them, speculate about them, observe them, laugh at them, mourn over their dead bodies, giggle at the silly things they come up with, draw them, imagine life without them, imagine life with too many of them... 

Prompt #5

What would you do if the sun didn't rise tomorrow? 

Would it still be tomorrow, seeing as the earth would not have orbited around the sun another time? But I will answer the spirit of the question. If the sun didn't rise tomorrow, I would enjoy the chance to have candles lit all day. Melted wax is another one of my favourite smells, and candlelight changes the whole atmosphere of a room. It makes things have another side and more meanings. 

I'm having fun doing this. Originally I was going to stop at five, but I'll do a few more. 

Prompt #6

"It is all vanity and striving after the wind." Agree or disagree? 

Agree, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't strive. Who knows what you might bump into along the way? 

Prompt #7

When someone asks for your opinion, are you always honest? Why or why not? 

I am generally honest. But you can only get the whole picture if you listen to my pointed silences. Why? Because there really is nothing to be gained from lying except lies. 

Prompt #8

What one gift would you like for yourself? 

Wisdom. 

Prompt #9

What remains constant in your life? 

Books and the characters in them. I have to confess that they always offer blissful escape. 

Prompt #10

If you could be any person in the world, who would you be, and why? 

I would be me, because I can't imagine being anyone else. 

I climb the walls of my mind just like climbing on a jungle gym

Crazy thought: The goblins in harry Potter could, to a certain degree, represent Jews. 

And how exactly did I come to have this interesting thought while reading Elizabeth Peters? 

on whatever popped into my head

The retreat was awesome! But I really don't have the energy to blog about it right now. We got home Sunday evening, and I was thoroughly exhausted. Yesterday, I was sick, and today I have no brain. Seriously. This morning, Gareth asked me what eighty-eight divided by five was, and I told him it was fifteen point six, when I knew it was SEVENTEEN point six. For some reason, my brain shut off just as I started talking, and everything I said came out all jumbled and wrong. I guess it's just one of those days. 

I finished 'Speaker of the Dead' by Orson Scott Card last night, and I thought it was amazing. In fact, I have to admit that I like it slightly better than both 'Ender's Game' and 'Ender's Shadow', even though I really don't know why. Maybe part of it is the fact that there's always been something about books that question whether or not all truths should be told or not that fascinates me. 

One of my random lists is about to make an appearance. Yup, here it is. 

Things that fascinate Layli: 

1. truth
2. good and evil
3. possibilities
4. paradoxes
5. reality
6. thought patterns
7. brainwashing/manipulation techniques
8. psycholinguistics
9. artificial intelligence
10. humour in different cultures

I guess I am plagued by the typical INFP fascination with good and evil. THIS is an interesting article, written by an INFP about our 'thing' for good vs. evil. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, go down to the 'Links' section and read 'About the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator'. 

Have a nice day! 

on friends, blogs, books, Baha'i retreats, pseudonyms, saints and (not) writing

As you certainly have noticed, there have been major changes made to my blog. It's really all Brynne's fault. She made me the banner. If you don't like the new template as well as the old, blame it on her. Or, better, go check out her blog. It's awesome, and you'll get a different view on what we're doing. Plus, she's doing a better job of posting all of our exciting doings around here. 

Anyhow, I've finished 'Sorcery and Cecelia' and 'The Grand Tour', both by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer, and am now 128 pages into 'The Mislaid Magician'. After I finish that, I'm going to read 'Speaker for the Dead' by Orson Scott Card, and then the advance reader copy of 'Twilight of Avalon' by Anna Elliott, since Brynne and her mom both say it's very good. 

On to other things. Brynne, Carew, Gareth and I are leaving this afternoon to go to a Baha'i retreat. We'll get back on Sunday, and I'll be sure to write all about it sometime soon after. 

And finally, since Brynne Annaë made me drool, and since I thought of a wonderful plot twist for my WIP (of which I recently deleted about 20,000 words) which involves me having a pseudonym, Brynne and I used that as an excuse to look at names instead of write. Now I have two that I can't choose between, Zuleia Meital and Zenaida Meital. Right now, I'm leaning toward Zenaida, just because of this, but... I like the name Zuleia slightly better. And I do realise that they're both utterly unpronounceable.