The Madwoman in the Attic

Everyone and their mom (if their mom is a Lolita) is doing this meme so I'm gonna just jump on the bandwagon here for a sec.


Because it's relevant and gimp doesn't want to work properly today so that I can make a macro.

( Down the rabbit hole...*snerk* )

I just finished my ceremonial changing of the calendar (This year's calendar is The Munsters) officially marking that 2009 and all of it's madness is over. Part of me feels like I need to reflect on last year and talk about what I want to do for the next year, but my mind is churning this morning and I'm having trouble keeping my thoughts straight so I think I need to wait.

I do know that I want to get more organzed this year. I will agree with my mother that man of my issues, especially with school come from my lack of organization, so my first act this year will be going out and purchasing an agend. The one's we recieve from school are not nearly large enough to keep track of my sometimes in depth assignments, work schedule and social calendar in addition to the other things I like to keep track of (my mini due dates, sewing projects, lunar patterns, brand/group order/auction end dates, shipping/payment dates). I do know that I want to find a better job and land a really interesting intership. Everyone and their mom in my major either goes and works at the Museum of Industry or the Baltimore County or Maryland Historical Society and quite frankylu I'm sick of those presentations. They don't interest me. I kind of want to see what I could do at the Reginald Lewis or maybe land one in DC over the summer. I also want to improve Cosplay Club. We are currently without an advisor (she's gone), a treasurer, two of our officiers are not really on speaking terms, we keep losing members and have some organizational issues. Finally, I know I want to work on my health. This break I've really been focusing on my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and I want to continue to make that one of my focuses into the next year. I've been working out and stretching to get my body in better shape and taking better care of my hair and skin. I've been talking with my mother and friends a lot about how I feel about things and trying to express those things that I've been keeping in and it's helping. After years of siting in my closet, I've rebuilt my altar and been dedicating time re-introduce prayer and meditation into my life. It used to give me so much peace when I was younger. I'm also trying to work to figure out those folks who find fortifying to be around. All of these things are contributing to better mental health as I'm feeling more at peace and I'm starting to see that like that No Doubt song, I'm really lovely underneath it all.

Wow, for someone who said that I wasn't sure what I wanted it's seems that I do.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope it holds more prosperity, better health and more peace of mind than the last.

Ok, well maybe just one meme.

 

( Yes it's that Lolita meme that's been going around. )

WOO. It's Christmas Eve. While Yule is something I usually celebrate by myself, Christmas is a big family affair in my household. There is always alot of stress and pressure in the house to make sure it it looks nice and that everything is ready and for me, I always find myself at the last moment trying to find the right presents. I've probably expressed several times about how I usually feel like a big ball of fail when it comes to my family but, I always try to put a lot of thought and care into what they want considering what they already have, their personal tastes and sensitivities and even going so far as to ninja through internet bookmarks to see what they've been checking out. This year however I got done early and I'm quite pleased with what I got. The only gift that I'm feel kind of iffy about is I got pater monster a copy of Left4Dead for the XBOX 360. He wants to get on Live more now and that game is awesome when you can play it with other people. Also, he's seems to like FPS but I wanted to show him that there is more to that genre than Halo. The thing is he can't get down with most adventure or role playing games, doesn't like shooting people and doesn't like a lot of gore which rules most FPS out. I think I'm just going to return it and get Fallout 3 or Dante's Inferno (things I want).

Other things that are made of win this week:
( Cut for being a supermassive black hole )
Well, that does it for now. I should probably go look into getting some nourishment for me and the pups. Have a happy Christmas Eve for those of you who celebrate. I plan on spending the rest of the night baking and hopefully watching The Muppets Christmas Carol, Nightmare Before Christmas, A Year Without a Santa Claus, and Belle's Enchanted Christmas (I know it's a Disney sequel but it's good ok?!) and maybe have some wassial (yum yum).

It seems like everyone is really having a rough one these last few weeks of school. Financial issues, family issues, criticism on our work and/or views, relationship troubles that won't quit on top of trying to finish final projects, study for exams and make up assignments for all those times when we just wanted to disappear in bottle, a dime bag, a blog or whatever your vice of choice is. This semester has been surprisingly rough, filled with unexpected highs, like the rare occasions I got to hang with my friends, and crushing lows during which I made my first attempt on my own life in years. But somehow, I'm getting through. I'm almost finished. I've got a paper on Bille Holiday to do, work on making up some of my Renaissance homework and a 5 page paper for Renaissance (that after reading the assignment, is going to be very tough. It's a synthesis of everything we've learned like " What can we learn from the Reformation about religious unity and diversity in our country today?"). But this post isn't about that. Nope. I'm taking a moment to going to try to think of things that have made me happy/squee/dance giddily as of late.

• Tumblr - aka that place where I spent all of my time yesterday. Those of you unfamiliar with Tumblr, it's a blogging platform, but instead of posting long entries, people may post photos, music, videos, links, or quotes. Occasionally you'll see longer posts, but those are kind of rare. these blogs are themed and are really great if you are looking for inspiration. My favorites are A Gothic Lolita's Memoir, Witch Daughter, I'mma Let You Finish (although it's kind of old now. Old meme is old and all), Obama Is Literally Hitler, Honeyed (companion Tumblr to my favorite Lolita blog, F*** Yeah, Lolita!), cuteboyishlesbiangirls, Fuck Yeah Femmes, Girls in Suits, Real Men Wear Suits, and finally Fuck Yeah Alexander Skarsgard (because he's a tall glass of Swedish sexiness).
• Cinnamon Hot Chocolate- Mommo has been picking it up from Ollie's everytime she goes either back near our old neighborhood or when she goes up to Dundalk to watch Lauren play. It's so good. I have like a cup a day and we have like 4 can deep stash of the stuff. It's so sad.
• My friends - I know I really haven't seen much of you guys lately, but you guys really keep me going.
• Billie Holiday - I just started listening to her more for this assignment and I'm really feeling her.
• Kuroshitsuji - Somewhere between when it became Yakitate!! Japan and the Circus Arc it really picked up. I was just about to give up on it because it was kind of boring, Sebastian was just meh to me, the vague shouta undertone of his and Ciel's relationship squicked me and Sebastian's constant repetition of his catchphrase annoyed me. Oh and then there is Grell. I would just like to say for the record that I do not have a problem with flamboyantly, openly gay characters. I just don't like Grell. There is nothing particularly interesting or compelling about him at all. He just seems to be there as fanservice for Yoai fangirls who want to ship Sebastian with someone. Also, Meirin/Maylene is the shit. I'm going as her eventually to some con. Probably, Katsu. I just love gun toting/sword wielding gals in uniforms especially if they seem inept but then when presented with the opportunity are total bamfs.
• Lady Gaga - She's growing on me. Somewhere between the 10th and 11th time hearing Bad Romance while driving to South Carolina for Thanksgiving, I decided that she actually wasn't too terrible. And then I heard Teeth (first through a True Blood fanvid and then through a Alucard/Seras fanmix) and I decided that I might just be getting a copy of The Fame Monster.
• She Wolf by Shakira - The video is retarded but, I love this song. I am not ashamed at all.
• Princess and the Frog - TOMORROW OMG!
• BeruBara Kids - Chibi version of the cast in comical little four panel strips by the original creator Ikeda Riyoko. Most of the jokes are in jokes relating to the comic so you kind of have to be familiar with it. I think they are funny though. Speaking of Rose of Versailles, I think my next Takarazuka Revue purchase will the 06' show as I've heard that there is some unintended Rosalie/Oscar (YAY!) and Komu in all of her awesomeness.
• Animetal - I'm such a nerd. I don't care it's awesome. I'm torn between their cover of the Rose of Versailles theme or the Sailor Moon theme. I mean seriously:

( Team BeruBara or Team PGSM )

Alright, I think that is all for now. I probably should turn in. I have alot to do tomorrow.

I can't believe that November is almost over. Can't say I'm unhappy about it. November, heck fall in general kind of sucked immensely. I'm actually looking forward to winter. I'm looking forward to...

• hot cups of wassail by the fireplace
• the way snow forms like a halo on my hair and shoulders
• A Year Without a Santa Claus and the Snowmeiser/Heatmeiser song
• finally being able to wear all the wool and velvet and comfy knitted things I want without fear of overheating
• catching snowflakes on my tongue
• watching Leo and Penelope leap through the snow
• a break off from school and all of it's madness
• crazy knitted hats that don't go with anything else I have on. I really want to make one with with a mohawk and earflaps, one that looks like a hermit crab shell or this Vlad the Impaler inspired hat.
• flannel sheets
• hopefully going to Yule service with Matt
• more time to sew
• hopefully getting to see some of my local friends more often

What about you guys?

Have you ever sat down and listened to a song, especially one from when you were younger, and realized that you were missing what the song was about because you had only heard a portion of it? I had two of those moments today in American Music Traditions class. The first song was "This Land is Your Land" by Woody Gunthrie. I remember learning it in elementary school as a fluffy little patriotic song like "America the Beautiful". Well, that was because I only learned the first few stanzas. Here you take a listen and let's see if I'm the only one who hears the social commentary in the song.



The other song was of all things, "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul and Mary. Before today, I knew maybe the first 3 lines and I had always heard the rumor that the song was about drugs or whathaveyou. Having now heard the whole song, I don't see it. The last verse in particular makes me think it's about a lost of innocence and growing up. *shrugs* What do you guys think?

I would like to start off by saying that I am NOT the biggest H.P.Lovecraft fan. While there are certain stories that I find suspenseful, chilling and terrifying I find much of his mythos confusing and many of his stories tedious. This aside I still get a chuckle out of the below songs, mostly because I like jaunty tunes about tentacled creature that will make me go crazy and then eat me and fishmen.

Remember how I said that I was TOTALLY going to keep up with my Halloween posts because I'm totally going to have much more time this semester? HA. What a laugh...I totally forgot about this insane online Renaissance class.

But this isn't about my class from hell.

This is about catching up.

So first catch up post.



This past Tuesday, Oct 20, was the 127th birthday of actor Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, better known as Bela Lugosi. His portrayal of Dracula in the 1930 movie by the same helped to change the image vampire in popular culture from a disgusting, blood-clotted fiend to a suave and alluring creature of the night. Unfortunately,due to his trademark accent Bela ended up being typecasted for the rest of his career. Even so, Bela Lugosi continues to be a beloved actor amongst old horror movie fans such as myself (him and Vincent Price, because they have the voice) and so here are a few of my favorite Bela Lugosi films.

( The virginal brides file past his tomb... )

Guess what you guys? As of today, it is officially 13 days before Halloween. Last year, I attempted to do countdown posts and then kind of failed miserably due to the fact that I had like 8 million assignments due all at once. This year, this is not the case, so without further ado...

On the 13th day til Halloween my dear ghoul gave to me...

( A treat bag full of contreversy )

TILT time WOOOO!

• Scoring one of the Vampire Requiem dresses - After wrestling with the order form for about 2 hours, I finally figured out what the heck I was doing and I sat there refreshing my email over and over until I got the happy little email saying that I got one! I got it in Ivory. It was the only color left when I finally got it to work, but that's totally fine with me.
• Skeleton Pops - I accidentally upset one of my teachers today with one. She flipped out in mid sentence and says "What is that in your mouth?" The stick part of the lollipop is a skeleton about the length of my palm so, it's pretty big. It was pretty funny.
• Finally finishing that freaking Carnegie paper - Hallelujah! No more Gilded Age! Onto the Progressive Era.
• Ludwig Kakumei - I finally got around to finishing it the other week and I really enjoyed it! I laughed, I cried (DOROTHEA! T_T) and Ludwig mother > EVERYONE. I'll admit it got a little wonky at the end and I'm not sure if that was due to the translation or the author (Kaori Yuki's stuff tends to get weird at the end. I'm still confused by the end of Godchild.) but, overall I really liked it.
• Edgar Allen Poe - I know I lose massive numbers of Goth Points by admitting this, but until this past week I had read maybe, 3 or 4 of Poe's works. I read The Pit and the Pendulum and William Wilson for the first time and oh my god, so good... Poe is a God. It's been so long that the suspense in a story has actually gotten me worked up.
• Bath and Body Works Stress Relief Shower Gel - This morning, having pulled an all-nighter to finish my paper, feeling kind of zonked out. My stomach was in knots, my skin was crawling and I was irritated and lethargic simultaneously. On top of that, I was looking pretty zombified. However, just because I looked like the undead didn't mean I had to go to school smelling like it. This stuff smoothed everything out. Nerves calmed, mind at relative peace, I was able to get through most of my day until Lit, where our discussion of Anne Bradstreet's poems almost put me to sleep.
• Packing a bento lunch - I really haven't had the time lately to do it, but today I actually set aside sometime to put something together. I made a roast beef sandwich on a roll with an olive toothpick through it, a bunch of grapes and one of those Pringles lunch packs. It made me really happy for some odd reason.
• Finding new communities that are relevant to my interests - Between creepgirlfrenzy  and moorishrennies lj is getting all of my love.

Well, that's all I can think of. I'm still exhausted, it's cold and I'm really done with this week. Between Cosplay Club, that Carnegie paper,and the sheer amount of Race Fail that this week has been riddled with I'm looking forward to curling up on Mommo's bed and watching Project Runway. Well, off to go work on my Renaissance homework.

What kind of poison is your personality? Ergotoxine You're so deadly you've chipped out a space in history! You were responsible for famines and tens of thousands of people fell victim to your deadly touch. Despite being a lowly grain fungus, you've managed to afflict people with fantastic flares of gout, hallucinations, ecstatic mania, and of course death. Hell they even blamed the Salem witch trials on you. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

I happened to have some time today since my original plans all feel apart, so I went through the box my folks decided to put all of my stuff that was on my bedroom floor (a little peeved about that one). One of the things I pulled out was a sheet of class notes from World History II last semester. I had kept it because I have a habit of writing in my margins stuff that pops into my head throughout class (my mind is constantly churning).

On this particular sheet, I had been thinking about the idea that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Portrait of Dorian Gray were reflections of the Victorian Era. I thought that it was an intriguing notion at the time, but after reading about Sex and the Gilded Age in 3Rs class, I have to agree. The Victorians (especially men) were FAR from prudish. People liked to put up the front of being respectable but, behind closed doors frequented prostitutes (prostitution was at some of it's highest levels during this time period), wrote each other dirty letters and girls would engage in all kinds of stuff in exchange for a night on the town. This was the time period were marital rape was just becoming a issue of importance and officials were actually RESISTANT to the idea that the age of consent should be raised from 10 or 12!

Beneath all those frills and formality, the Victorians were some freaks, plain and simple.

Last week, after Convocation, Jenny, Tabs and I went to go see District 9 (which was awesome by the way). This post however is not about the movie. During the previews they were showing the trailer for a new horror movie coming out called Jennifer's Body.


I've been pondering ever since about where in the world I've heard "Jennifer's Body" before and then it hit me just a moment ago, and I raced to my cd shelf to find that I was indeed correct. "Jennifer's Body" is also the name of a song by Hole.



I'm surprised that don't have this song on the soundtrack.

</lj-embed>(Courtesy of my Aunt Vivian)
As someone who grew up and only recently stopped being hassled by other Black people because of the fact that I don't have "good hair" (I have something like 8 inches of the thick, kinky, comb-teeth-breaking stuff) I can't WAIT to see this movie.

Where can I get some infinite beer?

Stevenson held a Club Leaders retreat this past weekend and this morning I'm still recovering. There have been some changes between this coming semester and last in relation to campus clubs as well as the budget so they wanted to give us that information as well as give us a chance to do some teambuilding activities, which actually weren't too bad.

( Cut for massive wall of text )

Well here's to hoping! *crosses fingers*

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - I finished it finally! It was hilarious! Zombies and ninjas and kung fu action Elizabeth Bennet. I can't wait to get my hands on Sense and Sensablity and Sea Monsters.
• This post from egl - ENVY THY NAME IS ERICA.
• Being unabashedly nerdy - The fam was stressing me earlier today, so I thought I'd go to the mall and get a book and escape for a bit but instead I was strangely drawn to Hot Topic (strange because there is nothing in that store that I want). I milled about for a while sighing slightly over the amount of Twilight stuff and the lack of anything remotely Ravenclaw related in their Harry Potter display and was about to leave, when the cashier practically man-squeed, began flailing excitedly and pointing at my shirt asked,"Where did you get THAT?!?!?". I was wearing my Gambit shirt that Richard Bowers (the Republican kid) gave me back in high school. I had to let the poor guy down hard, explaining that it had been a gift from friend, but instead of being sad he struck up a conversation with me about X-men for about 20 minutes. I think it may have been the only time I've ever out-nerded a guy on a topic we were both familiar with. Uusually I run into individuals whose nerdiness is not complimentary, like they want to talk about some raid they were apart of on WoW and Iwould rather discuss the homages to Miyazaki present in Avatar: the Last Airbende. All in all it was enjoyable and then I went to Borders and stood with X-men Noir in one hand and the first 3 issues of Ouran in the other like crap I want both but, in the end got a milkshake.
• "Un bel di vedremo" from Madame Butterfly - I have no idea what prompted me to look this song up last night. It's up there with "O mio babbino caro" and "Der Holle Rache" as far as my favorite opera songs that I'll never ever be able to sing. Here it is performed by Leontyne Price who I love. I love her voice. She's one of the few sopranos whose high notes don't make my neckbones twist.

Short list. Too busy cleaning.

Ah America. Home of the Free and the Brave. How far we have come. We have a black president, and black guys in Baltimore can openly catcall a white woman while she walks to the club without fear of lynching (poor Heather is never going to go out with me again. I guess we were not effective lesbians). In fact lynching was the punchline in a joke told by a black guy in said club. But, I digress.

When I think of America it's not visions of apple pies and Nascar that run through my head, but our strong military and the new American pastime of posting ridiculous dancing videos on YouTube. So then I thought, hey what if we celebrate this years 4th of July by combining the two and as usual YouTube delivers.

I hope you enjoy these as much as Heather and I did when we found them the other day.

So.

I happened to be downstairs watching tv with my sister Lauren and at first everything was fine. We watched that Princess Protection Program movie which for a post 90s DCOM wasn't bad at all. I'd even go so far to say that I liked. Oh yes, things were indeed going well.

And then she decided to turn on BET.

And watch the BET Awards.

And Souljah Boy was on singing(?) that new song he has out. The one that where I can't pick out any of the lyrics other than "Get my swag ooooooooon". His voice reminds me of the warm summers that I spent in Virginia on my Grandma Edith's farm. In particular he reminds me of the goats, Vincent and Stephanie, as that is EXACTLY what he sounds like, a goat.

As Lauren turned the song up, as apparently this is her "jam" I found myself compelled to eat. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Soulja Boy drives me to eat. The fact that this kid is a 5 hit wonder makes me simulataneously die inside and weep for the music industry, but really what can I do other than what I have been doing which is just not listen to mainstream radio.

Well, that and hope that the benevolent powers that be pick up on my prayers and that when the Zombie Apocolypse hits and the dead walk the Earth that the reanimated corpses of Jam-Master Jay and Michael Jackson feed on Souljah Boy's brains first.

Did you guys hear? Micheal Jackson just died.
Dude, Farrah Fawcett this morning.