Life’s Weirder Than Fiction

When I say I’m fairly obsessed by the story of a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire, most people who haven’t heard of the Twilight series look at me as if I’ve finally lost it. “It” being my mind, my reason, or any rhyme thereof.

But I’m not afraid to admit that not only do I find the story compelling but I find the writing absolutely wonderful. Forget about all the vampire clichés; Stephenie Meyer has thrown them all out (well, they do drink blood, but even that little bit has a twist) and started with two people, one alive and the other dead, and has fabricated a compelling, believable, story that will raise your hackles, speed up your breath, shiver up your spine, and keep you storming through to the end. And even at 500 pages a pop, it’s a worthwhile time investment.

Twilight is the first in the series, then comes New Moon, Eclipse, and the last one Breaking Dawn.

On her website, Stephenie also talks about her experience with publishing. It warms my heart that she very simply states how difficult it is to go through the process of finding an agent/publisher. She makes me like her as a person as much as a writer. Here’s what she has to say: Continue Reading »

Tags: Publishing, review, twilight series, vampire

I recently almost collided with a madman. At least he sounded mad, spewing conspiracy theories to everyone he could catch on the street. The man wasn’t violent, although is was big, but he was definitely not all in the same universe as the rest of us. Adding stuff in the water, aborting babies, population control through nuclear irradiation, he had a few doozies. (He was so fascinating I decided to use him in my next book).

The man reminded me of the movie Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts, in which good ol’ Mel is crazy as a loon and sees conspiracies everywhere. Thing is, he sounds so real he ends up stumbling onto a real government conspiracy.

We shouldn’t all be so lucky (yeah, right). This got me to google the terms and lo and behold, I happened to fing the Top 10 Wackiest Conspiracy Theories.

I don’t know about you but some of them sound pretty plausible, especially the one about Microsoft. Hey, just because you’re paranoid it doesn’t mean someone’s not after you.

A cool app that challenges you not only with your knowledge of geography, but also your spelling ability.

How Many Countries Can You Name in 5 Minutes?

Tags: application, countries, spelling

This year’s best words, in which people are asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition:

1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
2. Ignoranus: A person who’s both stupid and an ah.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation a bout yourself for the purpose of getting lucky
7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee! intravenously when you are running late.
10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
12. Karmageddon: It’s when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, and then the Earth explodes, and it’s a serious bummer.
13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you
14. Glibido: All talk and no action.
15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.
17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosqui t o, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you’re eating.

Tags: invitational, new words, style, Washington Post, words

The word of the day today at AWAD is “sideburns”. In her intro, Anu mentions that “for some, beards are a serious business. There’s even a biannual championship event for the bearded.”

As a woman, it is baffling to me that men don’t see their facial hair only as an annoyance that must be dealt with. Most people consider facial hair on women unsightly, so why is it acceptable, even celebrated, on men? Some men will go so far as being willing to lose their job rather than shave. Yet some men prefer removing it altogether. I suppose going beardless also makes a statement.

And then, how much is too much? Is the type of beard — or the type of face– important? What does it say about a man if his beard is unkempt, or über-styled? Are you a different personality if you wear a full beard or a thin line of hair around the jaw? A chinstrap or a goatee? Does your beard style selection (or absence thereof) reflect who you are? With or without a moustache?

Heavy questions indeed.

Tags: beards, facial hair, gender differences, identity