My best friend is a photographer and she got some cool shots today at the Botanical Center. Here are a few of my favorites that didn't come out on my camera. If you would like to see the rest of her pictures from our outing today, you can check out her pictures at Facebook: Botanical Center Album 1 & Botanical Center Album 2.
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More pictures from the Botanical Center!
The Botanical Center had a bonsai exhibit. :)
Today my bff and I went to the Botanical Center to see the displays. Here are the flowers we saw:
Suggested by Janet:
How about, “What’s the worst ‘best’ book you’ve ever read — the one everyone says is so great, but you can’t figure out why?”
Well, honestly, I don't know. If a book doesn't get me hooked in the first 30 pages or so, I put it down for good. It doesn't matter if it 'redeems' itself in the middle/end. If the beginning is crap - I'm done. I don't waste my time.
The only books I can think of right now that are not as 'awesome' as people say are the Twilight books. They are just fanfic...it's not great writing. I enjoyed the first one. The characters are interesting to me. I love character studies and highly descriptive writing, so I did like that aspect of Twilight. The middle books were ok, but the last book was positively atrocious. I understand why the teens are loving them though...it's that little obsession that all teens have. Mine was New Kids on the Block. ;) I didn't go nuts over them or anything, I've never been that kind of person. I really dislike that kind of behavior....it's not flattering.
The thing is, while I'm glad teens are reading - I'm appalled that they say things like "omg, they are the best books ever written!". WHAT? Someone needs to introduce these kids to classic literature, STAT. When you read a book and there is layer upon layer of brilliance...THAT is great writing. Twilight is just a nice, cute, safe story - not great writing. But, I'll enjoy the frenzy of Twilight while it's here. It's fun, anyway.
Although, I'll be avoiding any store that sells DVD's this weekend though - mass chaos. Mass chaos. I have no interest in being in a room full of screaming children. LOL
On a side note, there are some books that are 'hyped' up that really are amazing books. The Road by McCarthy is one of them. The Book Thief by Zusak is another. Both of these books are written brilliantly. Not only are the stories within great stories - beautiful portraits of humanity, hope, death, love, etc...but also, the authors were very clever in how they formatted the books. The physical experience of reading these books is wonderful.
In The Road, you are thrust into this stripped down, wasteland of a book - very little punctuation and structure...just like the world you are reading about. You EXPERIENCE the loss, the emptiness, the alarming oddness of it all with the characters. It took a while to get comfortable enough to read the book - and even then, you never really get comfortable. Just like the characters, we experience this unnerving story in an unnerving way. It's moving. It's poignant.
The Book Thief does the same thing. It's as if you are the diary that the narrator is writing upon. Scribbles. Thoughts. Random sentences and random ponderings. Descriptions of images. It pulls you in and you are experiencing these memories with the narrator - like an elderly person telling stories of their youth. Partial - something are faded, some things are vibrant. Sometimes they remember the smell more than the conversation. Sometimes colors are vibrant, even if the memory is not clear. This is the way of human memory. The author did a great job developing a visual style in the book that allows us to experience these memories with the narrator.
Maybe the stories aren't for you - the pain and the dispair. But there is hope, happiness, love as well. What makes these books great is that they are accurate portrayals of humanity. Real, raw - nothing is photoshopped or airbrushed. It's honest. Heartbreaking. Hopeful. Human. I think, if you read these books and allow yourself to actually EXPERIENCE them....you will understand how they are great peices of art.
Hi everyone! Just wanted to send out an update on my podcasts!
The Read Carpet's 2nd episode is live, so check it out! :D (I'm not on this episode, but I'll be in episode 3). The Read Carpet is a new podcast - the brainchild of Adele. :) It's a bunch of people getting together and presenting segments about Young Adult Literature. We include everything from comics to novels to non-fiction, as well as great resources for YA readers! We do hope you like our new podcast. It will only get better with each episode. We can be found on iTunes and you can always listen to us on our website. Episodes are released every 1st and 16th of each month. Thanks for listening!
Pimp My Podcast has taken a short break (we had a few busy months!) but we will be back soon. Hopefully, we will record our 3rd episode this weekend! I'll keep you posted. For now, you can check out the first two episodes on iTunes or our website. Thanks! PMP is here to bring you recommendations of great podcasts and podcasting resources. If you have any podcasts or resources you would like us to mention in future episodes, just let us know! pimpmypodcast @ gmail . com Thanks!
I'm a new auntie! My second nephew was born this morning! He weighed 8lbs 5oz. His name is Jack Henry. :D
Here's the little cutie:
It's about time to make sure the word is getting out about the upcoming changes in the MLA Format. The Modern Language Association is releasing a new Handbook in April, 2009.
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th edition)
Pages: c. 360 pp.
Published: April 2009
ISBN: 9781603290241
http://www.mla.org/PID363
The changes will take effect when the handbook is released. I'm guessing that bibliographic tools such as RefWorks, EndNote, and NoodleTools will switch over at that time too.
I'm worried that not all students and faculty will be notified of this change before finals this Spring semester. It could happen that students use a bibliographic tool to create their Works Cited lists and then professors count off points for things they think are wrong, unaware of the changes in the format.
So, pass this around. Tell every student, teacher, and librarian that you come across about the changes! Hopefully, they will already know. :)
I would hate to see students lose points over a miscommunication - and I'd also hate to see schools have to go through tons of grade appeals because of this change.
Purdue University has posted a wonderful little preview of the changes to come: The Owl at Purdue - MLA changes.
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