Finally! The Review!

I want to start off by saying, sorry that this took me so long Aaron! Also, I want you to know that I had fun doing this! It didn't stress me out, I was just crazy busy for awhile there and never got on the computer long enough to write a thorough review. I'm really glad that you asked me to review your CD! Thank you! 

Alright folks, two days later than I said it would be. Here it goes:

CD: Aaron Wrixon ~ Live

I should remind you all that this is my first official review so it may be a little rough.

I'm gonna go track by track and then do an overall statement.

TRACK 1: Introduction

I actually really like this song. Well it's not really a song. It's what the title says, an introduction. He sings a cappella  for about 30 seconds and then it leads into the next song. I really like the few lines he sings though! It gets stuck in my head all the time!

TRACK 2: Hey Beautiful

This is an interesting song. I really like the tune of it. With the words I think I'm being a bit picky and forgiving as well because I generally don't like it when songwriter's rhyme really obvious words in cheesy ways, but I don't know, something about the way he does it just totally fits the song and adds to it's style. This is honestly one of the only songs I've heard that can pull it off without making me dislike the song! 

TRACK 3: Smart Like You

This one is kind of sad. It seems to me like it's about a man in prison who is about to released back into the real world. I think he's talking to his wife or girlfriend on the outside. I really love the instrumentals in this song!    It has a somber feel to it, but it's also relaxing. 

TRACK 4: Coming Home

  Another one where I love the instrumentals! It's got a bluesy (sp?) feel to it. He manages to once again make obvious rhyming work! I don't know how he does that! I can't ever make it work in my music! It's also a really random and short. Not my favorite, but it's an alright song.

TRACK 5: Oak Tree, Oak Tree

Alright, it's decided it, I love the instrumentals on this entire CD! There, last time I'm saying it. Now you know. This is sad as well. It's about a farmer who lost his farm because he went bankrupt and it had been in his family for over 95 years. You can really feel the sadness in the song, you feel like it's your own, and I love when a song does that. This is a really good song! 

TRACK 6: The Damnedest Thing 

FAVORITE SONG! I love, love, love this song! It's my favorite song on the entire CD! It's so simple and creative. The tune gets stuck in your head immediately and will be there for the rest of the day! Alright, this is the last time I'll say this, but I LOVE the instrumentals! It's sad and humorous at the same time. Very classic folk style and I absolutely love it!

TRACK 7: The Birds

He sings this with one of his friends named Jamie Baisley. Really pretty harmonies! I love the sound of a guy and a girl singing together! I've always wanted to do a duet with a guy, I hope to one day. Anyways, back on track. This song is just pretty in general. It's relaxing and calming. I guess I just like songs with birds in it. Such as this one and A Bird's Song by Ingrid Michaelson. This is another one of my favorites from this CD.

TRACK 8: Stockbroken

This song is about "a man who has a lot of money, but not much else." This one is also featuring Jamie. I'm not really a big fan of this song. I mean the message is good, but I'm not a big fan of the tune. For me, tune is even more important than the words. I have heard a lot of good lyrics with bad tunes. I don't know, a good tune is just important to me and this one didn't cut it for me. The song itself though is pretty short. 

TRACK 9: Men and Brethren

Once again featuring Jamie. I'm not complaining though, she's got a really pretty voice :) This is another one where I'm not a big fan of the tune but the lyrics are still good. It's got a different tempo than the rest of the songs so far. It's a nice rhythm, I like it. The songs seem to be getting shorter and shorter! This is an alright song. Not my favorite. Not my least favorite. Just in the middle I suppose.

TRACK 10: Mistake

I like this song quite a bit. I really like the chorus. The verses are pretty good, but my favorite part is the chorus. Really good harmonies! I don't know why, but I really love the title of this song. I can't explain it, but something about the title says "this is gonna be a good song" and it's true!    

TRACK 11: For You

This is a sweet song! It's a love song. It's really soft and pretty. It's lyrics aren't the typical cheesy love song lyrics. They seem to have actual meaning instead of just looking for words to rhyme, like a lot of love songs do. He wrote it for his fiancé :)  

TRACK 12: Stay With Me

I love this song! I just love the feel of it! It's really sweet and simple. I listen to it and imagine a guy singing this to the one he loves, and I don't know it's just really pretty! The lyrics are amazing! 

TRACK 13: Interlude

This isn't a song, it's him talking and pulling his fiancé up on stage and then it goes into the next song. Very exciting, I know he he :) 

TRACK 14: It'll work out

I really love this song! It flows really well and the chorus is awesome! Another one that gets stuck in your head! I love the audience participation in this! There are amazing harmonies! For some reason this is the first song I ever listened to from this CD. Definitely my second favorite song from the whole album! A VERY CLOSE second to The Damnedest Thing! I love when it goes a cappella at the end!

OVERALL REVIEW

I liked this CD.  I want to point out that I wish that I had the skills that this guy has to interact with his audience! I can never think of anything to say and he makes it sound so easy! Kudos to you Aaron for having good charisma! With it's folk/country style I was surprised by how much I really do like it since I'm not a very big fan of country. This album has a really good feel to it, and I would recommend it to anyone! If you're looking for some good music you should definitely listen to this! 

::Sigh:: Procrastination.

Yes I know I'm doing a great job with keeping up with my blog! Don't worry, I'm getting back on track with it now. The Aaron Wrixxon review will be up by Monday. I was going to write it today, but since I just got done with a 4 hour drive I'm not in the best of moods to review a CD. Although, I have listened to it like 3 times all the way through and I listen to it whenever one of the songs start playing when I put my iPod on shuffle. Next time (if there is a next time. Which I hope there is!) someone asks me to review their CD I will have the review up within a week. It just seems that I have had an EXTREMELY busy couple of months! Things are starting to settle down though so I'll be updating this regularly again starting Monday, and the first thing going up is the review for this CD.

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I really want to update this thing as often as I promised in the beginning, but I have been SO BUSY lately! However, I still haven't given up on it yet, and I don't plan to!

I WILL review that CD on my next post! Swear! I have listened to half of it.

Things are finally starting to look up for me! I hope I didn't just jinx it by saying that... Oh well, I don't think I did. I've got a good babysitting job now and that has helped me out tremendously!

I'm still reading the same two books I mentioned in my last post ha ha. I'll have at least one of them done fairly soon though!

Did you know that the fear of palindromes is the called aibohphobia and is cured with Xanax?

I promise I'll update more often and have more interesting things to say!

I'll leave with these wise words said by yours truly: "All the wrong pumpkins in all the wrong patches! Oh no! What will they do?!"

"That's perfectly disgusting!"

So it's been awhile since my last blog. A little over a week I think. Maybe more though. I'm not sure.

Anyways, I got asked to review someone's CD about two weeks ago and he even sent me a free download of it! I haven't had time to listen to  it all the way through yet. As soon as I do though I'll be posting it one here!

Still awaiting news from Ball State music school to know if I got in. Gah! I wish I could just know right then and there if I made it or not! Oh well, I guess whatever happens, happens.

Good news! I have been in a MAJOR reading mood lately!

I'm currently reading Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews for the third time. I just love it so much! I wanted to read it again, and hopefully read the rest of the series again this year. I have only read the other four books in the series one time each.

I'm also reading The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie. I'm not very far into that one so I can't tell you if it's any good or not yet. I bet it will be seeing as the last book I read by her was amazing! If you're looking for a good, fun  and interesting mystery I would certainly suggest reading her book, And Then There Were None (also published as Ten Little Indians). Favorite quote from one of the movies made from it: ::After watching a man choke to death right in front of her:: "That's perfectly disgusting!" haha! My friend and I were cracking up when she said that! ::Sigh:: Gotta love old movies :) 

I have this sort of interview thing today. It's not really an interview, it's just meeting this family that I might babysit for. If they like me that is. Which I mean come on! Who wouldn't like me? He he :-p  I'm kind of nervous that the kids won't, but hey I'm gonna go in there with a positive attitude! So hopefully that goes well!

I also got this three day job working at a food booth at this festival for farmers. Try saying that five times fast ("Food booth at this festival for farmers, food booth at this festival for farmers, etc...)! The lady told my mom that if it goes well I might be able to do other festivals with them so I hope that works out too!


So who all is excited for Spring??

I know I am! I was so sick of winter! Oh my! I don't care if I ever see snow again!

Now I'm curious...

What is YOUR favorite season? ...and also... Do any of you know any other good mystery authors? If so, what books by them would you suggest reading?

And that's all she wrote... 'Til next my friends,

~Caitlin~  

Literacy

Write, read, write, read.

Two things I need to do more often.

I have been picking up my reading pace so that's a plus! Although I've been reading Paper Towns since January so that's a bad thing... It's not that I don't like this book, in fact, I think it's really cool and awesome and interesting! It's also my favorite book by John Green and I haven't even finished it yet! So that is saying something. What is it saying? You might ask. It's saying that I really like this book! Unfortunately I have just not been in reading moods lately, but that is changing thank God! I hate not reading... I know that puts me on yet another minority list in society but you know what? I don't care. I love to read and I hate not to read. It's just who I am. So there.

Is there anyone else out there who feels the same as I do? Go ahead you can be honest. If you're not that into reading, that's OK! I won't hate you or anything, though I will question your intellect because you can gain SO MUCH from reading, but most people don't take the time to really appreciate a good book. The people who don't like to read generally have only read books that they were required to read. Don't go off on me now I know that's not the case for EVERYONE, but from my experience with people who don't like to read, they say they it's because they hate the stuff they read for school. It's like they have never taken the time to read a book of their choosing. Trust me, you get so much more enjoyment out of reading something you actually want to read than something you're forced to read.  Not to say that all assigned reading is bad! I have been assigned reading that I am really glad to have read, and would not have read otherwise. I just wish people these days were more literate. I think the world would be a little better if this were so. Young people today, including myself, are so into their own lives and technology that they can't seem to find time to jump into someone else's life for a little while. Reading expands the mind. Seeing the world through someone else's eyes broaden's  your horizons, takes you out of your own little comfortable box for awhile.

So, all I am asking is that if you're not a fan of reading, give it a try! Just make sure it's a book that you choose.

Sorry I know this got a little preachy but hey, I wanna be a college professor so I have to start convincing people to start reading now so I can have somewhat literate students when I get there!

Me and My Wonderful Genre Naming Skills

Wow, I've been extremely tired for the last few days and I don't know why!

Anyways, I liked all of your suggestions for blog post topics! I liked one the most though, and that was Gemma's!

I actually do not have a list of music genres that I like and which order that I like them in, I mostly just said that to make myself sound more interesting.  However, I am going to attempt to make a list. Right here. Right now. The trouble is that I can never remember any bands or artist that I like until I here there name mentioned or a song by them, and my iPod only has about 1/8 of the artists I like on it. So if there are a lack of band and artist names, that is why. Well, here goes nothing.

For all you people out there who are way better at categorizing music than I am, please don't critique, honestly this is how I separate music in my head so, there is no point in saying "well that's the wrong definition" or "that band isn't that genre but it's THIS one." Yeah, just don't.

1. Acoustic or Folky or Soft?  - I'm not really sure what to call it. Alternative maybe? Whenever I here that word though I think of alternative rock, which isn't what I'm talking about. I'd say some examples of this genre would be: Ingrid Michaelson (of course), Jon Foreman, My band: Kelly & Caitlin, Missy Higgins, Sufjan Stevens, This Providence, etc... It's just stuff that can be upbeat but isn't all over the place or loud, just soft chill music I guess is how I would describe it.

2. Alternative Rock - When I think of alternative rock, I think of bands like Switchfoot and Maroon5. There are a ton of other bands that I like that fall into this category, but I like I said earlier, I can't remember any right now. It's rock that isn't hard, or punk, or metal, it's just kind of smooth and awesome.

3. Normal Rock? - Wow I'm terrible at naming things hehe. I guess I would say normal rock is not punk or hard rock, or metal, or alternative, it's just I don't know, normal? I'd say bands like Nickelback and Hinder  and Panic! at the Disco (not normal, but ya know, normal),   etc... I know I'm terrible at this naming genre and bands thing. Sorry about that.

4. Ska - An old friend of mine turned me onto this wonderful genre of music. It's basically rock music with a brass line to it. Rock isn't the word I'm looking for though, agh! I can't remember the word! REGGAE! That's it! A lot of ska music has a reggae beat only it's super awesome and fun! Basically ska is just awesome, It may even rank as number 3 instead of 4. My favorite ska bands are: Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, Streetlight Manifesto, Goldfinger, etc...

5.  Punk -ish - Kind of punk but not classic, old school punk, but today's sort of punk.  For example: Fall Out Boy, All American Rejects, Blink 182, Avril Lavigne, etc...

6. Hard Rock - This mostly consists of bands that have singing and SOMETIMES some screaming thrown in. Not to be  confused with post-hardcore (we'll get there). The instrumentals are just awesome and make you want to head bang and rock out. I would say some good hard rock bands are: Flyleaf, Coheed & Cambria, Slipknot (Sometimes), Skillet, Future leaders of the world, All that Remains,  etc... I'm losing my mind! There are so many band and I can't think of them! There are plenty more that I like, I swear! Those aren't even my favorites!

7. Pop - Pop is like the biggest genre of music out there really. Lady Gaga, Hannah Montanna/Miley Cyrus, Rhianna (Sometimes), Britney Spears, Michael Jackson (not a fan of him, so you know), Aaron Carter, and the list goes on and on and on and on...... Those are just the names I could think of.

8. R&B - We all know what R & B is. Although, I never know who is an R & B artist and who is a hip hop artist. Either way, I basically put anyone who sings instead of raps into the R & B section haha :-) I would say: Usher, Beyonce, Mario, Ashanti, etc... I'm not really that into it, but I really like Usher and Beyonce.

9. Hip-hop - Alright, I like REAL hip-hop ya know, where people aren't obsessed with calling everyone bitches and hoes. Where "let's get high" isn't a key phrase, and sex, boobs, and asses aren't the theme of the song. Yeah I like artists who can rap without needing to be.. alright I'll just say it, stupid and perverted. I honestly don't know a lot of rappers who don't do that. Eminem has SOME good songs, but he falls into all that crap too. Will Smith's stuff is alright I guess. I'm honestly not that into it, but I like dancing to it, and every now and then I find a song that I really like in the Hip-hop field.

10. Country - I honestly do not like country very much at all. I think that the lyrics are lame and dumb, and just absolutely ridiculous sometimes. I can't even EXPLAIN to  you how much I don't like country. However, there are some artists that don't completely suck like: Faith Hill, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood. That's basically it. I'm sure I missed someone else I like too though, but oh well.

11. Post - Hardcore - I will admit there are some songs that I like that fall into this genre, but I mostly just find it whiny and irritating. It's basically guys who sound like girls and they scream sometimes. Like girls. Almost every song sounds the same. Literally. I'm not even kidding. I once looked up a bunch of post-hardcore stuff, four words. Different bands, one tune. I'm telling you. It's pretty bad.

12. Heavy Metal, screamo, hardcore crap - I honestly just don't like listening to a song that does nothing but scream. I don't have any band names, because I don't know any, because I don't like any. Sorry.


That's basically it. There are so many genres of music out there, but that's the list of stuff I know for the most part. The last three are the stuff I generally don't like, but every now and then I come across a good song from one of them. Not the last one though. I don't know one song that I like that is all screaming.

Something I didn't mention though was how much I love musicals and there soundtracks. I love them. Especially Hairspray and Legally Blonde: The Musical.

SO I think YOU all should leave a comment with your list. It doesn't have to be quite as detailed and long as mine, but even just the names in order that you like them.


Also, what do you think of my list?

La Da Da Da La Da Da Da

What to write about, what to write about.... Hmmmm... 

So you should leave me topic ideas in the comments. In fact, I'm not writing a new post until I get at least two suggestions. What do you want to read about?? 

I just got inspired! I put my iPod on shuffle and let it play and wrote down my thoughts during the first 6 songs it played. I'm going to leave this COMPLETELY UNEDITED so it may make no sense! I think that in order to really get the feel of what I wrote that you should listen to the songs as  you read what I wrote about them. So you can get yourself prepared, Here are the 6 songs I listened to: Dream On by Aerosmith, Sweet Caroline by Mark Salling of the Glee Cast, Caught Up by Usher, Fall to Pieces by Avril Lavigne, My Wish by Rascal Flatts, and Maybe by Ingrid Michaelson.

PLEASE COMMENT AND RATE! 

                                                                                       

The song I'm listening to right now is "Dream On" by Aerosmith which incidently was played by a 14 year old at Come 2 Go this month.  He did pretty well I think. Come 2 Go is an open mic thing I go to once a month with my band mate Kelly. Song is over now. New Topic. 

Now "Sweet Caroline" performed by Mark Salling from Glee. I was told that this song was written by like a 40 year old to a 13 year old girl. Creeeeeeeeeeepppyyyyyyy. I like the song either way, and the guy who is singing this version is a total hottie :-) 

OooooooooOooooO "Caught Up" by Usher. I LOVE THIS SONG! It's my favorite song by him! I don't really know why but it always puts me in a really good mood! Makes me wanna dance! However, I'm not dancing right now. I'm sitting around writing this. I'm writing until each song is over, but I don't really have much to say about it.  Once my friend Laura was humming it for this game we were playing  and it sounded more like she was about throw up than it did the song haha!  Wow this song is kinda long, he keeps saying he's caught up over and over and over again... I still love it though!

"Fall to Pieces" by Avril Lavigne. I love this CD. It's off of her second one Under my Skin. I really surprises me how big of a change it was form her second to her third CD was. This one is totally dark and then her newest CD is like Poppy and super happy and preppy. Weird. I still can't even believe it's the same person singing on those two CD's, such polar opposites. This song is one of the happier ones on this CD though. 

"My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. Before you go thinking I'm some kind of country music fan, you need to realize that country is like my third least favorite genre of music out there.  It was like my fifth least favorite, but then I started working at Taco Bell and that was all they ever played and I realized how terrible most of it is and it jumped down two places. I do like some songs though, including this one :-) It's kinda cheesy but I like it either way. I remember seeing the lead singer in the Hannah Montana Movie and being like "is that the dude from Rascal Flatts?" and my friend was like "Uh, no." and then he started sing "Bless the Broken Road" and I was like "HA!" 

Ok last song! "Maybe" by Ingrid Michaelson.  For those of you who don't know, this is my FAVORITE singer! I love all of her music, I don't know one song of her's that I don't  like. Not one. This particular song is really good! It's a little different from her old stuff but it has a really good story! The thing I love about her music is I can relate to every one her songs, they always seem to represent some aspect of my life. If you're looking for some good music, I would recommend anything by her! 

For some reason my wrist is starting to hurt...

Hello everyone!

So guess what? I did not end up going to Missouri for the weekend :(  but I still had a pretty good weekend watching show choirs galore! It was really fun!

I haven't done any book reviews for awhile so I will start with one.  Also I have NOT read anything for the past two weeks! I need to get a move on! You guys gotta pressure me to keep reading! Seriously, every time you see me tell me that I need to keep reading or you'll kill me! (Gemma and Laura I am scared that you will actually do it so your threats would likely be the most effective)  I swear I will never meet my goal if I keep up at this pace!

Anyways, on to the book review: Looking For Alaska by John Green

I read this book from April 20th to April 30th of 2008.  I know I just skipped my book reviews form January to April but the books I read in between that time were not really much to talk about EXCEPT Garden of Shadows by V.C. Andrews but in order to review that book I would have to review the whole series and I am just not in the mood to do that today. Don't get me wrong, the series is AMAZING but I am just not in the right mood to give it the review it deserves.

Back to John Green's book:


Before I read this book I heard rave reviews about it. People were saying it was amazing, life-changing, eye opening. Unfortunately this is not the experience I had while reading this book. I liked it, it was pretty good I suppose, but as for amazing, life-changing, and eye opening,not so much.  After finishing this book I felt nothing but disappointment.  I think that if I had not heard anyone else's opinion on it I would've liked the book a lot more then I did. So, the main reason I didn't like the book that much is because it didn't reach my expectations of it. Now, I love John Green. His blog and his YouTube channel just crack me up, but I read this book before I really knew who he was.  That doesn't mean if I knew who he was when I read it I would have liked it more, but it helps, a bit.  I read this book almost two years ago and I would honestly like to give it another try.  I think that if I read it again I will like it a lot more the second time around 1. Because I'm older and have a better understanding of things and since all these rave reviewers I heard were around my age now when they reviewed it, maybe I will see what they were saying. 2. I have read his other two books and loved them. and 3. Because I love John Green and want to give him another try.  SO, I will let you know when I have re-read Looking For Alaska and I will then post a second review of it. 

For those of you who have read this book or any other book by John Green, did you like it? What is your opinion of it?  and last but not least what is your favorite book by John Green?

For some reason my wrist is starting to hurt so I'm going to leave you with that.  Please comment and rate! Thanks!

~Caitlin~  

On the Road Again...

Hey everyone,

I know it's been awhile but I'm gonna keep this short and simple. I'm going to Missouri for the weekend with my friend DJ and his parents.  I'll tell you how it was when I get back :-)

Til next time....

~Caitlin~

P.S.

If you click the comics they'll show up bigger 

Links, links and MORE LINKS!

I'm not really sure what to talk about today... My weekend wasn't all that interesting. In fact I have to sit and think  for awhile about what I even did. Gosh I'm having some serious memory loss.... Oh wait! I remember! But the only  thing I want to say about it is that I saw a really good movie called To Save a Life...  I got to see this movie for free because it is a teen outreach film and some churches around the area got sponsors to donate money so that they could buyout the tickets and people could see the movie for free. It was a really good movie, kind of cheesy, but in a good way! So if you ever get the chance to see it, it has a good message and just might help point you in the right direction if that's what you need.

I got a letter in the mail recently. I wrote it to myself in July. It's a tradition in the summer camp that I go to called CFO. I'm not brave like my friend Gemma so I'm not going to post what it says because (a.) It has some stuff in it that not everyone who reads this knows about and I can't really have you knowing about quite yet and (b.) Well "b" is the same as "a" but you can't just have an "a" without a "b."  This is what I will say though: It was good.

I just realized that I have already posted three links on here today. I guess I'm just in a link making mood! I think I'm gonna have a Tyler Perry marathon today. Look there's another one! Hehe I'm kind of enjoying this :-) I love his work! He has some stuff that I'm not a big fan of but I love most of it!

How many random things can Caitlin talk about today?  You guys should give me some suggestions for my next blog or so...

I saw Menopause: The Musical with my mom on Thursday and it was HILARIOUS! I'm serious! It's is the best time I've ever had at any theatre performance! If you ever get the chance to go and see it, it is definitely worth your time and money!  I loved it and so did everyone else in the theater!

I have a question for you all if you care to answer...

What is something that you are a fan of and why? Leave a comment and maybe, if you're daring, a link!

 To end things I just want to congratulate one of my favorite people John Green on his new fatherhood! I know you'll never read this but still, yay! You should also check out he and his brother Hanks' YouTube channel  Vlogbrothers

Also, This picture made me laugh haha!

Until next time....

~Caitlin~

P.S.
The links might not work if you open them in a new tab but if you  just click them they work ok.

Halloween virgins make me sad :-(

HELLO EVERYONE!!


Long time no see eh?

Yeah sorry about that. I got pretty busy on Monday and on Tuesday my stupid internet wouldn't work until it was too late.

But I'm back now! I think it's time for a celebration! So yeah, go throw one and tell me how it was. (Don't invite me or anything -.- )

So something I'm about to break a promise.. But I figure hey I have already broken one promise to you this week why not break another?  I don't really feel like talking about the movies I watched this weekend anymore... But I'll tell you what they were and if I liked them or not.

1. The Orphan - I liked it. Creepy, and definitely worth watching. (Btw Kelly, I have not seen the Bad Seed but I've wanted to for awhile. I'm gonna get on that and I'll let you know when I watch it.)
2. Loser - LOVE this movie, but hey I love almost all 90's teen movies! Seriously, anyone who has not discovered the greatness of  90's teen movies and chick flicks, you're MISSING OUT!)
3. Paranormal Activity - OK, I know a ton of people hated this movie because it was "dumb" but I really think that the majority of the people who say that say it because it's the "cool" thing to say. Well I guess I'm just lame because I actually enjoyed it, I've even seen it twice and guess what? I enjoyed it BOTH TIMES! I thought it was interesting and put a decent creepy vibe out. It didn't terrify me or anything, I've seen way scarier movies but alas, I really liked this movie, so what now all you "cool cats"? What now?  Also I would like to know how all of YOU (yes, I mean you as in my 7 readers) feel about this movie? If you've even seen it I mean. If not, do you want to see it?

OK so that last one was sort of long but oh well.

Here is what I really want to talk about today and that is

MICHAEL MYERS: 

In case, you're wondering who Michael Myers is (in which case you should be ashamed of yourself and go catch up on your slasher flick knowledge) he is THE fictional serial killer of all fictional serial killers! At least in my opinion. I don't why they haven't come out with a Michael Myers vs. Everyone Else movie yet. I mean seriously! They have Freddy vs. Jason and let's just face it Michael Myers would defeat both of them in like half a second. It's sad really, how lame everyone else is in comparison to him.  Now those of you who disagree may have some problems with my post here today and might not want to continue reading this. Seriously though! The man has been caught on fire, blown up, zipped in a body bad without oxygen for at least 6 hours, shot in the forehead at point blank range, and had his head chopped off (OK that wasn't technically him, but STILL) and he is STILL kickin'! The dude has survived almost forty years without so much as a SCRATCH on his body! I think that means he's basically un-defeatable. OK seriously the Director's Cut of Rob Zombies' Halloween II sucked a**! Seriously, the theatrical version is way better, but the movie in general still just isn't that good for reasons that would take me forever to explain but I might do that in my next post. However, Rob Zombie's first remake of Halloween I was AWESOME to say the least.

I still love the originals though.  My friend Shelby and I spent all of Halloween 09' watching every old Halloween movie.12 straight hours of them. Minus Halloween 3 and 6 because let's face it, wastes of time. I of course had already seen them each at least ten times, but Shelby was a Halloween virgin, and Halloween virgins make me sad :-(  

So anyways, back to Michael Myers.  There really isn't any explanation as to why he is a psycho killer dude, but he is nonetheless.  He kills anyone and everyone who gets in his way.  I was talking with my friend DJ about possibilities as to why he is so angry, and I think we have pinned it! LACK OF SLEEP!

Why lack of sleep? Well, I mean, if I never got any sleep, I would be pretty mad too! I'd be killin' people left and right! Seriously, those of you who know me, know that I can't even go a one night without sleep without wanting to kill at minimum, everyone in the room. This dude probably goes weeks without sleeping (if he even DOES sleep)! So in  Rob Zombies' Halloween II when those two dudes wrecked into a cow and they woke Michael Myers up, they had what was coming to them. I'm pretty sure he was like "Are you kidding me?!?!?! After 20 years I FINALLY get some shut-eye and you dumba**es woke me up after only like 20 minutes?!?!?!?!?! Alright I'm gonna have to kill you in a really really painful and gory way."

What do YOU think of Michael Myers or the Halloween series in general?

Do you agree? Lack of sleep, yeah?

Let me know :-)

~Caitlin~              

How does one be insightful?!

Hey everyone,

Does it really count as a Sunday blog when it's 10:45 p.m.? I don't think so. I think that by this time everyone (meaning 6 people...maybe) has given up on me and won't even get on to read this until tomorrow.  I'm sorry to say that I haven't thought of anything clever to write about.  I suppose I could talk about how my day went, but it really wasn't all that entertaining.  Of course, I could talk about my weekend, which was pretty interesting. (Not so much as interesting as entertaining. To me at least.)  I'm very easily entertained.

I suppose I'll just talk about my weekend, and since my weekend consisted of watching 5 movies I'll throw in some quick movie reviews here and there.

MY WEEKEND: 


I'll start where it started, which I've always heard, is a good place to start.  On Friday evening I went over to my friend Beth's house for a sleepover.  My friends, Shelby, Kelly, Michelle, Kevin, Chelsea, Diana, Ian (who I never get to see!), and Kevin were there at first. Eventually though, Kevin left and we replaced him with Laura. Rewind: Before Laura got there and Kevin left, we watched the Hangover. Which brings us to my first...

Movie Review: The Hangover 


So, this was my second time sitting through this movie, and later at around 3 a.m. the movie was played again. I however, do not like watching movies twice in one day so I just went to sleep. Anyways, back to the movie.    The first time I saw this, I wasn't very impressed, but I was half asleep at the time so I won't count that.  I actually ended up enjoying it much more this time around.  Was it because I was with a group of friends who were endlessly quoting every funny part and cracking up? Or was it because it was generally a funny movie that tickled my funny bone? Probably a bit of both.  Ria, I'm trying to be insightful but failing! How does one be insightful?! How???? Maybe it's just because this movie is pretty straightforward and you don't really need a lot of insight to enjoy it... I don't know! What do you think? I liked this movie, and so should you.  (OK, I know I just came off as kind of pretentious right there. Sorry about that.)

The rest of the evening was alright, I love my friends, I really do! But sometimes I just act like an oldie and am all boring and just sit around instead of jump around and laugh about really random things (actually I do laugh at really random things but no one else seems to think the stuff I laugh at is funny), so I didn't have as much fun as everyone else did.  It's cool though, still had a good time for the most part.

The next day, (after many nerf-gun wars between me and my friend Ian,) when everyone went home, Shelby and I spent the night at Beth's again.  We rented four movies, but only made it through about two and a half.  This is probably because I delayed our movie watching time by kicking Ian's butt on Madden '10! Yeah Ian you know that's what happened! This brings us to my next...

Movie Review: Fight Club


This, like the Hangover, was my second time watching this film. "Let me tell you a bit about Tyler Durden..." and that's all I have to say about that.  **** 4 stars!  


Movie Review #3: The Orphan 


This movie was interesting. It had good plot twist and it definitely got the audience involved. It kind of reminds me of an extreme version of the 90's movie starring Macaulay Caulkin called The Good Son.  (Which incidentally I had to write a paper about last semester)  I really REALLY want to continue this review but alas I'm am becoming tired and am getting lazy with my thoughts and writing so I PROMISE I will continue it tomorrow, along with the other two movies I watched this weekend! 

Be sure to check my page tomorrow! I promise I'll have it up at a decent hour this time!

Till next time....

~Caitlin~

Short On Time, Low On Money

I don't have a lot of time today but I thought I would write a quick entry. I want to start off by saying that I am going to TRY and update this every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. So that's when you should be on the lookout for new posts from me.

Next, a friend of mine from my lovely writer's group said I should be a bit more insightful on here and maybe ask a few discussion questions so I could have more reader participation and interest. What fabulous ideas! I'll try to do that more often!

Well folks, I'm Away Laughing on a Fast Camel...
~Caitlin~

“I don’t know that show. Let’s just pretend to flip some pans and stuff.”

SORRY ABOUT THE CRAPPY SPACING! BLAME THE SITE! 


Things that are going to be in this blog:

• Book Review
• Movie Review 
• Some Stuff in My Life

I’ll try not to bore you, but if I do… Well I’m sorry, I’ll try and do better next time… (No I won’t.)
So, first things first
Book Review:  Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (Read January 10-15, 2008)
I want to start by saying that Ellen Hopkins is one of my favorite authors! Her stuff is dark but it’s amazing and well written! If you’re looking for a good read, I would recommend any of her stuff.  I own and have read every book by her. The book I am about to review though, happens to be my favorite.

This book is viewed from the perspective of three young people in a mental hospital.  The reason they are there is because they each tried to commit suicide, but failed. (Obviously) This book is the story of their experiences, and each of their stories come together to make a strong and emotional impact on the reader.  I’m not gonna lie. I get emotional over books or movies, but most of the time they just make me tear up, not actually cry.  However, every now and then I get so into something that I do shed some tears, and this book was one of those things. Ultimately, this is one of the best books that I have ever read, and you should read it too!

 Speaking of crying it’s time to move on to the


Movie Review: District 9


Alright now this movie made me want to cry…. Cry over the precious time I WASTED watching it! Now I have heard great reviews of this movie. Internet Movie Database gave it 8.4 stars. One of the good reviews I heard was from one of my college professors.  That’s probably the one that convinced to see it the most because in the two classes I have had with her; we tend to have similar views on things. Well I have one question… What the hell are these people thinking?! I did not enjoy this movie at all! I found it boring and all the crappy camerawork gave me a headache. There really should be some law in moviemaking that sets a limit for the amount of handheld camera shots allowed in one film. I mean seriously! I know, I know, it’s art and art is expression and there shouldn’t be rules, and I’m almost positive that I will get some comment about how handheld shots are so profound or some B.S. like that. There is a time and place for handheld shots and most movies take it too far.  In the end this movie wasn't worth my time and I am glad I didn’t spend money to see it.

Moving on, time for

Some Stuff in My Life:
So yesterday I started one of my college classes, Introduction to Theatre Appreciation.  I spent the whole day dreading this class because it takes place from 6:30 to 9:20 p.m. Holy crap! That’s crazy! So I get into the classroom late because of traffic, and find that there is only one seat left, smack dab in the middle of the front row.  Great. Ultimately though, I ended up having a good time.  My teacher is one of those ladies who are really loud and laugh at really random stuff. Sometimes after saying something out loud, she quietly says some like inside joke and starts laughing out loud and the class casually laughs along while secretly wondering what they are laughing at.  Better crazy and fun than boring and dull I say.  The stuff we learned about was pretty interesting, and we got to do some fun stuff as well.  For example I was in a group that had to act out a cooking show and me and the other girl in my group (who by the way is at least a half a foot shorter than me but most likely more, yes! I score some tall points!) So, we’re trying to explain some competitive cooking shows to the guy in our group.  This was rather difficult because his only response was “I don’t know that show. Let’s just pretend to flip some pans and stuff.” I wanted to punch him.  Ultimately we ended up doing a combination of Iron Chef America, Chopped, and Food Network Challenge and the challenge was to cook dishes made of apples and lobsters with a circus theme.  I made everyone laugh. Twice. But, the other groups were funnier. Dang.  The highlight of the class however, was this one dude.  Why was he the highlight?  Well, he is one of the oddest looking people I have ever seen. I mean he had like a huge blonde afro and buggo eyes! I mean I’m telling you! He is a weird lookin’ dude! Also, when his group went he played a drug dealer and kept saying “take these, they’ll make you FEEL GOOD!” while shaking his whole body.  Strangely, I want to be his friend. As long as he’s not insane or anything… well as long as he’s not CLINICALLY insane…

                Here is a drawing of what he looks like

               Ok so that doesn't EXACTLY capture it but I’m not good at paint.

Books!

Reading and playing guitar are my two favorite hobbies, but today I will only be talking about the former.

So, (I say “so“and “like” a lot. Sorry about that.) In 2008, I started keeping record of every book I read.  I use this A Series of Unfortunate Events journal that I got for Christmas when I was like 13.

Nifty huh?

So here’s how it works:

·         I make a goal at the beginning of each year of how many books I want to read.

·         I then write down the title of the books I read and the dates I read them in.

·         I also write the books I listen to on CD but those do not count towards the goal number.

I usually make my goal 20 and in the two years I have been doing this I have yet to reach my goal number by the end of the year.

For Example:

In 2008: My original goal was to read 50 books, but by June I realized that was definitely not going to happen so I changed it to 20. Unfortunately I only managed to read 17 books altogether. I also listened to two audio books.

In 2009: I gave myself a more reasonable goal of 20 and STILL only managed to read 17 books! This year however, I managed to listen to five audio books, so that’s a plus.  I did start reading two books, however, I did not get them finished before the year ended. I did finish them earlier this month though so I have counted them as one book for each year because they were basically split in half and two halves make a whole right? So ultimately I read 18 books last year.

I want to take this time to inform you that this year is going to be a HUGE year for me! I’ll be graduating from high school in June and going away to college in August, but what was I most excited for when the clock struck midnight January 1, 2010? The fact that I get to start fresh on new book list! (What does this say about me? Anything good?)

And here is some more good news:

I already have one book down! Yeah, remember the last paragraph where I mentioned the half-read books?  Off to a great start! The goal is 20 again this year and I’m determined to reach it!

Now that I have covered the basics, here is the real blog:

I would like to review each book I have read or listened to in the last two years. (Not all in one blog of course! Gosh that would be dreadful, wouldn’t it?) So I’ll just do one book at a time. 

Jade Green: A Ghost Story By Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
I started this book on January 1, 2008 and finished it on the 5^th of the same month.  I once started reading this book when I was in 6^th grade but alas I never finished it, so I decided to give it another go, and I am glad that I did!  Even though this book was written for a younger audience, it can be enjoyed by anyone! Not only is it suspenseful, but it’s well written and keeps you interested the entire time.  It is about a girl who has to move in with a distant relative, I can’t really remember why she had (hey, it’s been two years, give me a break! I suppose I could look it up but I’m too lazy. I think it’s because her mother dies.) But she had to nonetheless.  Anyways, this relative is rather wealthy and hates the color green.  The house ends up being haunted by the spirit of a young girl named Jade Green and the book is focused around solving the mystery of her death. Living with an almost invisible uncle, a not so-invisible cousin, (I don’t literally mean invisible by the way, for any of those who may have been having a blonde moment,) isn’t so easy for her, but the kind and warm maid brings a good balance to things.  Also, for those of you who can’t read a story that doesn’t have a love storyline, there is a handsome young suitor interested in the main character.  I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone!

That’s all I’ve got for you today! Comment please! Tell me if it was terrible! Thanks J   ~Caitlin~