Author Archives: Duff

Fantasy: “Graceling” and “Fire”, both by Kristin Cashore

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I absolutely loved these books; they sucked me right into their world and I didn’t really ever want to leave. (A third book is being written…. Wahoo.)

A world where people have “talents” or “graces.”

Graceling: a novel of growing up, of standing one’s ground, of discovering the hidden layers, of coming to know oneself.

Fire: a different sort of animal, a story of someone already grown but not always allowed to grow, already knowing oneself, but coming to better know others.

Lyrically written, they both made me cry at points. They both made me yearn.

Note: Fire is a prequel but I’d say DEFINITELY read it second as it gives away something that you want to figure out more slowly as you read Graceling.

The Comfort Food of DVDs

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So I like to have movies on in the background when I’m crafting but they generally have to be movies I both like and have seen a million times. I once had a friend come over and ask:

Her: “What do you do with all these DVDs?”
Me: “What do you mean? I watch them.”
Her: “You rewatch movies?”
Me: [Stunned Silence.]

Wednesday

  • Tristan & Isolde – Mmmm James Franco mmmmm.
  • In the Line of Fire – One of my all-time favorite movies. Unfortunately it appears to be time for a new DVD as this one kept mysteriously skipping scenes!
  • Three Days of the Condor – An old espionage favorite. I love her photographs.
  • The Other Boleyn Girl – The only one I hadn’t seen before (I needed a break in my crafting!). I remember this getting seriously panned but I thought it was decent. Portman and Johanssen really playing against type here.
  • Chariots of Fire – Oh Yes. Watching this counts as exercising, right?

Thursday

  • Garden State – Music and laughter.
  • Laurel Canyon – Music and angst. And Alessandro Nivola being very sexy.
  • Iron Man – RDJ has never been more fun.
  • Hot Fuzz – This will never get old.
  • Point Break – How can you watch Hot Fuzz and NOT follow it up with Point Break? But in all seriousness, this might be my favorite movie of all-time. And it is definitely my favorite Keanu movie of all-time.

And I’m off to the theater to see Avatar today. I actually think the previews make it look really, REALLY DUMB, but Steve keeps SWEARING it’s good and Carlos suggested it. So we’ll see.

Big Screen: Up in the Air

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Even though I am waaaay behind on movie reviews (which is odd considering I haven’t even seen very many this year, I’m going to tell you about last night’s flick anyway! I’ll get all caught up on Snip over my “winter break.” I’m sure you were concerned heh…

So last night I saw the new Clooney movie (I believe it’s set to come out 12/25 [per IMDB] but I have connections…)… It was a really good solid flick. My friend Steve is calling it, at this point, his #1 of the year. I don’t feel quite as strongly as him, but I did really enjoy it.

As Jason Reitman movies are (Juno, Thank You for Smoking), it’s chock full of dialogue and witty interplay. Clooney is really charming for a character with some very fucked up ideas about how to live life, and the interplay with Vera Farmiga is pretty great.

It’s quite bittersweet and the ending is either really sad or sorta hopeful depending on which members of our group you ask. We all enjoyed it. We also enjoyed that they credited someone as playing “Makeout Dave.” I plan to introduce myself as Makeout Carolyn in the future. Hahahaha.

I oddly happened to be with a group of people who mostly have not seen “The Departed”* and was really weirded out the whole movie by how different Farmiga’s face looked from her (awesome) performance in The Departed. Lo and behold, she was pregnant (or had just been pregnant?) during the filming. That must’ve been a body double in the one, fairly gratuitous, random look at her nekkidness.

*I didn’t think those people existed. Watch The Departed. It’s good!

Dear “Bones”,

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You used to be a show I loved. Two seriously misguided season finales later*, and then last night’s episode was basically an infomercial for Avatar? Are you fucking kidding me? I can only imagine how bad this year’s season finale will be. But that’s right, I’ll ONLY be imagining it.

Sincerely,
we will not be seeing each other again,
because (not so) suddenly you suck,
Duff.

*I gave you a pass on the ridiculously ill-conceived, not-plotted-out reveal of Zach because the first eps of the next season were so fun. But last year’s finale? ALSO SUCKED. And WAS STUPID. And this Avatar bullshit is really the last straw.

BTW, that movie looks really dumb and if you were going to be an hour-long infomercial, you could have picked something better to promote. Like a hot car. Or Beer.

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for November.

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Bought:

  • Magic in the Shadows, by Devon Monk*
  • Graceling, by Kristin Cashore*
  • The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson*
  • Hold Still, by Nina LaCour*
  • Fire, by Kristin Cashore†
  • Prophecy of the Sisters, by Michelle Zink
  • The English American, by Alison Larkin
  • The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks

Read:
  • Toast, by Nigel Slater
  • Magic in the Shadows, by Devon Monk
  • Graceling, by Kristin Cashore
  • Fire, by Kristin Cashore
  • Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
  • The English American, by Alison Larkin
  • Normal People Don’t Live Like This, by Dylan Landis
  • The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks
  • Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?, by Preston Jones and Greg Graffin

*Bought via 20% off coupon on National Bookstore Day!!
†30% off coupon

Noted and Quoted.

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Thought you might enjoy seeing the Reference list for my Literacy & Society position paper.

  • “About a Boy” (2002). Universal Pictures.
  • Au, Kathryn H. (1998) “Constructive Approaches, Phonics, and the Literacy Language of Students of Diverse Backgrounds.” National Reading Conference Yearbook, 47.
  • Bjorklund, David (2005). Children’s Thinking; Cognitive Development and Individual Differences. Fourth Edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
  • Nussbaum, Martha (1997). Cultivating Humanity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • “The Reader” (2008). Mirage Enterprises.
  • Scribner, Silvia (1984). “Literacy in Three Metaphors.” American Journal of Education. Chicago: University of Chicago.
  • Skorokhodova, Olga Ivanova. As quoted by F.T. Mikhailov (1980). The Riddle of the Self. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
  • Socrates. As quoted by Plato, Apology 38a.

Yup, that’s the way I roll.