Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.....AMAZING

OMG!!! Today, November 19th, 2010, Harry Potter 7 (the first half) opened in theatres. I am  BIG Harry Potter Nerd...although not quite as big as one of my best friends, so I went to the midnight premier. Compared to past movies, for example the 6th one, this movie adaptation was pretty accurate, albeit there was things left out, which is to be expected. I'm just glad that they didn't add much that wasn't in the book. Did i mention it was Amazing?!?!?! lol I cried at the end when Dobby died, it was so terrible.....unfortunately I know that it only gets worse in the second half of the book. :( Although I don't want Harry Potter to end, I am SUPER excited for July. It will be really sad though, because it will be the end of an era; i mean, i essentially grew up with Harry Potter and after Part 2, there'll be nothing to look forward to. At least the written word lasts and I will ALWAYS have my HP books. <3
B

National Novel Writing Month

Hello people,
so on October 31, I signed up to participate in this year's NaNoWriMo contest. This is where authors (old and new) all over the world attempt the finish a 50,000 word novel by November 30th. This is a huge task, I know, but my friend kept asking me about it and she asked me last year to, so I thought I might as weel try for it. I know that several people have said that this goal is ridiculous and mostly I agree. I think the idea of forcing oneself to write and especially write based on wordcount is a stupid idea. And yet, I find myself doing just that. I beleive I have been sucked into the tornado that is NaNoWriMo and so far besides freaking out becuase I'm behind, it's been somewhat enjoyable. I feel like by forcing myself to sit down and try to get so far each day, I am actually progressing...which is a releif since its taken me six years to reach 30,000 words on my other novel. :) Anyway, hopefully I'll post excerpts from the story...anybody who actually read this please feel free to criticize (constructively of course!) in order that I can get some feedback as I write. Well, I must dash....lots of typing and creative expressing to do!
pray for my insane self in this hour of gravest self-torture...lol
ttyl lovelies
B

Rumor Has It....

Heyo! I know I haven't blogged in forever, I've been uber busy. Anyway, it has recently come to my attention that within the Civil War reenacting group to which I belong there has been some chit-chatting behind closed doors regarding my personal spin on decorous behavior. According to some standards I have not been conducting myself in a respectable (which here means prudish) manner. I am entirely to free-spirited for their conservative tastes...maybe it has something to do with being a hippie/flower child. My mom told me that my dad had told her about the rumors in the first place. According to her, he was really upset by the rumors....me? i think it's hilarious. Apparently he went all gung-ho and ripped the gossipers to pieces about it. Gotta love someone who'll stand up for your "honor" lol. Anyway, my take on the situation is that my knowledge of their disapprobation makes it my duty to piss them off as much as possible!! Haha, that's all lovelies! I will write soon!
B

A Rose in My Hand

You held my hand as the world fell down, the life I knew,
crashing to its knees. The light went out ouf our lighthouse, crashing our
ship on the jagged spires of grief and loss;
but your hand stayed firm in mine.
Together we rebuilt the world:
smile by smile, memory by memory, laugh by laugh.
We entombed our pain in paper and glue,
and slowly our rose began to bloom again.
We carried eachother, through dark valleys,
across high mountains, through verdant fields past pools of unmoving water.
The sun rose anew, but the clouds still hovered.
When your hand let go of mine,
the ground disappeared.
Now alone,
I begin to build once again,
the clouds suffocating the sky.
Six rays of light stream across the floor;
the promise of new life and hope.
And from my heart, two roses grow.

♥ B

All this past week, I have had the urge to sit down before my laptop and "pen" a blog...but every time I have sat down before my computer, I have suddenly become blank and disinterested and turn instead to more amusing web pages. I have no idea why this is, except maybe the fact that I seem to be most often inspired to blog during Philosophy, and I obviously can't blog at that time and have to wait until later thus ageing the juices.
Anyway, the first five days of Junior year have been survived,  with a fairly positive future lingering in the distance. It scares me to think that I am really in my second to last year at Central. When I started high school, I think sub-consciously i thought that high school would last as long as grade school would, and therefore I would know the people for the same length of time. It has been somewhat of a shock realizing that no, it is in fact really only four years of schooling, and in a little over a year and a half, I will graduate and I won't see the same people that I've known since freshman year and there's no guarantee that I'll stay friends with people I've met since I started here, if only because we all go to different schools and become too busy to get together much of the time, thereby decaying connections; something that has happened with a few people from my grade school and junior high. I wish time would slow down and these next two years will be awesome and the end will never come...but time always has a way of speeding up when you really want it to pass in a stately manner...as everyone well knows.
I would just like to say that I am proud of myself (in a not too egotistical way) because I actually went to my first Central football game last Friday. It seems like a small accomplishment, but I had soooo much fun! It was especially cool because it was the annual Battle for the Musket which is a yearly game against our arch-enemy over an actual musket. I really felt like I was part of the school, standing there in the rain shouting and screaming, and cheering our team onto VICTORY! I actually stood for over two hours straight without getting tired...part of which because I was running high on adrenaline ;). I plan to actually go to Homecoming this year (yay!) and I really hope to get to at least one of the soccer games this season...seeing as soccer is my favorite sport.:)
Ok, well this blog didn't go exactly as I was thinking it would, but that's ok.
<3
Slán go fóill
B

T'is the last rose of summer...

Hey there!
So, it's has finally come, no matter how hard I've tried to push it away, the last weekend of summer. In two days I have to wake up at 6 and get on the bus and walk into that prison school by 7:30. No joke, the school was built in the untilitarian style of  prison. Anyway, aside from seeing friends that I havn't seen in three months, I am not looking forward to starting junior year. At least, my last week of summer has been fun even if it's been less than relaxing. For the last 11 days, Minnesotans and other Mid-Westerners have been experiencing and tasting the delights of the Great Minnesotan Get-Together, or the State Fair, one of the biggest in the country. :) I love the state fair, and I go every year, almost always more than once, an I plan to keep going until I die...maybe from  cardiac arrest caused by excess grease intake. ; ) One of the best (and the most annoying) things about the fair is that on each excursion to the grounds, I always always see someone, usually more than one person, that I know. It was really cool on tuesday, because I got to see one of the guys that I went to grade-school and junior high with and I hadn't seen in over two years. It was a little awkward, but it was still great to see him. The one downside was that for the next few days, I kept thinking about 8th grade and all the preceding years and all the experieces that my class shared. It was really sad to think that we'll most likely not see eachother all together again. :( I was thinking maybe I'd put together a reunion but I don't know because it's a lot of work to put one together. Anyway, the rest of the week was pretty fun becuase I got to go to the fair again and we went up north and visited Glensheen Mansion, Gooseberry Falls, and Split Rock Lighthouse. I love it up by Superior, it's so beautiful even if it was pretty chilly for August.
Hasta la vista!
B

Our Fathers Brought Forth, Upon This Continent, A New Nation

Do you know what it feels like to be a part of something? One of the reasons that I love being a part of LHS and going to Pipestone is that I feel like I'm a part of something. It's like a dream down there, what with all the tourists around and being surrounded by a rustling cloud of hoop skirts and such. While at an event, I feel like I belong, becuase the people are gaping at all of us :). We don't just put on a show for an audience; essentially we live it. Period conversations, period food, period almost everything! Victorian Society (which I'm also part of) feels more like just dressing up and gong out...LHS is a group that teaches. The period accuracy might be a pain in the butt sometimes, but it makes it real.  I mean, I've been going to these types of events ever since I can remember, and although I got tired of them and took a break for awhile, I really do enjoy it. I've known some of the other members for my entire life and in a way, LHS is almost almost like a second family....well maybe a third family.
 Fashion Program Picnic on the egde of the battlefield Watching the battle August 14 Battle August 14 Tea with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln August 15 Watching the battle August 15

Enjoy the pictures!
♥ Bridget

Four Score and Seven Years Ago

Tonight my family an I returned from a weekend long Civil War reenactment. This Civil War Days festival takes place every two years an we have been going since I was four...so essentially we've been going for twelve years even though we've only been there six times. This time was different slightly for me because I am now supposedly "out in society", therefore I can't be running around with my bonnet hanging down my back like I used to; that's not to say I didn't try though :). This means that I had to be chaperoned anywhere I wanted to go outside the LHS (Living History Society) tent, and if my dad wasn't around, then my younger brother had to take me...even if it was to walk the fifty feet to the shop where my dad was browsing. This dependence was kind of annoying, but it also gave me a chance to drag my brother around and make him pick up things that I dropped and couldn't bend to pick up because of my corset. It was really fun in Pipestone because someone that we kind of grew up with (doing this reenacting) was there and so we all kind of "hung out", in as much as we tried to have as much fun as we could while still being pretty period accurate. On Saturday it was pretty hot, but I had on a silk sheer dress, so what breeze there was floated through the sleeves and skirt which kept me relatively comfortable. Saturday night there was a dance on the lawn of Pipestone City Hall. It was pretty fun but I wish they'd done more dances rather than stopped after 5. Anyway, I did a reel with my dad which was rather difficult because my dress somehow ended up floor-length, so it was rather difficult stepping backward and sashaying. Then later this like 7 year-old kid asked me to dance. He was so cute that I had to say yes, even though I'm terrible shy especially near a dance floor. Unfortunately there weren't enough couples to make another square in the quadrille so we had to wait for the next dance. When the next dance started, Katurah switched out with me and dad switched with the little kid, so we weren't actually partners but we were in the same square...i got a tall, awkward soldier. I noticed that subconsciously I have matured since the last Pipestone. While consciously I shy away from the idea of dancing with a stranger, subconsciously though, I think that if some other guy had asked me to dance, I would most likely have said yes. Getting me to dance is like pulling teeth, but once I'm dancing, I have a ton of fun... I love to dance ;P. Well, it's almost three, so I'm going to have to finish this another time.
♥ B

After all, tomorrow is another day!

And so, this well known final line of a great literary work, begins my post.
Today, August 3, 2010, at 3:35 am, I finished what I believe to be an amazing if bigoted piece of literature; Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I have seen the movie numerous times, but lately I had an inclination to read the original work from 1936. Having participated in Civil War reenacting since I was quite young, this story has always held some allure for me, let alone fulfilled the needs of my Hopeless Romantic Syndrome. :) Anyone who has seen the movie adaptation of Gone With the Wind must agree with me that Scarlett O'Hara (Hamilton, Kennedy, Butler) is not a lady under any circumstances. In fact she is quite adequately labeled by other names which decency prevents me from typing here. ;) In the movie Scarlett is a spoiled brat who, due to the Civil War, is thrown with the rest of Georgia into the throes of poverty and is burdened with the almost certain death sentence of starvation and despair. Although only nineteen when she is loosed to survive by herself and presented with the care of her beloved plantation Tara and all it's occupants, Scarlett manages to pull through, although the hardness she developed during the hard years was never to truly leave her. She later becomes a wealthy snob and lords over all her old friends in their prideful poverty that the war left them in. The movie stayed pretty true to the book (which is, as all book lovers know, quite unusual), but the one thing that sets the book apart and I think makes it more appealing in some ways, is that in the book you see what goes on in Scarlett's head; you truly understand the hardships that make her the character that she is. You also begin to sympathize with the Confederates and realize that the Yankees were not all they were cracked up to be...but that's for another post. Anyway, while reading the book, I actually felt genuine sympathy for Scarlett at times because of the cruelties of life that she had to endure at such a young age. That sympathy of course turned once again to disgust and hate when Scarlett begins her marriage with Rhett Butler, since as all my close friends know, he is my favorite character....the poor sad fool who was the only man who ever really loved Scarlett and had his heart broken and trampled on because of his useless ardor. My fascination and preference, stems mostly from the fact that I am in great admiration of Clark Gable's performance as Captain Butler, but I do actually like the character, for all his bad traits, if only for his hopeless love....thus crying out to my Romantic soul. :) Although the lack of conscience in Scarlett sometimes makes you shake your head in disapproving amazement, I don't think that she is quite as unfeeling and bad as the movie portrays, because like I said, you don't see her internal/mental struggle. Besides, if we were nineteen and had more than ten people looking to you for food and comfort and the Yankees had stolen everything from you including your mother, and we had been brought up in a sheltered life without being taught the necessary survival skills to bear life on our own, what would any of us have done? We would have made the best of it and done anything we could to provide for our families, no matter how scanty the provisions. This is exactly what Scarlett did. So despite her selfishness and her cruelty, I have to admire her spirit and her strength...and her Irish refusal to be trampled on and destroyed.  

The Literary Genius of J.K. Rowling

I just want to say flat out that I love Harry Potter!
A few years ago, I was obsessed with Twilight and I assured my friend that it was definitely better than Harry Potter. I have since recanted as I have awoken from my fiendish stupor. I finished the 7th book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for those who haven't heard) last saturday; once completed I literally sat in my chair for ten minutes marvelling at the masterpiece that I had just experienced. Okay, so I'm dramatizing a bit, but hey, I love the books! :) Anyway, I have of course read the books before but each time is a magical (hehe) experience. Besides the brilliance of of the series itself, I have great respect for J.K. Rowling's writing ability and talent. One thing that I especially admire is that way that the authoress ages the characters. As they get older, the humor changes, the emotions are more mature, and the general plot of each successive book becomes deeper. While the later books are much darker than the early ones, personally I think that it takes the series to a new level.  According to Stephen King "will indeed stand time's test and wind up on a shelf where only the best are kept; I think Harry will take his place with Alice, Huck, Frodo, and Dorothy and this is one series not just for the decade, but for the ages"(Stephen King). Although the movies based on hte books are great, they are nothing compared to the books. I have heard people agree with my view that Harry Potter is beyond amazing who have only ever seen the movies and I cannot understand how they can base their opinion on films that barely scratch teh surface of the wizarding world. It's a shame, they are all missing out!
Anyway, Harry Potter nerd signing off,
Mischief Managed
B

Letting Go is Hard to Do

Letting go is hard to do. For some reason I have a particularly hard time with it. Old friends, old classmates, relatives and friends passing on.....I just can't seem to stop missing them. It's going to be hard at the end of the summer again becuase The Lake is being sold. The Lake is lakeside property (no duh) that has been in my dad's family for nearly 70 years. My grandparents owned it and then sold half to my aunt and her husband and half to my uncle and his wife. When my aunt passed away in 2004, her portion was passed to her husband who never really cared about the lake. He wanted to sell right after she died, but he kept it because he couldn't sell without my uncle's consent.....which he wouldn't give becuase his wife was suffering from cancer and he didn't want her last days to be without the lake. When she died and then my uncle died, the lake passed to their six children, but my uncle told his eldest "when He wants to sell, sell". Now this guy who cared nothing about the lake and really about this family, wants to sell, and indeed has sold the lake. I get that he's protecting his assets because he was still paying taxes even though he never used the place, but still. The loss is like losing both aunts, my uncle, and my grandma all over again. All my childhood years, The Lake has been their...all my memories,,,gone. It's gonna be harder on my dad becuase he's known it longer, but still.....I'm not really sure how we're going to all get through this. Last sunday my dad's side of the family celebrated the Fourth at The Lake just like we always do; as it's been done for generations. (The family meets on Memorial Day, the opening of the season; Fourth of July; and Labor Day, the close of the season). The festivities were understandably subdued, seeing as it was our last Fourth. I've decided to make a scrap book with leaves and pictures from the lake, get a jar of sand from the beach, and collect some rocks just like i did from the cottage in Ireland. Anyway, it's getting late, but I just wanted to get this off my chest.

B

Every memory of lookin’ out the back door, I got the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor

So, most people know about St. Paul Connections. Since I'm going full IB the next two years, I have to get all of my art & tech credits as well as most of my elective credits outside of school. Last week and this week I'm taking a photography class at Concordia. I had never really thought about photography before this class, besides of course taking random photos with friends or of nature....or my cats. However, I'm really enjoying the class and am learning all types of stuff. I've even started planning/staging photos that I see clearly in my head. I'm thinking of writing poetry to correspond with some of the pictures I take. Hopefully I'll add some of my work soon, but I don't know. Anyway, I just wanted to say hey, and maybe someday soon I'll find enough time to write a decent length blog post. ;)
TTFN,
Bridget

Poetic Irony

So, today I was paging through my favorite volume of Emily Dickinson after taking a final, losing myself in her simple artistry. Anyway, as I was reading, I noticed myself sub-consciously looking for the meaning of the poem and the purpose for which it was written. In the very back of my mind, the part that hasn't quite shut down for the summer yet, I was composing outlines for mini-commentaries. Now, I dislike commentaries mostly because there were so many of them this year; although poetry commentaries are almost always easier because they have much more symbolism and double meanings and such. I just find it rather ironic that no matter how much I dislike actually sitting down to piece them together, apparently my brain has taken the process and made it a reflexive reaction to the trickle of verse across an eager palette. So, I guess I'd have to say "Kudos, Ms. Peifer" for drilling this skill into our stubborn, unwilling membranes; I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to lose it anytime soon.
Slanche!
Bridget

You Raise Me Up So I Can Stand On Mountains

Dealing with death is hard enough, but waiting as someone labors through their last days is so much more excruciating. As the long days draw onward, you simply wish that their suffering end and that they be ushered into the ethreal embrace of the angels. The unknown is terrinble; not knowing whether they're going to last the night,  or whether the next time you check their CaringBridge you're going to find a post that starts out "It is with heavy heart.....".
One of my mentors and dear friends is breathing in her last sunsets, whispering her last words to the beckoning stars. I can't believe that she's actually going to leave this world, even though I haven't seen her in two years. When I was in elementary school and junior high, she was one of the brightest of my guiding lights. She helped me through the lingering depression after my grandma died, encouraged me to accept my grandpa's new wife, and comforted me when life just seemed to hard to go on. One of the kindest, wisest women I know, she never let me be pitiful and childesh; when I was being a baby, she let me know, but then laughed and suggested we play UNO. She helped me in so many ways, I know I'll never be able to repay her. All I can hope to do is to share the kindeness, love, and understanding that she bestowed on me with the rest of the world.
♥ u MG!!
Slán go fóill,
Bridget

Blah blah blah...Al Bailar!

Well, I fell rather neglectful of this blog since I haven't written in like a month, even though I never wrote regularly before.☺ Anyway, I really have no idea what to write about, I just felt like writng something. I'm really happy because I have finally mostly unblocked my stagnant creative juices. I finally got around to putting all my Enya albums back on my iPod the other night. Today after a test I had a chunk of free time and so I pulled out my ragged notebook to see if I could form a few lines, and plugged my ipod into my ears. The minute the first haunting strains of "Smaointe" began to wind thorugh my ear canal, the words began to flow. I think I wrote five pages today; an amount that is seemingly small, but it's the best I've done in months!
I was thinking today, we never know how far our families go, or who we could be related to. I mean, the farhter out you track (4th, 5th, 6th cousins etc) the higher chance you have of being related to someone famous...or infamous. I learned two years ago that Mike Farrell, the guy who plays B.J. Hunnicut on the tv show M*A*SH is actually like my fourth cousin on my dad's side. It's so awesome! I even got to meet him a two summers ago when he was here for a book signing, that was amazing. The scariest thing though, is that you can really see the resemblence between him and my dad. They even make the same expressions! I was watching M*A*S*H the other day, and one of the expressions that B.J. was one that I've seen so many times when my dad's really pissed...it kind of freaked me out a little bit. :)
Then last summer I learned that my mom's first cousin is Robbie Rasta, the lead singer and bass guitarist for the reggae group Militia of Love. Granted they're not totally famous, but they still have a fan base that I can laugh at and say "haha, he's my cousin" xD.
I also know that I'm related to about half of the city....including a few of my gradeschool adn junior high classmates.....but we try to keep that part a secret and pretend that we have know idea. :P
So I have absolutely no idea why I'm posting this, becuase I don't think anyone actually reads this ;) (which could be a good thing in the long run.....) but here you go world, here's what I gotta say.


Al bailar!
Adios y buenas noches
♥ B

Healthy War; Is Not This an Oxymoron?

So, I guess this is a little late considering the health care bill was passed sunday night, but the time lapse has not dulled my feelings on the subject. Virtually ever since he took office, President Obama has been pushing this Bill; to reform the healthcare of America. Apparently heathcare has been a problem for decades which is why he's pushing so hard, and I completely understand his reasoning. However, I think he needs to sort out his priorities a little bit. Why is this bill so important when there are still two pointless wars being faught in the Middle East? Every day, any number of people are losing their lives under the orders of a government whose first priority isn't to bring them home. Yes, the govenrment has been working on bringing soldiers home, but sooner or later, they're sent back. Some people are on their 2nd or 3rd tour! There are children who have both parents taken from them. We have had troops deployed in Afghanistan for 9 years and in Iraq for 7. All that's left is senseless violence. Why is the government still supporting a war that was started under false pretenses by a president who's mindless idiocy has cost this country thousands of lives, families oceans of tears, and so many broken hearts? This war needs to end! The government needs to get its head on straight and BRING THE TROOPS HOME!!!!!!!!

☮

Cliff Claven Killed Duncan!

Haha, okay this is totally random, but I was watching Cheers and there was a reference to Macbeth. It was an insignificant detail that would be unknown to those who do not know the play well. But in probably the last show you'd expect to see a refernce to classic literature, there it was. Due to some suspicious events, the regulars at the bar became convinved that Cliffy had killed his mother and chopped her into little pieces. Anyway, there was one scene where he told Fraiser that he tried to wash his hands but they just wouldn't come clean.
It was hilarious because it was Cliffy.

Ostara

March 20 is the 2010 Spring Equinox. On this day there will be equal hours of light and dark, day and night. It is a changing of the seasons, the cold, bland days of winter are over and life is being renewed before our eyes. In ancient times, this day was known as Ostara, named after the pagan goddess Eostre. This holiday is a celebration of rebirth and new life. Wiccans and Pagans today still celebrate and revere this day with rituals and offerings to the Mother Goddess and their patron diety. Life begins again, and the light grows stronger and reaches toward Litha (Summer Solstice) with fervent ardor. Happy Ostara! Blessed be.

Witch's Brew: Macbeth Allusion

Yesterday, I was reading one of my favorite books called The Secret Circle. As I was reading, I came across an allusion that I'd never noticed before. Cassie (the protagonist), upon meeting her grandmother for the first time, makes some very interesting judgements about the old woman. Her grandmother is not a stereotypical cushy, cuddly grandmother. This one walks with a cane, has a hump, has untidy coarse hair, and a giant mole. "Cassie kept half expecting her to go over to te iron pot and stir it while muttering, 'Double, double, toil, and trouble...'"(Smith 56)
When I read this part, I actually started laughing out loud becuase it was so ironic. It's ironic becuase The Secret Circle is about a secret coven of witches, but at this point in the book, Cassie hasn't learned this yet. It's kind of like, duh she looks like a witch becuase she is one!
Anyway, that was my allusion.

Missing Home

Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but
memories are worth a million.
As the rain falls softly on desperate life,
I think of elsewhere, land of heart but
not of birth.
When the wind brings me the scent
of dampened earth,
I shiver in rememberance of
the power that stole me.
The magic that soothed me, the
caress that healed me.
The ageless hills and the misty ruins,
forever before my minds eye, coaxing
the dull ache from the depths of
memory.
The love that enveloped me, the
fairy touch that drew the words from
my stubborn pen.
The history whispered belonging.
The smell of the rain and the embrace
of the wind bring tears to my eyes.
A part of me is missing,
a part of me left behind.
Home.

The World is Black, the World is White

RACISM: N. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement,usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.

Every day I hear someone say the word RACIST. Every five minutes, it seems, I hear someone else say "Ohhh, that's racist" or "god, you're so racist!"

With America's history, what with slavery and then the racial turmoil of the 1960s, Americans are as wary of racism as they are of swine flu ;). Now, Racism is wrong, but there is a difference between intended cruelty and innocent observation. If they actually catalogued all of their thoughts in a day, those people who slam everyone for being "racist" would find that a good portion of their thoughts could be considered "racist" by other paranoid analysts. Simple observations or innocent ponderings are completely misconstrued in this "tiptoe through the tulips" age. Nobody should ever discriminate by race because it's pure cruelty, but people need to lighten up a bit and stop nit-picking every phrase that comes out of people's mouths

The Point of Pointlessness

I would like to point out that making points is absolutely pointless when none of them turn around and point you in the right direction. Those points which we've sought at for years materialize before us and point disgustedly at our simple-minded frailties in a word dispersing our mirages clarifying for our neighbors our true beings. An yet with pointed glances and poignant phrases we still make those points which are utterly pointless and refuse to point us anywhere and with pointed shafts crucify us for all the pointedly ignorant world to see.