books vs. movies

There are two types of people.  Those who read books and those who wait until those books are turned into movies.  Back in the day there wasn't too much of this, or if it was it wasn't so widely advertised.

Now, thanks to Harry Potter & Twilight movie rights for books are being snapped up as soon as it hits the Best Seller's List or before it's actually published and now, before it's actually written.

For awhile I was a little irritated by these practices.  I want those movie watching people to come up with their own ideas.  Aren't they supposed to be creative?  I want to protect my book reading people.  We'll still be called nerds, but dang it we should have GOOD books to read.  Of course, I have no qualms about the Harry Potter or Twilight movies.  Duh, I'm a potterhead, or a tweirdo ... however you want to define me.  While I want the movies to be as true to the books as they can be I also understand they can't always and to me the movies have been a wonderfully illustrated companion to the book.  I know that Twilight and all the movies thereafter are not winning any Oscars, but I love them because it's what was in my head while I was reading played out on the screen.

I think the only time I was upset was after seeing Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince.  The Dumbledore-Harry-Malfoy-Snape scene in the end literally had me gripping my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming obscenities.  But it is what it is.

2011 saw a ton of books-turned-movies and 2012 isn't going to be any different.  What bugs me is that stuff is getting turned into movies before I can even get my hands on the books!  Though, sometimes that's not always a bad thing.

Amanda Hocking began writing during her free time and finished 17 novels.  In April of 2010 she began self-publishing them in eBook format and by March of 2011 she had sold over a million copies of 9 books and made two million dollars in sales.  Pretty impressive for a self published author.  When I saw that her Trylle trilogy was purchased to turn into a movie I was intrigued.  The cover art was interesting and the story sounded good.  Even better, I saw Hocking as a determined young woman who made her dreams come true, right?

Unfortunately (and of course this is only my opinion), the first book, Switched was a flaming pile of crap.  The story IS interesting.  A young girl, whose mother tried to kill her when she was 6 discovers she's a changeling and returns to the world she was taken from to live the life she was meant to live.  The writing however, was awful.  It read like something a middle school student wrote for a school project.  It was the worst book I read in 2011.

And now it's going to be a movie? 

I get that someone else will write the screenplay and it's just her idea that the movie will be based on, but come on!  What's even more impressive is that she made two million dollars off books she was charging $1.99 for!  And now, the Trylle trilogy is going to be published in hardcover.  I cannot believe that the literary world is so hurting for material that they will print this stuff!

Stephenie Meyer's The Host will be coming out in movie form soon.  I'm sure the next in the HORRIBLE I Am Number Four series will get crapped out as a movie.  They're still trying to make Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, though for some reason that one seems to be jinxed.  The screenplay for A Discovery of Witches will be penned by Proof writer David Auburn and even The Great Gatsby is getting a Hollywood makeover this year.

I don't know.  It seems that everywhere people are running out of originality.  I'd just like to find a few more books that blow my mind.  Is there anything out there like that anymore?

door to door salesmen

I know that I've ranted about this before, but I'm not sure if it was on my blog or somewhere else so I'm just going to go ahead and rant here (again possibly).

One of my pet peeves (I know, I have a lot) are door to door religious salesmen.  I know you know who I'm talking about.  They generally come in duos with their slightly vacant smiles all wearing their Sunday best.  Sometimes they bring along their children with them as if to say 'look at us, our kids love God too and they want you to join!'  And sometimes they come alone.  Which is somehow creepier.

But whatever.

Their devotion and enthusiasm for their religion is great.  For them.  And I respect that.  I just wish they would respect my non-religion.

I don't know if I've really discussed this here, but I don't believe in God.  Period.  Very strongly.  I was brought up Buddhist and then later followed Wiccan teachings, but mostly I identify with Buddhism.  Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism to be exact.  I even did the Buddhist equivalent to Catholic's Catechism.  I completely respect other people's need to have faith in a higher power.  I understand that some need to draw strength from religion.  And I respect that they have a place to do that.  I have an amazing group of friends who are very religious and I love them to pieces, but I will never join their church even though it might sound like fun.  It all comes down to the fact that I don't believe in God.  I just can't.  I would feel like a fraud.

So when I tell these people that I am not interested with my polite 'Thank you, but I'm Buddhist.' I expect them to say 'Oh, okay.  Have a good day.' and take their leave.

They never do.

Mostly they ask if they can leave their literature with me.  Or ask if I've ever thought about having a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Or maybe they will ask me to just come and visit their church, they're sure I'll change my mind.

Change my mind????  Ugh.

Today was the most irritating.  When I told them older gentleman I was Buddhist he said 'Oh, that's nice.  I know that in Buddhism they teach that Jesus Christ was a savior and a prophet.'

Say what??

Never, never, NEVER have I ever heard the name 'Jesus Christ' in a Buddhist temple.  Never have I heard one of our Reverends utter the name.  After overcoming my shock at this man's 'insight' into Buddhism I told him I'm pretty sure we were never taught that.  He told me I must have been studying the 'wrong' Buddhism.  I told him I wished him a good day and shut my door.

He's lucky that I was taught to respect my elders and that my kids were in the house.  Otherwise I probably would have given him an earful.  I don't understand this need for certain churches to send out their flock to amass more parishioners.  I feel like their religion, their God, their mythology is being shoved down my throat in my own home.  I feel like lashing out at them because they smirk at my religious choices or act as if I am 'wrong'.  I don't do that to them.  I don't belittle their beliefs no matter how unbelievable I may think they are.

The fact of the matter is, I love religion.  I love the romaticism of it, the fantatics, the lure, the weakness, the stories.  My favorite Christmas songs?  Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant & New Again by Sara Evans & Brad Paisley.  Both extremely religious songs about Mary.  I love them in the way you are intrigued by something.  I love the good in it, but cannot fathom the bad in it.  I recently read an article about a program a Catholic church was starting for their gay parishioners.  Their answer is for them to just stop having sex.  I felt this was rather hypocritical.  They should stop molesting their altar boys first.

There are churches out there that do nothing but good.  Pastors, Reverends, Ministers, Priests who mentor and save lives.  Who have sacrificed much of their own lives to help anyone who needs it.  Members of those churches who band together to lift someone up who needs help.  Even if that someone doesn't believe what they believe.

Going through the fertility stuff, my religious friends all told me how they would pray for me, were praying for me and I was grateful.  While I don't believe that God would grant my prayers, I do believe that positive thought that lifts you up lifts the stress off your body and you become healthier.  And dang it, it's nice to know that your friends are rooting for you and wishing you well.  One of my very good friends asked if it was okay if she pray for me.  I told her, of course!  She said she knew I didn't believed, but she believed for me.  She mentioned that she had told another non-religious friend that she would pray for them and they asked her not to, that it was rude seeing as she didn't believe.  She was offended by my friend's prayer request.  I love the idea that I am enveloped with the love and warmth of my friends.  I am blessed to have these wonderful people in my life.

But I've also read so much on the damage that has been done in the name of religion.  Closest to my heart?  The constant gay bashing that goes on by churches in the name of their God.  The hateful protesting by Westboro Baptists at soldiers' funerals.  Soldiers who have sacrificed so that WBC can stand out there and protest.  The Catholic church and the most obvious - the molestations and the turning a blind eye to it.  That infuriates me.  But less obvious?  They are one of the richest organized churches in the World and a huge number of their parishioners are below poverty levels.  How does that work?

I know that the good outshines the bad every day.  I know that for every evil person in an organization there are 100 who are pure in their intention and back it up with their actions.  All I ask is that when you come to my door you hold the same respect for my choice as I do for yours.

My dad, basically an atheist, always tells me I should just answer the door and immediately state that I'm a Satanist and slam the door.  'That'll teach them.' he says.  Maybe someday I should try that someday....

there are times

when you heart hurts and you don't know why and you can't think of a way to stop it.

there are times when everything feels so overwhelming that you don't know where to begin.

there are times when you were expecting someone to do something for you and they don't and you can't let it go.

2011 was a hard year for so many people.  Americans saw protesting all over the country.  We've seen Republican Presidential candidates that are the most appalling group yet.  Preaching hate and intolerance.  Teaching their children to despise gays and lesbians.  And now, trying to rally the rest of these like minded individuals to take away the newly acquired basic rights some earned this year.  It sickens me.

I spent a couple of hours just now watching a show called 'Beyond Scared Straight'.  They bring these at risk kids into an actual prison and scare the shit out of them.  The first episode was particularly interesting in that one of the girls being 'scared straight' came face to face with the mother she thought was out of jail.  Turned out she violated her parole and was back in.  The mother is literally on her knees begging her daughter not to follow in her footsteps.  And hopefully that worked.  Hopefully, these kids will go on and turn their lives around, but how did we get there?

Are we raising generations of children and young adults who care about nothing but themselves to the nth degree?  Of course children and teens are selfish.  They have to learn compassion and empathy.  But some will never find those aspects.  They will forever be cold and cynical either by the life they've been surrounded by or by the life that made them.

I'm scared for my kids to grow up and have kids.  Heck, right now I'm afraid for the point when Emma gets to 1st grade and I'm not there at all and she gets bullied for the first time - because it's happening that young, even younger.  Or even worse, to find out my kid is the bully.

I think I've lost track of where this post is going.  Basically I've had a few friends who had a rough 2011.  Even me, whose ultimate wish for another baby came true in 2011 it was still the hardest year I had to get through.

I think that in my own problems I forgot about everyone else's problems.  And I've had friends say 'oh, well what did they expect, you're pregnant?' or something similar.  That's not the person I want to be.  I want to be the friend who despite whatever may be going on will stop to take a moment to call or email or text or facebook or whatever the hell and reach out.  Because years and years ago someone reached out to me.  And if she hadn't (ET) I wouldn't be here.  I have been a good friend.  Would do anything for my friends, but sometimes seeing someone struggle I lose the words I want to say to them.  'Be strong' 'You can do it' just don't seem to cut it so well.

But this year I vow that I will say whatever needs to be said so that my friends, my real friends, know what I think of them.  How I value them and appreciate them everyday.

I've heard people say all the time 'every day is a struggle'.  Well, let's not let it be.  Let's make everyday a celebration.  Let's eat better & celebrate the fact that we can take a hike without passing out.  Let's hold the door open for someone going inside the library because we can.  Let's say 'hi' to a passerby on the sidewalk because we both live in this town.  Let's help that older woman put her groceries in her car.

Let's smile at our friends and loved ones every time we see them because every time we get to see them is a gift.  Let's hold our babies tight and cover their faces with kisses and love them as fiercely as we can.  Let's be the best spouse we can be.  Let's go back to our vows and remember what we had promised in the beginning of our marriages.  Let's return to that.

And then let's celebrate that we have friends who love us, family that stands by us, children that adore us and be grateful that we are so lucky.  That we are so blessed.

2012 off the shelf challenge

I have several places to put books in my house.  If I lived alone there would just be piles of books around everywhere, but that's not a good idea with kids around.  A lot of the books I own I've read, but a great number of them I just haven't gotten to.  I've been waylaid by visits to the library or the desire to re-read certain books.  Sometimes a new book will come out that I just have to read right then and the books that I've gotten at flea markets, from friends, library sales or shopping sprees at B&N end up sitting on the shelf collecting dust.

So this year I'm going to participate in a new (to me) reading challenge hosted by Bookish Ardour called Off the Shelf.  All you have to do is choose the level you're going to try to reach and read those books off your bookshelf.  You can't include books that you bought in 2012 because that would defeat the purpose.

You can sign up here to join me!

I'm going to start with 'Trying' which is 15 books off the shelf.  I'm going to list my books ahead of time to better hold myself accountable because I really need to start reading these books!  I'm not listing them in any particular order.

1. Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham
2. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
3. The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin
4. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
5. The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes
6. The Affair by Lee Child
7. Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson
8. Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica
9. Room by Emma Donoghue
10. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
11. Divine by Choice by PC Cast
12. Divine by Blood by PC Cast
13. Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs
14. Cutting Edge by Allison Brennan
15. The Search by Nora Roberts