The Lone Bagpipe Player

It's Memorial Day weekend. As my family and I were driving to mass, we experienced something beautiful. Our route to the church involves driving by a small cemetery, and standing in the middle of it, facing one of the graves, was man dressed up in the full costume of a bagpipe player. His beautiful melody floated across the cemetery, a beautiful thank-you to all the soldiers buried there. It was a touching tribute to all those soldiers who were/are fighting for us.

I want to say thank you to this man. He showed what it means to be an American. It's more than just flying a flag; it's about living the ideals that our country was founded on, and remembering all those who strive to protect us and make our country what it is today.

I have an uncle who is currently stationed in Iraq. God bless our troops.

Weekly Wodehouse #13

He had the look of a frustrated tiger whose personal physician had recommended a strict vegetarian diet....

~P.G. Wodehouse

Bike Ride and British Comedy

Today, to celebrate the first day of summer vacation (for my brother) I decided it would be fun to ride our bikes up to the library. It was a beautiful day; not too hot or too cold and the breeze was just right. We made it there in about half an hour, but we didn't stay for very long. Our problem was that we could only check out what we could carry back, and since I was the only one who brought a backpack (and a small one at that-- more of a purse than a backpack), we could only check out a few items. We ended up with the full collection of episodes from the BBC One series Blackadder, starring Rowen Atkinson.

Neither of us have watched this series before, but for the last few summers, my brother and I have started a tradition of sorts. We watch one movie every weekend, and British comedies during the week. I know it might sound silly, but there is something about the British sense of humor that we just love! So far, we've watched all of A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. We've made a slight dent in the collections of Monty Python and Mr. Bean; Blackadder is untouched as of yet, and we're almost done with Fawlty Towers.

Those are the only series that we know of as of yet, so if anyone knows of another British comedy series that is a must see, then please let me know!

Revisiting Odysseus

The other day, had a dream about Odysseus. It was hard, since my subconscious chose to relieve a day that I preferred not to look at right now. For those of you who don't know, Odysseus had told me that he wasn't interested in dating me...and lots of other things besides (He not trying to be mean; please don't get that impression of him; but just the same, the things he said were hurtful). I'd still prefer not to go into it all right now.

But, in my dream, it was the same situation where he was walking with me and telling me how sorry he was, and how wonderful he thought I was, and just as before, he words seemed false and hollow, even though I know he was trying as hard as he could to be gentle with my emotions. I don't know why I had to experience the whole thing again, and why I was thinking about him...

I found myself getting angry in the dream; not with him, but with myself. Angry that I was crying and that I couldn't control my emotions.

He wouldn't look at me.

How to Kill a Mockingbird

I LOVE Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, but part of me kinda wishes it could be as awesome as this movie ;)

Second Life

It's been the longest time since I've been on my Second Life account, but it was nice to see everything again. Most of my online friends weren't on, but I met this awesome guy named Max while we were in ROMA (one of the places you can explore-- based on Ancient Rome) and we had a great time! :) This picture here is of my avatar, as is my profile picture.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I'm sure most of you have heard of that book already...Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, published by Quirk Classics, made quite a stir when it first came out. Obviously, there were many enraged Jane Austin fans who did not appreciate having their beloved classic torn apart by "unmentionables" with a taste for human flesh. For a while, I refused to read it; I didn't want to see a classic torn apart and besides...I didn't like zombies. However, a trip to the bookstore with my friend Kasper showed me that this whole "epidemic" was spreading into other novels...And, well, I guess I just got bitten, because I went to the library and checked out Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.

So far, I've been reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (hereafter shortened to PP&Z) with my brother. And, we've both been enjoying it! I like it because of Jane Austin, but I also appreciate the somewhat warped sense of humor that Seth Grahame-Smith brings to the novel. The brother likes it because of the ninjas and bone-crunching mayhem, as well as the unique humor of Jane Austin/Seth Grahame-Smith.

As an English Major, however, I balk to say that this is better than the original. I think its a very interesting book, though, and I can't wait to finish it. Would we recommend it? So far, YES!