Halloween 2 (2011)

Happy October 3rd, everyone!  Halloween is now exactly four weeks away!  For today's post, I thought I'd combine a bit of creepy with something useful.  And today's theme is centered around my favorite cannibalistic psychiatrist: Dr. Hannibal Lecter :)

Besides this stunning picture at the top of the page (lol), I'm also going to include a quick clip from The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and a fun makeup tutorial for painting Lecter's infamous "bite-mask" on your face.  I also had a parody that I wanted to post as well, but it was taken down by YouTube, and I've yet to find it again.  Perhaps, if I do, there could be another Halloween Lecter post, but I'm really not sure.

What am I Reading?

Guess what, everyone!  I actually have time to READ FOR FUN!!!!!!!  This is a most shocking, really, really awesome development!  As an English Major (and prolly just as a college student in general), I never actually have the time to read just for the heck of it.  I always have something else to do, or something else to read.  Honestly, the last time I read and finished (the keyword here being finished) a book just for fun was during the summer!  And know what's really sad?  I can't even remember what the book was!  (I take that back....I think it was the new book by The Oatmeal).

But,  I'm actually reading a book for fun during school!  This is very, very exciting :)  I mean, yes, I did read Endgame last week, but that was only because I was able to finish it in the two-hour time slot I had in the Writing Center.  If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have read it!  This time, though, I'm actually reading a novel....like a whole book, and it's really nice.  It's Hannibal by Thomas Harris.  Once I finish this, I'll have read all the books in the Hannibal Lecter Trilogy (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal) , plus the prologue novel Hannibal Rising.  I'll be sure to post updates about it later.  Right now, it's a little slow, but I've found from experience that Thomas Harris novels tend to do that: they start off really slowly, and suddenly grab you by the throat and drag you through a whole plot of horror and thrill.  Sooo worth the wait!

Writing Lessons

Today in my tutoring class, we were getting an introduction into the proper ways to tutor someone's writing, and the improper ways. As we were going on about how important it is to focus on our own writing as well, and admit that just because we're the tutors doesn't mean that we know everything, an idea popped into my head, so I went online, created an account on Cheezeburger.com, and voila! This comic was the end result. The ending is random, I know, but I needed an extra panel, and this seemed like something a pissed off Hannibal Lecter would say.

I don't know if this lol is online yet, but its on my account's page. You can look access it by clicking on the picture below. If you do, please vote! :)

I Love Hannibal Lecter!

Thanksgiving Break has been a wonderful chance for me to catch up on some much-needed reading time, and so far, I've been able to polish off nearly two books this week! (more than I expected, seeing as I only really read one or two books a semester during school!)

For those of you who follow my movie blog, Cinema Sweetheart's Film Reviews, you'll know that I recently watched the amazing Jonathan Demme movie The Silence of the Lambs. I loved it!!! So, over the Thanksgiving Break, I curled up on the couch with two Thomas Harris novels: The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal Rising. Mostly, my desire to read these books comes from my fascination with the creepy psychopath Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

I have favored movies and books that have interesting characters verses those with 2D characters and a really fast-paced plot. For me as a reader and amateur writer, the whole story really is about the characters. A plot is nothing without characters. While watching Silence, I found myself totally fascinated by the characters of Hannibal and even, to a lesser extent, Buffalo Bill. Basically, its not that I would want to hang out with these guys, ask them over for dinner (especially not Hannibal, lol), or really ever have any real interaction with them, but the character of them, the essence of these characters really intrigues me. I love to think about what makes these people tick, and for Hannibal at least, an answer is given in Hannibal Rising, where the reader literally sees what makes the infamous cannibalistic psychiatrist exactly what he is later in life.

So, far, I've finished The Silence of the Lambs, and I'm almost finished with Hannibal Rising. True, I'm reading the books out of order (the proper order being Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising), but this is one series when that works out. Silence can be read on its own or in the context of the other books, and chronologically, Hannibal Rising takes place before the first book. I plan on reading the others as soon as I can acquire a copy ;)

N.B. Picture credit goes to Zzoi-Goi @ Deviant Art. You can find a link to her profile HERE.