Saturday, March 29, 2014

Lemonades, Papercuts, and Writing

I may or may not be obsessed with teas. And Lemonades. And water. If there is a drink, I will drink it (if its not alcohol. Not much of a drinker in THAT area). So, there's this brand called "Hubert's Lemonade," and I just love it. I'll post the link to their website (Yes, I'm THAT obsessed with the brand). The Half & Half ones with green tea are my favorites <3






So, aside from lemonade, there is paper cuts to deal with. Truthfully, I am a very careful person. I'm organized, my books are alphabetized and my desk is polished so well I can see the reflection of my cup on it. But for some reason, I just keep cutting myself on the edges of papers and books and any sort of paper-material. Literally, my hands are covered with paper cuts that I have no idea where they came from. I touch a lot of paper every week, but I rarely ever got paper cuts. Now it seems like my skin is made of paper. I have this long cut from the base of my pinky finger to the joint thing, and assorted cuts and scrapes of varied proportions. Let's just say that paper has not been kind to me over the past few weeks. Anyways, aside from the growing danger that paper seems to be taking revenge on me, that's it with my history of injuries. For now. 

I am a writer. An amateur one, to be exact. I usually construct fan fiction off artists that I like (no, not One Direction or anything like that), and dabble a bit in writing futuristic storylines, although I feel more comfortable writing about older eras. I have written and started many stories, but most of them are quite short and unfinished. Being an avid reader, I find it very inspiring when reading a good book. My recommendations are varied though, as I read practically every book that looks interesting. This was why reading Divergent was such a different experience for me; reading about such a complicated character and her intricately woven world was such an eye-opener. Roth did a really good job constructing the characters, placing them in a world where fighting for what you love and believe in is survival, and discussing the true meaning of being different. The trilogy is just so perfectly written and such an inspirational piece, I feel like I could burst at the seams from all the emotions felt reading the book. Building a plot like that is extremely difficult, as I have tried it myself, and it requires skill and determination to even create the book into something you want. Possibly the hardest part of writing fiction and whatnot is that you need to know your characters. Not just that they are people in a story, but as the end result and the symbol of your views and what you want to express. You need to have the stubbornness and the persistence to keep writing. 


There are lots of great writers nowadays. There's always been tons of great writers. I love writers of touching books that weave stories of love that aren't too cliche and honeyed over. Writers like Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Kristen Cashore, Paolo Giordano, Harper Lee,... from writers of young adult fiction to adult fiction. I also love historical fiction books, but not from the regular "girl-in-the-Civil-War-days" kinds, but more along the lines of Edward Rutherfurd, who writes spell-binding novels of the histories of famous cities. I'm currently reading his Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga by the way, and let me just say, wow. He can spin tales about generation after generation of people like the back of his hand. Heads up, I'll probably be writing about some of these authors sooner or later. 




Yes. I fangirl and go beserk over books. 


There are also older writers that I've loved since the beginning (which was four years ago or so): Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald... the list goes on. There's always the classics, and I've always loved the classics. I remember picking up a copy of Animal Farm a few years back, not understanding anything I was reading. Picking it up again recently, I enjoyed it so much more as compared to my previous experience. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby? Great book, great movie. I think I used to have a poster of it, but hid it away somewhere after waking up to glowing eyes in the middle of the night. Time to rummage through me ol' junk :) 


So... Not knowing how-to end a post... again... but




English shit and I shall never part. EVER.



Friday, March 28, 2014

Divergent: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

I just love this soundtrack. Review time?



Divergent: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

1. Find You- Zedd (ft. Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant)
2. Beating Heart- Ellie Goulding
3. Fight For You- Pia Mia (ft. Chance the Rapper)
4. Hanging On [I See MONSTAS Remix]- Ellie Goulding
5. I Won't Let You Go- Snow Patrol
6. Run Boy Run- Woodkid
7. Backwards- Tame Impala (ft. Kendrick Lamar)
8. I Need You- M83
9. In Distress- A$AP Rocky (ft. Gesaffelstein)
10. Lost and Found (ODESZA Remix)- Pretty Lights
*11. Stranger- Skrillex
*12. Dream Machines- Big Deal
*13. Dead in the Water- Ellie Goulding
*14. I Love You- Woodkid
*15. Waiting Game- Banks
*16. My Blood- Ellie Goulding

*Starred songs only available on the album. Cannot be purchased separately.*


I am not going to review each and every song, only selected ones. The ones that are my favorite, that is. To be honest, I do not really like rap music, so some songs like "Backwards" and "Fight For You" I avoided, but I did hear parts of them and the songs aren't that bad. The following are some of my favorites:

Find You- Zedd [ft. Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant]


I am a fan of Zedd. The first time I heard one of his songs was in an H&M store, where there was mix of "Clarity" and other artists like One Direction and David Guetta and Pitbull and blah blah blah. I was looking through the shoes when the song came on, and I remember stopping for the whole time the part of "Clarity" was playing. Then I searched it up. My favorite Zedd songs are "Stay the Night" (ft. Hayley Williams) and "Spectrum" (ft. Matthew Koma). Zedd's songs all have the same kind of vibe, and I kind of brand his music as "Shiny music." I don't actually know why, but the music is just really really well-made and he is just a genius. I'm not that big of a fan of Skrillex, but I think that Zedd has a more metallic, cool, starry feel. Whatever it is, I like it. 

Beating Heart- Ellie Goulding


This song fits Divergent so well. After getting the books, I read them all listening to this song. Just listening to the chorus makes me have Fourtris feels. "I want to make the best of what is left, hold tight" DO YOU KNOW HOW SADDENING THIS LINE IS WHEN READING ALLEGIANT??? I ALMOST CRIED. OH MY HOLINESS (Although I am not holy). "And I'll be leaving in the morning in the white-wine bitter sunlight" Yes. Like the time Tris slipped out of Tobias's arms? Readers I know you feel with me. The lyrics are so beautiful, and although I'm not that big of an Ellie Goulding fan, she captures the feeling of the trilogy and the film so well listening to the song for the first time silenced me. "I just want to be by your side".... I am totally going to do a lyric post for this song.


I Won't Let You Go- Snow Patrol


Listen Here~

I am a huge fan of Snow Patrol. I loved them ever since first listening to "Chasing Cars" four years ago, and I still love them and all their songs. Their music is just perfect for the road, the subway-- everything. There's that feeling that I don't know how-to explain. Anyways, this song is just perfect. I can picture Four singing this, as he was always like, "Don't act rash" and "You die, I die".... you know. The whole "over-protective-hot-boyfriend" thing. This song just fits nicely into the mood of the series. 



I Need You- M83


I'm going to declare this out loud: I AM A HUGE M83 FAN. My friends think I'm weird- most of them don't even know M83, but I love their music to death. It's weird how varied my taste is though... one minute I am blasting Marianas Trench and then I'm crying softly to Davichi. I guess its the artistic side of me. Anyways, this song is perfect for the ending. It is also a great road song. I was in the taxi this morning, and the song is really good on the highway.  It has this therapeutic, serene feel and I just love songs like these. The instrumentals are freaking gorgeous in my opinion, and I also think that the lyrics and the kind of singing M83 is associated with just work so well together. You just can't go wrong with this song. It is fantastic. 

I love the soundtrack. It is really good. I actually bought it and preordered Four on Amazon. Who can't wait for the fourth book? I know I can't xD Tobias is just such a lovely character. 

I probably should stop posting about Divergent. I probably sound like a obsessed fangirl or something. Anyways, later bros. 


Thursday, March 27, 2014

Divergent, Dystopian Literature, and Dissing Films

The Divergent premiere in the United States was last Friday, on March 21st. To be dead honest, I did not read the books before watching the movie. Yes, I went right after school, passed by a cinema, and bought a ticket for the 4:00 showtime. And then I watched it. Let me just say, watching the movie without knowing anything except for the fact that there are five factions, a girl named Tris, a guy named Four, and a brother named Caleb? Was totally awesome. After going home, hastily ordering the trilogy, and rushing through them, the feeling? 

Meh. The movie was still good. Probably because Theo James is... well... Theo James. Look. 


THAT? IS HOT. 

So I might be a little (*cough* WAY *cough*) too young to have a crush on this guy, but he certainly stood out in the movie; unlike usual dreamy "teenage" male characters in films, he has that masculinity. He has that "plain old testosterone factor," as Shailene Woodley (Tris Prior) puts it. I don't doubt that. I don't think anyone doubts that. Aside from the absolute gorgeous men in this movie (Have you seen Ansel Elgort. God), the movie was absolutely amazing, transforming Chicago into a place I now can only imagine. 

[CONFLICT] "The movie was a disappointment. They did not include all the Fourtris moments in the book! WTF?!"

My god, what a fan. Even shipping "Fourtris," which is Four and Tris, the two mains in the book. Okay, I ship them too, but let's get to the conflict. The opinion is that the movie was a disappointment. That may be true, but you have to admit; the movie was pretty damn cool. After reading the books, I really do see that they miss moments where Four and Tris... yenno... and especially the train scene. However, I am a big believer in the fact that movies should never be exactly the same as books. If you expect that the film will depict every single detail, it just makes it easier for you to be disappointed. I found the movie a good film version of the book, and I can see why it was made that way. Divergent is a really long book. As in, four hundred-something pages long. Making a movie costs lots of money. There is a budget, so obviously parts of the story will be cut out. And on Fourtris moments? Wait until Insurgent. They kiss so many times in that book I lost count. I'm sure we can wait a little for some more lip-action. On Theo's absence of abs exposure? OFC I AM MAD. I WANT TO SEE DEM ABS BRO.

The difference of the film and the movie is actually quite refreshing. Actually, I like how they changed the film, because it works for the movie. After the changes, what happens in the movie actually makes sense. You also have to pay attention to the fact that you are viewing from third person, not first person like in the books. Definitely, the change in perspective requires some adjustments as well. Some parts didn't have to be cut out, but I guess it was for the sake of the movie's duration. Every second of that movie costs hundreds of dollars. The movie did include most of major parts of Divergent, along with a slight twist in its storyline that is demanding of fans to be accepting. Overall, the movie was fine. It wasn't perfect, but satisfying enough. The disappointment? Possibly not because the movie as a whole was disappointing, just that what happened in the movie was unexpected to fans of the books. 

Dissing movies is not cool. They might not be as great as the books, but what can you expect? The world on the page has much more freedom than the world of reality. As much as I hate being a realist, this is just the truth. 


The Divergent trilogy was bloody fantastic. The movie was good. What more do you want?


Dystopian literature is general has become quite the eye-catcher genre of the generation. I mean, who doesn't want to read about the future? Who doesn't want to read about the possible outcomes of our government, our world, and possibly ourselves? This is definitely a genre that catches the attention of young adults and twenty-primers the most. With protagonists like Katniss Everdeen [The Hunger Games], Tris Prior [Divergent], and Cassia [Matched] struggling to define themselves in their worlds, it is hard not to get hooked. I personally am a huge fan of dystopian literature, being a teenage myself, and I have always strived to write a story like the ones I've read. Dystopian books teach of peace, love, politics, and being human all through the life and actions of one person. They tell us to speak up, believe what we want to believe, and treasure those we love and who love us as well. 

Many messages came out of Divergent, but the one that stuck with me is that you have to be willing to sacrifice for those you love. Sacrifice vengeance for forgiveness. Sacrifice time for life. Sacrifice judgments for trust. Be willing to take risks. Defining yourself is probably one of the hardest things you could ever do, and that is shown through Tris's life. But in the end, it depends on your actions. Not your words, not your opinions, not your genes, just your actions. As my heart reached out for Tobias, I felt a sort of lifting feeling at the end of Allegiant. I understood why Tris did what she did, and the meaning of the trilogy just slammed into me. I don't know how to put it in words, but I can say that this is probably one of the greatest series I've ever read. 


I don't know how-to end this post, as it is also my first, but let's just go with this: