30 DAYS OF NIGHT

Okay, I know the word "vampires" has acquired a bad taste in everyone's mouth thanks to films such as the Twilight series making such a joke of the lore -- or at least it has to me. In my opinion, vampires have become another gimmick in the movie and television business rather than a classical (as in respected) horror creature/race.

But in 30 Days of Night? It's the real deal.

Based on the graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, 30 Days of Night is the story of a small (and I do mean small) Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for thirty days every year. Many of the citizens are in the habit of leaving town prior to the last sunset -- but this year, those that are left behind after the airport closes are left to face an unthinkable horror...
One that they're unable to escape from for thirty days.

Let me begin by saying that this film was genuinely and extensively creepy, and that's saying something because not only have horror flicks failed in actually scaring the general public lately, but vampires have been done to death (pun not intended).

David Slade's adaptation of the graphic novel left me burrowing into my seat, eyes wide open, and heart racing (witnesses can confirm) -- and it had everything to do with the direction and cinematography (shout-out to Director of Cinematography, Jo Willems. We'll get to him later). While the vampires' physiques in the film weren't completely unlike previous interpretations (pale, blood stains around their mouth, pointy teeth, black eyes), their movements and mannerisms were definitely worth the title "creatures." Each actor and actress portrayed their vampiric roles as if they were animals: primal, predatorial, and organized hunters. Seeing them moving through the shadows and rooftops, communicating in their own language, made me feel like I was watching a pack of wolves on a hunt. It was a very interesting choice and -- with the many talented men and women actors executing it perfectly -- it paid off.
Not to mention Slade and his writing crew (shout-out to Stuart Beattie and Brian Nelson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Steve Niles) were able to give us something that is getting increasingly difficult to pull off in this day and age: A twist ending that I truly didn't see coming. Kudos to you, boys. You did good.

Jo Willem's cinematography, as I said before, is what really made this film cringe-worthy. Nearly every shot sent a chill down my spine. The most impressive and effective shots were from above, looking down on the blood-stained streets and chaos as the vampires fed. It was heartbreaking.

Now that isn't to say that this film isn't without its flaws. As the unofficial requirement goes, a romantic connection was attempted between the two main characters, Eben and Stella Oleson (a separated married couple). While their relationship was, thankfully, downplayed, it still felt forced into the story and I didn't find it believable, nor did I care to see it delved into further. I was much too preoccupied with their struggles for survival. Also, I wasn't too impressed with Melissa George's performance as Stella Oleson. Throughout the film I kept trying to feel connected to or emotionally invested in her, but couldn't quite believe her to be someone I should care about. Every time her marriage to Eben (played by Josh Hartnett) was brought up in conversation I could feel myself rolling my eyes and hoping it would be brushed over.
I'll give them both the benefit of the doubt, though. Film adaptations of novels tend to rush or butcher at least one aspect of the story along the way so Stella's importance and the Oleson's relationship could have been one of them.

However, while George's performance wasn't spectacular, Josh Hartnett's was. Admittedly, he didn't look it at first, but Hartnett's character, Eben, quickly captured my attention and sympathy. I have to say his performance was by far the best in the film.

Overall 30 Days of Night was an incredible watch and I highly recommend it at your next late-night viewing. Just don't forget about the bowl of popcorn like I did. ;)

30 Days of Night 4 out of 5 stars.

A Looming Return

Hey there! Remember me? Ah, it feels good to write in here again. Let me start with an apology: I'm deeply sorry for the neglect this place has suffered for...quite some time. ^^;; I just finished updating the links and profile photo on the side (pretty photo of Rei, isn't it?) so everything should be current. I deleted the link for my myspace page because I can't remember the last time I logged into that thing, and when I finally did I had a strong dislike for the new layout and controls there, SO I don't expect to use that place again, ever. :P I'm considering adding my Facebook on there, but don't know if that's necessary yet. Thoughts?
Also, in case ya'll haven't noticed, I also added a new "gadget" to the side: LABELS!! :P When I was cleaning the place up I realized there was no way to search for topics, so one would have to just wait until the next time I labeled something with that topic or manually go through all the pages here until they found one. There was an option to include a search bar, but it was my understanding that it would not only search my site, but google as well. I decided it'd be best to go with the "cloud" option instead. :) I think it works well. I made sure to select the "main" labels/subjects to include since most of my labels include names or titles.

Anyway, back to the apology. I'm so sorry I haven't taken care of this place the way I should. At the time I was buried under homework, finals, papers, etc. BUT I have some awesome news! :) I am now...A COLLEGE GRADUATE!! That's right! I graduated with my Bachelors last December so now -- other than my job and working on story/novel ideas -- I will no longer have anything tying me up from contributing to this place on a more regular basis. :) And... yes, you read right. I graduated last December. ^^;; So I guess there's another apology in order for not writing/updating until now. What can I say? I was enjoying being a couch potato. xD It HAS been so long...

SO. Here is my promise to you, my readers: I will bring this site back and submit something on a semi-regular basis. I may start with movie reviews again as a way to bring on habitual posting, but there will be more excerpts, character backgrounds, and other such writing fun. :) There'll also be more book reviews (once I finish reading one, lol) and manga reviews and... Well, you get the idea. ^^;;

So thank you, those of you who are reading this and are still with me. Thanks for taking the time to visit this place. I hope you all continue to do so and enjoy your visits. :) Oh, and do feel free to hound me if I take too long between posts again. ;D Ah, sounds good, yes?

Alright! I shall see you all again soon. For now, goodnight!

Journal

I wish some things were different. Not all things, just a few. Like, I wish my mother hadn't moved to California, for instance. I miss her. I still need her from time to time. Dad tries, but... There's only so much a grown man can handle or understand of the mind of a teenaged woman. I don't blame him for that. It's just natural.

I wish Jason never went on his missionary trip for Haiti all those years ago. There was no way to know there was something wrong with the plane, I know, so it would have been selfish of me to ask him to stay. But if he hadn't gone... He'd still be with me.

He used to give me daisies every month, and laugh when the scent made me wiggle my nose. He used to take me to the park where my parents met and watch me dance in the sun. He would brush my hair out of my eyes and tell me something that he loved about me -- and each time it would be something different...

I used to trace his fingers with mine... Feeling amazed at how they could be calloused from work yet soft at the same time...
I used to lie beside him in the grass and listen to all the things he'd do someday...
I remember how the gold in his eyes would flicker with emotion when he talked about his ambitions...
It would also flicker every time he looked at me...

Not all of my wishes deal with me, though. I wish some things were different for my friends, too.

I wish Anna's fiance never cheated on her. She had gone through so much already... I'll never forget the way she looked at me when she found out. I'd never seen her so broken...

I wish Aaron could have found his mom before she died. He had wanted nothing but to meet the woman who loved him enough to give him a chance at life... despite the circumstances of his conception.

I don't want everything to be different, though. There are some things I'm glad are different. For instance, because Mom left, Dad quit drinking. He smiles more now, and laughs more now. I love our Thursday night card games... We never had that when Mom was here... There was only fighting.

I'm grateful Jason's sister found a way to cope through her paintings. The images and blends of colors that come from her have made her name famous throughout the world -- with every painting showing another piece of the love she had for her brother.

I'm happy that Aaron and Anna found each other. They were just what the other needed to go through their respective heartaches. It's like magic, seeing them together.

I'm grateful that not everything is different.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I intended to write a personal blog entry into my Xanga but wrote this instead. I guess someone else needed to vent more than I did. I hope I can flesh out her character and find out who she is someday...

Please comment :)

With the Coming of Summer

Hello, again. Talk about a hiatus huh? I hope to bring this place back to normal, or semi-normal, posting again. But first I have to finish the first semester of my third year at college. Being a Creative Writing major means all my classes involve a heck of a lot of reading and writing.
It gets overwhelming writing for four classes at once. I think having a language class as my fifth course is the only thing that has kept me from spontaneously combusting on my laptop.
I just wanted to write something simple and give the glimmer of hope that this blog IS coming back -- as will my story ideas/excerpts. I'm currently working on getting the plot idea for a Inu/Kag fanfiction (one-shot) down but I'm also starting the process of developing ideas for a full fanfiction of the same pairing. If I manage to pull it off, let's just say, it'll be verrrryy interesting ;)

Also, I made a slight change in the side bar menu. I've seperated my pages from friends/pages I follow and added a link to my recently created formspring account. This will allow any and all of you to send me questions anonymously (or, if you have an account, you may choose to show who you are) and I will answer. It seemed like a fun way to kill boredom and stress and get to know my friends a little more intimately -- but then I realized it could mean the same to any and all readers I have here. :)
So if there's anything you'd like to know, feel free to ask: http://www.formspring.me/literarybug

I'm not sure if I'm going to continue posting my old writing assignments from my first Creative Writing class (refer to last couple of posts). So much time has already passed since then, and I was getting closer to the MUCH longer writings that I doubt I would have posted fully here anyway. Not to mention it would entail me digging through the travesty that is my room to find my old notebook xP
Yea I should really tidy things up a bit... But I digress.

OK! I think that's all the announcements I had to give. Oh, also (this just came to mind): Since I haven't been able to write out of pleasure for some time (thanks to my workload of term papers and reports) I might be a little rusty. If anyone happens to have a request for an excerpt--i.e. "Write about a cat that lost his yarn!" (weak example but just illustrating the process)--feel free to submit one here in the comments section. Remember that you don't HAVE to have a blogspot in order to comment on my page, simply choose the "anonymous" option and you will be able to submit a comment without having to log in or register--though feel free to leave your name somewhere in the comment so I can credit you when I write your story request :)

Alright. That's all she wrote, folks. See you soon.

Creative Writing Assignment 02

Hello, one and all. Sorry for the long hiatus; my homework-load turned out to be twice as heavy as I thought it would be so I've had literally NO TIME to blog--personal or otherwise. Today I found myself with some down time so I'm going to post the second of my Creative Writing Assignments =)

For this assignment, Prof. Kesler asked us to write a two-to-three page scene where the majority of the story relied on dialogue. He explained that SOME narration obviously had to take place ((otherwise everyone would be lost)) but that more than half had to be dialogue. So here is my scene, again I won't give it a special title. I've had a lot of positive feedback from this piece but if anything seems off don't hesitate to say so ^_^ Enjoy and please share your thoughts!!

CRW Assignment 02 -- Emphasis on Dialogue

Amy took a cautious step forward and placed her hand on the car-door handle. "Are you sure I'm ready for this? I mean, I did run over a lot of cones during practice..."

Dismissing her comment with a wave of his hand, Amy's father, Noah, climbed into the passenger seat. "You'll be fine! We'll just avoid parallel parking today."

"Still," she said while climbing into the driver's seat, "you really think I'm ready to drive out on the road?"

"Well you've got to learn sometime," he said with a lighthearted chuckle. "Relax! I'll be right here if anything goes wrong. Now buckle up, and tell me, what's the first thing you do?"

"Check my mirrors." Amy examined the rearview mirrors and made the necessary adjustments for her height. She started the ignition and slowly pulled out of the driveway. Amy had never driven anywhere outside of her school's parking lot and the thought of driving onto the public roads (with real traffic) was, she will admit, a little frightening.

As they neared the exit of the complex, Amy gave her father a quick glance. "Did you want me to take Maple or Orange?"

"Take Maple, we'll stop by the supermarket and pick up some groceries. I thought you might enjoy a home-cooked meal tonight instead of frozen pizza again." The smile on his face eased Amy's nerves. "Merge left here, we're going to turn at the next light."

As she merged safely into the next lane, Amy returned to the original subject. "Yeah, we really are hopeless whenever Mom goes on her business trips." She let out a small laugh as one particular occasion came to mind. "Remember that time we tried to bake a chicken but forgot to defrost it first?"

Noah made a sound of disapproval. "It took hours to cook and still didn't taste right." He watched as Amy waved at another driver, signaling that they could merge in. The sound of her laugh made his next statement difficult to say. "Listen, Amy, about your mother--careful that car is turning."

Amy sighed as she adjusted her speed to let the car through. "I wish more people would use their signal, I mean it doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"But you're doing great. See? I told you it'd be fine."

"Thanks, Dad," she sent him a quick smile before turning her attention back to the road. "What about Mom?"

He looked for a way to approach the subject. "She... She decided to extend her business trip a few more days."

"How come? I thought she was coming back Monday?"

He took a deep breath before answering. "She's been upset with me and needs the time away."

Amy sent her father a puzzled look. "What do you mean? You've had your arguments--a lot of them actually--but you always get through it."

"Amy... this time it's not the same..."

"What do you mean?"

There was a short pause. "We're getting a divorce."

"You're WHAT?" In her shock Amy spun the wheel and the car swerved into the next lane. She screamed as the cars honked and swerved to avoid her, only half noticing her father reach over and grab the wheel.

"Jesus, Amy!" Noah swerved the car away from traffic and into the grass where Amy slammed the brakes. "Amy! You can't just--"

"You and Mom are doing what?" She yelled. Her heart was beating at a painful rate, her body was shaking from fear, and her face had turned sickly pale--but it had nothing to do with the car accident she almost caused. "A divor--A divorce?"

He held out a hand, motioning her to calm down. "We tried to make this work, we did. We even went to counseling if you remember. It's just not working."

"What do you mean it's not working? Everything was fine! Everybody fights, Dad, it doesn't mean you just quit! You work it out! You and Mom are supposed to work it out!"

"I'm sorry, Amy, but it's just not happening. We're tired of kidding ourselves--"

"Kidding yourselves?" Amy noticed her father's wince, but didn't lower her voice. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Amy, your mother and I grew apart long ago, but we stayed together for your sake. But it's time we both moved on with our lives and now that you're old enough--"

"I don't believe this!" Amy ran her hands over her face, wiping away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "I can't believe this is happening!"

Noah reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a box of tissues. "I'm sorry, Amy..." He sighed as he watched the tissue box fumble in his daughter's trembling hands. He tried again, "Your mother and I just can't do this anymore."

"I can't believe this," Amy repeated quietly over and over. "I can't--"

"It'll be alright, sweetheart," Noah said as he pulled his daughter into an awkward embrace.

"No it won't, Dad. It won't be all right."

Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review and comment.

Creative Writing Assignment 01

**EDITED: OCTOBER 28TH 2009!! Thanks everyone for your feedback!! Since the main issue everyone found with this was the overwhelming amount of times I wrote "Janira" [[which I didn't even realize I did until I reread it afterward]] I finally got around to editing it and fixing it. It SHOULD be better now... Thanks again!!**


As some of you may know, I'm currently attending college with the intent of earning a BA in Creative Writing. Right now I'm only in my Sophomore year but I've finally made it past the general credit classes: Now comes the fun stuff. Currently I'm taking a course specifically for English Majors.

Creative Writing ^__^ Yes.

In this class we're given writing assignments due weekly. It's two weeks into the school year, thus two writing assignments have gone by.

This is the first. We were assigned to write a non-fiction scene were we included ourselves as the main character. The scene had to be in third person -- which was awkward because I hate saying my own name -- and it had to be at a length where we could read it aloud in under two minutes.

I'm going to be posting every assignment we're given, but I won't assign any special titles to them other than what the assignment was. So this one will be titled after it's time limit.

Please comment your thoughts =) And I hope you enjoy.

CRW Assignment 01 -- Two Minute Scene

Janira looked over her note cards again for what must have been the seventh time in the past ten minutes. It was the day of her first speech presentation and her nerves were getting the better of her. She looked around the room and spotted the other five students that would also be presenting that day, identifying them by their formal attire. She couldn't help but notice that none of them looked as nervous as she was. Turning back to her note cards, she noticed her hands were shaking slightly so she slowed her breathing in an effort to calm her nerves.

Three students came and went, but their gracious and impressive performances only intensified her fears. It would be her turn next. As the previous presenter took her seat, Janira stood on shaky knees and walked to the front of the room. There were only twenty students in the classroom but there may as well have been a hundred. She could feel the weight of her fellow classmates' stares as she plugged in her flash drive and opened her Power Point file.

Once everything was prepared, Janira directed her eyes to the back of the room where the instructor, Mrs. Bledsoe, was writing down her comments of the previous speaker. She took this opportunity to take a few deep breaths, trying not to focus on the forty eyes that were staring right at her. "You can do this," she mentally coached herself, "it's just for five minutes then it'll be over." At the instructor's nod, she took one last breath before beginning her presentation--the small beep of the stopwatch not going unnoticed.

The slow breathing failed to help as she felt her anxiety grow. She began to shift her weight from one foot to the other in attempt to keep them from knocking. She grasped the note cards with both hands hoping that no one would notice them shaking, and she cleared her throat after every other sentence in hopes that her voice would stay even. The sympathetic looks from her classmates only horrified her more. It was at that point Janira realized she had lost her place; with a mumbled apology she consulted her note cards, her face growing hot. When she finally resumed her speech she couldn't hide the quiver in her voice. There was no kidding herself now; this was a disaster.

When her presentation was finally done, she thanked the audience quietly before collecting her things and returning to her seat. She exhaled sharply, feeling her heart pound against her ribs. Someone gently touched her shoulder and she looked up. The girl that sat directly beside her smiled gently and said, "You did great."

All Janira could do was nod and smile graciously before turning back to the front of the room. This was going to be a long semester.

There you have it. My first writing assignment. It's not as descriptive as I wanted it to be but that's because of the time limit I had so if it seems a lacking in that aspect, that's why.

Thanks, share your thoughts.

the Beauty of Ink and the Love of Words...

Last night I saw the film, Doubt. It affected me so strongly I wrote a Xanga entry, but this is something I want to share with more than just the audience that reads my journal. The following is what I wrote into Xanga at 12:26AM this morning...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I just saw the film, Doubt, and my thoughts are rambling out of me faster than I can type them.
It is nothing short of incredible what writing does to me.
The film was magnificent. Powerful. Beautiful. Provoking.

I hardly know how to describe it.

My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears.
My hand kept falling to my stomach because it was literally in knots.
My shoulders tensed and I felt genuinely uncomfortable at the conversations.
My hands covered my mouth and nose, frightened at the intensity much like a child would be at a murder film.

It's such an incredible feeling...

The excitement and fear sets my veins afire with inspiration and awe.
I'm left with my mind reeling at the possibilities, the accusations, the explanations, and the consequences of the lives of complete (and fictional) strangers.

This is why I want to be a writer.

This is what I want to be able to do.

Writing moves me in ways I cannot describe.
It sends my heart fluttering much like it would a crush to a schoolgirl.
I can see her now sitting in the playground playing with her braids, eyeing the boy who has so fascinated her.

That is what writing does to me.

It paralyzes me and makes me study it, fascinated by it's effect on me.

Oh, and the weather...

Plays do the most beautiful thing with weather...

With every emotion, every word, every moment the character experiences -- the weather mirrors.
It isn't done with the cliche way movies do it. It doesn't start to rain just because the heroine is sad. It doesn't suddenly become sunny and blissful when the boy wins his love.

No.

Plays do it much differently.

They use sound...
Electricity...
Wind...
Lights...
Water...

They use it all and mold them like clay into the story itself.

So when it happens you don't take notice of it, because it doesn't stand out on it's own.
It blends with the characters themselves so that you feel you are experiencing them in more ways than you thought possible.

It's overwhelming...

It's an art...

And I am in love with that art.

When I see something so perfectly written I can't help but become obsessed.
I imagine it must be what pilots feel when they first take flight...
How musicians feel when they hear that one chord that has been missing from their song...
How artists feel when they find that one last stroke of the brush that sets their masterpiece to completion...

It overwhelms me...

Thrills me...

It even changes how I speak...

This is why I want to be a writer.

I want to learn how to wield this craft.

How to turn letters, symbols, ink, and paper into something so extraordinary that the reader, viewer, and listener cannot disconnect from it.

I want to learn how make changes to how a person thinks, feels, and speaks...



I want to know how to make people fall in love with a world not their own...


I want to know how to perform this art that has stood the test of Time...


I want to know how to connect everyone...

To one common emotion..


I want to be a writer...

Because I want the world to feel...

as I feel...