Sistah Tribe Theater Group- Let the Phoenix Rise

Blog Name: Sistah Tribe Theater Group- Let the Phoenix Rise Category: Arts / Entertainment Owner: SheriDescription: Sistah Tribe is a collective of women committed to bringing therapeutic theater to the disenfranchised. "Let the Phoenix Rise" is a play authored by Sistah Tribe members Sheri Heller, Laura Gosheff, and Uchenna Hicks. Our aim and intention is to share this performance with

07 May 11

After fuelling up with espresso from a coffee shop/video store that was under renovation, we headed out. Driving through Shasta National Park (see: Mt. Shasta, above) was fantastic, and we ate brunch at a sketchy diner in Redding that had something to do with lumberjacks. Another short break for a late lunch at Pea Soup Andersen's in Los Banos, which is kind of the last gasp of civilization along the southern part of I-5 until the San Fernando Valley.

We hit the LA area around 8 and had a terrifying trip on the freeway to Anaheim, and after checking in we went to a southern restaurant in Downtown Disney for drinks and snacks. Poor Maddie wasn't prepared for the crowds yet, so she got overwhelmed and had to go back to the hotel moments after the server had set down her water. The rest of us basically closed out the restaurant.

06 May 11

Jeff and I awoke at the unholy hour of 6am and had breakfast and packed up the car. We drove to my mom's and helped them pack up their car and finally got on the road around 9:30. Had a picnic lunch at a rest stop, and landed in the lovely town of Ashland, Oregon around 9pm for dinner at a delicious brew pub. Admitting that our original goal of reaching Redding was perhaps too ambitious, we stopped for the night in Yreka, just over the California border.

Literary Deal Breakers...

I may have talked about this before. I did a quick search of my blog and couldn't find any specific posts that talk about what I call literary deal breakers, but we've often spoken of politics in fiction and at whether or not that affects our decision to read a certain author.



But what other things will derail you from reading a book?



I ask because I just picked up Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence and made it about two chapters before I put it down for good. I'm surprised I made it that far.



I don't want to pick on Lawrence's book, but his main character is a deal breaker for me. He's an unrepentant rapist and murderer and it doesn't matter what kind of turnaround there is later in the book-- I despise the character as he exists in the early chapters. Years ago I tried to read "Lord Foul's Bane" and couldn't make it past the rape committed by the main character. "Prince of Thorns" makes that depiction seem beyond mild in comparison.



I can't do it. I can't read through the beginning while waiting for some kind of turning point. It's that stomach-turning in my opinion.



What about you? What are your literary deal breakers?



I have a few. Murder and rape by the main character are certainly issues, as are politics that clearly come from the author's point of view and leap out of the context of the story. I'm also not a fan of stories that take cheap shots at religion. I'm all for questioning the hypocrisy of people who use religion to manipulate others, but using that context to insult the general belief in God or mainstream religion is a definite turn off for me. Stephen King has become someone I have a hard time reading because he likes to take ham-fisted shots at religion and the military-- which is a shame because I loved his earlier work. (I have family that have served in Vietnam and friends who have served in Afghanistan, so the military thing is kind of personal for me).



It's a fine line sometimes. I don't pick and choose authors based on their personal politics. I read many authors that don't share my politics, but it doesn't derail me from reading their work if I feel confident that I won't be sucker-punched along the way. If I do feel sucker-punched I stop buying their books--who wants to pay to be offended?



What are your hot-button issues?



**Quick Note** Be sure to read the comments on this post for some good input on "Prince of Thorns" and what themes the author may be trying to convey.

30 Trips around the Sun...and Counting

Blog Name: 30 Trips around the Sun...and Counting Category: PersonalOwner: KatieDescription: My blog began as a diary of sorts for the last year of my 20s. However, as I left my 20s and found myself into my 30s, it evolved into a blog about my journey. About the journey that I am taking is a young woman trying to find myself while balancing my life, career, and everyday struggles.Blog URL: http:/

05 May 11

I bought this train case awhile back at the thrift store for $7 and I don't remember the last time I've been so happy with a purchase. It certainly beats my old system of packing my toiletries in various plastic bags.
Steph and I watched the game and ate Chinese food and then Jeff and I packed and tried to go to bed early, but we were too excited.

List of Lists (So Meta)

Things You Should Click On For Possibly Sketchy Self-Promotional Purposes

• My interview with Vanessa from My Heart Blogged
  

Things That Have Been Ruined for Me by Partaking in the The Social Network Fandom

• Disney’s Hercules
• Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”
• Disney’s Bambi
• Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted”
• real men
• the phrase “a ho who didn’t know her place”
• Muppets
• the phrase “so sexy”
• the phrase “hella horny”
• Skins
• Tom Jones’s “It’s Not Unusual”
• chickens
• maps
• Vespas
• the word “adequate”
• “Where is Love” from Oliver
• the name Abraham
• cats

Things I Find Unbearably Beautiful But Which Probably Reveal My Ignorance

• “whale road” – a translation of the Norse/Old English phrase meaning “the sea/ocean”
• the phrase “ships passing in the night”
• the opening of Lolita
• the first two lines of The Stranger
• “The Shire”
• the last lines of Great Expectations
• Harry’s “Does it hurt?” moment from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• the The Social Network trailer using “Creep”
• the Tree of Life trailer
• Never Let Me Go, even though I wouldn’t call it one of my favorite books or movies
• “Touch Me” from Spring Awakening
• the animation style used in The Secret of Kells
• the entirety of The Thin Red Line
• crowds of singing people

Pop Culture References/Memes Incorporated into My Cognitive Science Pre-Midterm Notes

• #kanyeshrug
• “Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy?”
• the Yo Dawg meme
• the Inception PARADOX
• Armie Hammer, who is Aristotle
• Colin Firth, who is Locke
• "Please, Abraham, I am not that man"
• dream is collapsing
• becoss
• “whip me if I misbehave”
• “Baby Got Back”
• “such a radical”
• GQMF
• King of the Cosmos
• the rules of Fight Club

A Smattering of Unrelated Observations

• It is easier for me to break a sweat by driving than by running.
• The hyphen in “fazed-girl” doesn’t make sense.
• I own almost nothing pink, and this sometimes disappoints me when I want to be wearing pink.
• David Tennant is a fox. (How many times can I say this until I start annoying myself?)
• My pinkies are really weak now that I haven’t been playing the piano regularly for four years. And when I say "really weak," I mean my piano teacher probably wouldn't be able to say that I play like a man anymore. (This makes me sad.)
  

Current Style Direction

• looking dirty, like I crawled out of a gutter in London, or like Bellatrix Lestrange, or Marla Singer, or Idris/the TARDIS
• giant fur monster coat
• a “pretty” dress in some very light material, like chiffon or georgette
• ratty lace
• black flat/platform wedges (no patent leather, preferably leather + canvas)
• get in the habit of exposing my knees again
• knee-length crinoline (black, off-white)
• black satin slips
• smudgy, sparkly gray eyeshadow
• bird’s nest hair
• Look Good Outside, Feel Good Inside

Things I Wore During Dead Week Because I Am The Epitome Of Style

Wow, you guys! Mirror shots? It feels like fashion blogging circa 2006! And my outfits are even as bad as they were in 2006 when I was posting on MyStyleDiary! DO TODAY'S BLOGGERS EVEN REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN WE ALL TOOK MIRROR PHOTOS?

Disclaimer: These outfits are for LULZ, and I am wearing leggings as pants.