Wednesday, 01 July 2009

• Alphabetical Randomness

  Rules: For each letter you must come up with a topic that begins with the corresponding paragraph.  You must then write a short paragraph about that topic.

  (A) Austen -- I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating: some times I feel like I'm in a Jane Austen novel. Sometimes that's a lot of fun. Othertimes, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Am I Lizzy in this part of the story? Or am I Elinor Dashwood? Maybe I should take up character study, and be able to slip into one character or another based on the situation.

  (B) Blondes vs. Brunettes -- What's black and blue and brown, and lying in a ditch? A brunette who told too many blonde jokes. "Blonde" is a state-of-mind, not a hair color. Therefore, "blonde moments" can be experienced by anyone. Watch yourself.

  (C) Carrots -- Out of all the many vegetables available for consumption, why do carrots have to be the one that gets chosen for snacking? The texture is wierd, and it doesn't taste very good. How about we suck on lemons, instead?

  (D) Drivers -- People really don't watch out for the "other guy" when they drive.  Maybe that's a generational problem. Post-modern society has a tendency to give people a false sense of entitlement. That sense can then translate into "I have the right of way! I know there's a yield sign/stop sign/traffic light, but I'm on my way for a very important reason."

  (E) Elephants -- I have nothing against them, personally, but when a person's name can easily be linked with the common name of the species into an unattractive nickname, they're a little hard to love.  I really don't need a name that draws attention to my ungainliness, nor weight. Although the Elephant's remarkable memory is something I wouldn't mind being compared to.  If only...

  (F) Fan Fiction -- Fan Fiction is something that is a ton of fun to write. But only if it for ones own personal enjoyment.  Otherwise, I agree with Robin McKinley: besides the legal issues, it's someone else's world, and someone else's people. If they are great writers, they'll create a world that can sustain itself (IE Middle Earth), and the truly great fan fiction writers will be obviously apparent.

  (G) Ghana -- This is a small nation in Western Africa. Part of the "Gold Coast" (the name of the British colony in the same location), Ghana takes its name from an ancient kingdom that spread near the Niger River. They were the first African Nation to be granted its independence from the British Empire, becoming their own country in 1957. Since then, their history has been the common one of men who rise up, calling for a change in the current government, only to become a kind of tyrant once they have attained power.  The nation has gone from being a strict communist state, to being a military dictatorship, to being a capitalist democracy.  Currently, they are enjoying a period of stability, even with the contested presidential elections this past December. So far, they haven't fallen apart.

  (H) Hamburgers -- A good hamburger, cooked over the grill with select spices, is my favorite dinner food. Put it on a white-bread roll, with cheese, mustard, ketchup, and lettuce, and it is perfect. So tasty.  They are what I've asked for my birthday dinner two (maybe three) years in a row.

  (I) Imagination -- What would the world look like if we didn't get to use our imagination? I know I use mine every waking hour of the day, applying it to real world situations, musing about my stories, and other things.  The world would certainly be more boring, and probably a lot more inflexible, since our imagination helps us to see other sides of the picture.

  (J) Jennifer -- The English name "Jennifer" is a modern day equivalent to the Welsh name "Gwenafawr", more familiar to you all as "Guenivere". So that means my cousin and my sister's friend are both named after King Arthur's Queen!  I just figured that out yesterday, so the novelty hasn't worn off yet.

  (K) King Arthur -- I love his story.  And I already built an "Arthur" in to the history of my fantasy world.  So you know what that means... I get to retell the Arthurian Legend at some point in the future! Wahoo!

  (L) Levitation -- Wouldn't this be a great skill to have? To be able to lift objects (and people) into the air with only the power of your mind could be very useful. It would also mean we could learn how to fly. In the Star Wars Galaxy, it's known as Telekinesis, but "levitation" sounds much more magical.

  (M) March -- March is a sadly ignored month. Here in New England, it's the end of winter, so it usually is wet, cold, snowy on occasion, windy, and generally not nice when it comes to weather.  But what March represents is something much more exciting: The END of winter, and the beginning of the rest of the year.  Plus, where would we be without Saint Patrick's Day?

  (N) Nothingness --

   

   

   

  (O) Orlando -- Happy vacation spot in central Florida.  I was last there over 11 years ago. Dad was preaching for a church that met in the RTS buildings. We accompanied him and had a lot of fun with our day trips to Sea World, Disney, the Science Museum, and hanging out with the Wrights. Of course, our family lived outside Orlando for two or three years while Dad was at the seminary. That was where we welcomed two of my five siblings into the world.

  (P) PENNSIC -- The Biggest SCA event this side of the Mississippi River. For a week in August, the SCAdians meet on a field in central PA to live out the "modern middle ages", or, the "Middle Ages as they should have been." I love the idea of camping out for one whole week in period costume, with period tents, where everyone else is also in period costume, with period cooking utensils, and period tents, and period dances, and period music, and period foods, and merchants selling period merchandise...

  (Q) The Q -- my favorite out of all the villains in Star Trek.  John DeLancie does a wonderful job with the character. Later on, when they tried to include other "Q" into the story (Voyager), it didn't work, and they still needed DeLancie in order to pull it off. He was so arrogant and egostistical, but I suppose, being a vastly superior life form, that's only to be expected.

  (R) Roses -- The flower of June, and the one flower I could stare at for hours on end, letting my imagination run free along a number of different paths. I love roses.  I wish New England winters weren't so harsh, and my schedule so busy, so that I could try to cultivate them. My ideal garden definitely has a number of lovely roses, including some trailing ones that I let grow over either the gazebo, or over the long trellis, creating a romantically enclosed space...

  (S) Star Wars -- I just had to throw that in there.

  (T) Trees (in general) -- I love trees. Not so much that I am a "tree-hugger", but there is something comforting about having a tree near you, its beauty throughout all the seasons, its stability, its shelter... those qualities all make trees something that I dearly love to have about.  When I've traveled to other parts of the country, the thing that I first notice is the trees, or lack thereof.

  (U) Umbrellas -- Last winter the AAS gave out umbrellas to their staff members.  Little did the upper management realize how much we would use them.  This past month has seemed like one gigantic rain storm.  Oh, we had a few lovely days here and there, and we did our best to take advantage of them. But on the others, we've pulled out our trusty umbrellas, spread them wide over our heads, and continued to do our tasks as New Englanders always do, regardless of the weather.

  (V) Voice -- I read the opening of a book on Stradivarius, where the author mentioned how the violin was king of instruments, and waxed eloquent about the glories of the violin.  I don't really like the violin, though. Out of all the "instruments" that can be played, I prefer the voice above all. The human voice is so dynamic, and so expressive, a good singer can eclipse whatever expressiveness even the best violinist can create. 

  (W) Wal-Mart -- I felt like I betrayed my store the other day. I shopped at a different Wal-Mart. It felt so odd to be walking down the aisles, continously jolted by the similarity between the stores.  At the register, the man behind me was complaining it wasn't a real Wal-Mart, because they didn't have all the departments yet. I wanted to turn around and tell him to go shop at the Leicester Wal-Mart.  We're going to lose some of our business once North Oxford turns into a regular Super Center.

  (X) X-Games -- why would anyone voluntarily put themselves into a position where bodily harm is not only possible, but likely?  That's why I don't like football, or Pro Bull-riding, or NASCAR, or America's Funniest Videos, but mostly, why I dislike the X-Games.

  (Y) Yellow -- As a color, it's okay, but it all depends on the shade.  Softer, paler yellows are preferable to the bright yellows or golds. And usually, I'd pair it with greens, to make it a little easier on the eyes. You don't want to be staring at the sun all day, now, do you?

  (Z) Zoroastrainism -- A "religion" in ancient Persia, whose effects can be felt throughout the world even up to today.  There are many ideas similar in concept to some monotheistic ideas. Basically, there is a "good" versus "evil" in the world that was created by a single creator. The struggle between the two will continue until the good ultimately wins, and then time will end. That's a very rough understanding of what this is, and my World Civ I professor would not be happy with that answer.

   

  The End.  I hope you all enjoyed it!

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