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Post by Olive on May 31, 2011 7:57:11 GMT -5
I used to try to listen to classical and whatnot when I wrote, so that the lyrics didn't detract from the flow. But over the years, I discovered that I can get a lot of inspiration from the lyrics, even writing whole stories based off of one line that struck me just right. Some of my stuff that I've enjoyed going back and reading has been a little bit sharper, a little bit more harsh, and usually came about while listening to things like The Dead Weather, The Kills, The White Stripes, Cake, The Strokes, Queens of the Stone Age, Spoon, Modest Mouse, The Raconteurs... man there's a lot of Jack White there.
Anyways, some of the softer, sad-not-angry, nearly romantic stuff happens when I'm listening to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elvis Costello, Pink Floyd, The Black Keys, Death Cab for Cutie, Radiohead, Violent Femmes, Nick Drake, Pearl Jam...
Oh my, I think I listed too many bands. Ah well.
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Post by Olive on May 31, 2011 7:47:39 GMT -5
I write primarily on my desktop. Sounds boring, but I'm making the mental shift from "recreational writing" to "professional writing," and it's hard to think of something as my-job-which-I-have-to-do-or-I-don't-eat-this-month when lounging under a tree (alas). I think that's part of the draw of being a professional writer, though. Really, you can do it wherever you please. While it might feel more professional to sit down at a desk, being all reasonable and habitual and whatnot, you might be losing out on productivity if you don't take some time to go and be where inspiration strikes you. Unless, of course, inspiration always strikes you at your desk when you want it to. Then you're just a lucky bastard, heh.
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Post by Olive on May 31, 2011 7:44:14 GMT -5
Marching band is definitely a sport. It got me out of gym in high school (which was good, because I simply didn't have time for it in my schedule)... even though I played electric bass for it and never actually marched.
However, I only did marching band for that one year. My main instrument is the bassoon and, well, you technically aren't allowed to march that. So I've stuck to orchestras and symphonic bands, for the most part. The bass is just a fun hobby now.
When it comes to sports, I'm a swimmer. Except that I haven't actually been on a team since sophomore year of high school. Still, I'll spend most of my time in the water this summer, once the lake warms up. I've recently picked up running, but it's a lot more painful and a lot less satisfying than swimming, so we'll see how long that lasts.
And, of course, there's always writing, but that's a given.
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Post by Olive on May 31, 2011 7:29:48 GMT -5
(Also, the Ood need more love. They're sometimes creepy as hell, but come on! Who doesn't love a mute empath alien or two?) I LOVE THE OOD! Seriously, I got so excited when there was one in The Doctor's Wife... and severely bummed when we barely saw him
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 19:02:23 GMT -5
I write... anywhere. In the past year, the bulk of my fiction has probably been written in classrooms, at the back of notebooks while I tune out of the lecture. But I've been content writing in my chair, squished in a darkened car, in a cafe, huddled on the floor next to someone else's couch, and on the beach. Oh, the beach. I love that I'm so close to it! I think that's really where I started writing for me again, about a year ago. It's a wonderful atmosphere, and if the weather is nice it's a great place to people watch for minor characters.
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 17:45:55 GMT -5
Thanks guys! And Joey, you should definitely get back in the habit, you've got some good stuff.
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 15:11:24 GMT -5
followed by enough Eddings that I had to stop visiting bookstores. Eddings? "My Lord, I find thy face apelike and thy form misshapen. Thy beard, moreover, is an offense against decency, resembling more closely the scabrous fir which doth decorate the hinder portion of a mongrel dog than a proper adornement for a human face. Is it possible that thy mother, seized by some wild lechery, did dally at some time past with a randy goat?" That Eddings? Yes, that Eddings. I told you, I went on a Fantasy binge...
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 11:14:20 GMT -5
The plan is to graduate in another two years and go straight on to my PhD, hopefully with a GA position to pay for it... please oh please. Then, honestly, I want to return to my current university to teach, because I just love the area, and I know that if I get my PhD from my first choice and the current department head is still around, I'll have a job no problem. Please oh please.
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 8:19:07 GMT -5
Just lightened the visited link color a bit. Is that better?
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 8:03:49 GMT -5
Am I the only 10 fan here? David Tennant owns my heart forever. To be fair though, I am I've not seen much 11 yet. No, you're not alone. And it's not because he was my first doctor, either. I actually saw a series of Four years and years and years ago, with my father, and couldn't stop laughing. Then, when I heard that they had started it up again, I watched it straight through, starting with the first episode of 9. I've seen all of 11's episodes, and I can understand why people adore him, but I will forever think of 10 as The Doctor.
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 7:54:43 GMT -5
I've been playing D&D on and off for a few years now. That started to fade, however, when we discovered the Call of Cthulhu tabletop RPG. It's so much fun, as an English major/Lovecraft fan!
Of course, the my schedule makes it really hard to find enough time to get together, so I'm afraid the last group we had fell apart after 4 or 5 sessions. Ah well, at least I got to kill someone. /evilKeeperlady
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 7:46:35 GMT -5
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 7:36:47 GMT -5
"I seen." As in, "I seen him at the store yesterday." I'm pretty sure I visibly cringe whenever I hear that.
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 7:34:41 GMT -5
Honestly, as far as it being a book, and just a book, it's not bad. It's a decent story with a decent... moral?
However, the character of Holden is terrible, in my mind. And that's perfectly fine. Except that so many readers, when they're between about 12 and 18, totally idolize him. And that's why I wind up hating the book. Somehow it turned into this near manifesto for, pardon my juvenile term, "douchebaggery." I have never met someone that loved the "book" and wasn't horribly immature, because they tried to live like Holden.
However, I don't think that was Salinger's goal when he wrote it, so I won't hold his legion of fans against him.
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Post by Olive on May 30, 2011 7:25:27 GMT -5
I had year where I binged on Fantasy... way too many Salvatore books in the summer, followed by enough Eddings that I had to stop visiting bookstores. However, as far as perennial favorites, - Neuromancer
- The His Dark Materials trilogy
- Fahrenheit 451
- Brave New World
- The Odyssey
- Much Ado About Nothing
- The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Lord of the Rings, of course
This list shifts every time because, really, there's probably 50 books that I have at some point thought of as "my favorite," though one of the first two is almost always the answer.
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