Books

I don't have any decent books to read. So I can't review about any either. :(

If you do know of any, please tell me. :D

I am considering of reading Harry Potter again.

*sigh*

An Interview with Vanessa, the girl whom I learnt the word defenestrate from

Talented with words, Vanessa aka bloody awful poetry never ceases to make me Laugh out Loud. She rocks, and has been blogging for up to two years now. I am sure her replies will crack anyone up (apart from Prof. Severus Snape- who died).

Name: Vanessa
Screen name: bloody awful poetry
Blog Address: www.the-fly-saviour.blogspot.com

On Blogging

What does your screen name mean or stand for and why did you choose it?
It’s a piece of a lyric from a song by The Smiths called Frankly Mr. Shankly, and the whole thing goes something like ”I had no idea that you wrote poetry/I had no idea you wrote such bloody awful poetry”. There’s no particular reason why I chose it, except that I was really getting into The Smiths’ music right about then, and the week I started blogging was also the same week I finally decided to accept the fact that I’d never become a poet. Because the stuff I wrote was composed of a great deal of iambic suckage.

Why did you start blogging?
I honestly do not know. It was probably an unfortunate combination of boredom, vanity, and an innate tendency to jump headfirst onto bandwagons, which was mostly catalyzed by discovering that Grace had also made a home for herself on Blogger. But I’ve had over year of blogging under my proverbial belt now, and I’m still astonished that people not only read the nonsense I choose to post, but actually take time out of their lives to post comments. And then they come back for more of the same. I hope they’re not all sadomasochists, or simply humoring me to be polite. I can’t tell which is worse.

What do you aim to achieve through blogging?
You know, I’ve always felt that blogging was always a form of personal ego-stroking. Private journaling is one thing, but then to go one step further and assume that a bunch of strangers from all over the world would give a flying you-know-what regarding your opinions on nuclear war or your trip to the dentist or that time your pet pig did something funny or how gorgeous you think Jake Gyllenhaal is both ridiculous and utterly fascinating. I guess, to put it in a posh way, blogging is like a form of self-assertion as well as acknowledging the rights of others to have opinions, no matter how trivial the subject. It’s a mutual admiration society, it is. And I totally support this because one’s ego must always be kept nice and plump and healthy. Oh but my aim? Mainly so I have an excuse to post pretty pictures and have the world join me in the sport of ogling such pictures. Or not ogle, if they prefer that.


Can you give a brief outline on what you blog about?
Nothing mindblowing or of universal importance, I assure you. It’s mostly rather superficial things that revolve around music or film or TV shows or (especially) attractive famous humans. It’s a bit sad, I suppose, if you really sit and think about it.


How do you think you would spend your time if you didn’t blog?
Honestly, I would probably get a lot more things done, like studying and exercising and clipping my toenails. And I don’t even blog that regularly anymore; you’ll be lucky to get more than a post a week from me these days (not that it’s a huge loss or anything, but still). If I hadn’t spent the last 2 years or so blogging, I may very well have finished reading Anna Karenina by now, and written my own novel perhaps, and I would have gotten an A+ on last term’s Economics test instead of an A-, and made half a dozen spice racks, and discovered the meaning of life, and I’d have probably gotten a boyfriend and spent 6 blissful months with him and then broken up and then backpacked across Asia leaving trails of heartbroken tears all along the banks of the Mekong river and s***. Blogging is so detrimental to the productivity of my life, I tell you.


Blogger/Blogspot or Live Journal?
Blogger, since I’m already here. I find LiveJournal exceedingly intimidating; its size and scope and the technical know-how required just to keep a simple blog up and running (I freaking suck at html coding, thank you) and Blogger is much easier to get around and infinitely more user-friendly, and there are many many awesome people who inhabit its pages. However, one of my favourite Internet pastimes is stalking other people’s LJs. Live Journal is an utter haven for nutso fan communities, be it Doctor Who or Harry Potter or William Shatner or Supernatural or The History Boys, even. You want decent fan fiction or intellectual discussionifying or fabulous artwork or mix tape compilations or this excellent little thing the LJ fan girls refer to as “picspamming” , head over to somebody’s LiveJournal page and you’re set for life.


Would you consider your blog similar to a personal diary? Why or why not?
Not really, no. I think with blogging I’m so much more conscious about what I write about and what sort of impression I’m making or if I’m going to offend anyone. Your audience, however measly the number, is forever on your mind, even if you’re virtually anonymous anyway. A personal diary is totally different; I can say whatever I want there and present myself in whichever manner I choose, and anybody audacious enough to read what I write in there, I’ll kill them. And then blog about it, maybe.


If you were paid to blog, would you?
Heck yes! I love money!

Would you ever consider blogging professionally?
How much moolah will I make?


General Stuff (these are very random)

Are you reading any books lately?
Well I haven’t exactly got time for much reading these days. Like once in a while I pick some random book off my shelf and read a couple of chapters for intellectual and spiritual sustenance, but that’s about it. I just recently bought a whole bunch of novels for like, RM5 each (ridonkulously cheap, that) and it’s all awesome stuff like Clive Barker and Annie Proulx. These days I’m sticking with the books I have to read for Literature in English classes; Jane Eyre (hate her), Hamlet (what a whinger), Wide Sargasso Sea (Mr. Rochester is a big fat jerk) and John Keats (depressing as heck). But I secretly enjoy it all, I really do. And I like to walk around quoting stuff from them. O my prophetic soul!


What is your favourite book/story/novel called?
What? Just one? Surely you don’t expect me to choose? I think right now it’d have to be The Importance of Being Earnest. With the baby in the handbag and the Bunburying and the muffin-eating. Oh joy!


What is your all time favourite cartoon?
Another tough one, but it’s got to be Spongebob Squarepants, I think. It’s just so smart and hilarious and caters to both kids and adults without ever compromising the enjoyment or insulting the intelligence of either. It has sarcasm and irony and satire and political/social commentary, even, as well as pop culture references to keep the grown-ups snickering and it’s ridiculous enough to keep the kiddies happy as well. And come on. It’s about a sponge wearing pants with a snail for a pet who flips burgers for a living and lives in a pineapple under the sea. It’s awesome.


Do you like baked goods? If so, which ones?
I’m particularly partial to cheesecake. Yum.


Winter or Summer?
We don’t really get season where I live; it’s like perpetually summer here. But I do like it when it gets cloudy and dark and windy just before it rains. I don’t like rain itself, though.


What piece of advice would you give on how to survive high school?
At risk of sounding impossibly cheesy, I think it’s just about having a firm grasp on who you are and being comfortable with it. Which is a lot easier said than done, and you’ll get plenty of knocks before you get there (I’ve been there recently, I know). And you’ll have to remember that, as intense and challenging and oh-no-my-life-is-over an experience as it can be, high school is a miniscule insignificant bubble compared to what’s out there and waiting for you in the big bad world. So suck up and deal with the lousy parts of high school, enjoy the good bits (and there will be many of those, in varying degrees of awesomeness) , meh at the indifferent bits, get fabulous grades, and get it over with while being the most Awesome version of yourself you can possibly be. *pause for raucous standing ovation*

Glass half full or half empty?
It really depends on the situation or my mood. I like to think of myself as an idealistic practicalistic sometimes-optimistic pessimisticist.


If you went to a party, what would you do there, or if you stayed at home, what would you do instead?
Either way, you can be sure it’ll be something exceedingly awesome.


Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, Blogger, Live Journal and the likes. What is your opinion on sharing your life online?
Like I said earlier regarding the blog question, it’s a nice way to keep your ego healthy and inform the world about how much you matter. It’s a mutual admiration society on a size and scope never seen before (thank you, Internet).

I love Mythbusters. Have you heard of them and do you watch/like it too?
I freaking adore Mythbusters, yo. I mean, the explosions, the Jamie moustache, the Adam giggle, the Buster, the ballistic gel, the explosions, the Tory, the explosions, the Grant, the explosions?? What’s not to love?


Chickens are extremely adorable creatures. What do you think about them(don’t mind offending me if you say they taste good, haha)?
They taste gooooooooooooooooood.


Kiki Strike kicks mega butt. Have you read the books?
No, actually. But I have heard so much about it, that my curiosity is definitely aroused and I’d like to read it, if only to see what all the fuss is about.

Are my socks stripy enough?
Perfectly so, darling.