1. Happy Mother's Day to all Moms!

2. I made chocolate spice cupcakes last night. I've made this recipe so many times, but it still kind of boggles me how good and how easy it is. So I thought I'd share!

( om nom nom )

SO EASY.

3. Last week I got fed up with myself. I've been low energy for too long. Yes, a lot of it is due to stress and to low b12--which is an annoying vitamin to have a deficiency in since it takes a while to build back up in your system. But I'm pretty sure a lot of it is because I'm at a really low fitness level right now. I can't really make it all the way through a dance lesson anymore--I dance the first few dances properly and then I have to start slacking off, not paying as much attention to technique, not getting good elevation, because I lose my stamina. Enough is enough. So I'm starting biking with a bit more discipline. I went out on Wednesday for only 15-20 mins and was a wreck afterwards; Thursday for 45-50 mins (in two sessions) and was really really wrecked; Friday was a rest day; Saturday was 3.5 hours of dance which I got through pretty well (though we were choreographing, so lots of stops and starts to figure out the next moves) and maybe 10 mins of biking to test out bikes before I bought my new one; today was about 30 mins of biking to test out my new bike more properly. After which I wasn't wrecked at all! I take it as a victory, even though I wasn't biking hard in the slightest, and stopped a couple times to adjust seat height etc.

I am really happy with my new bike purchase so far. I didn't realize how much of my difficulty was coming from my old bike: it was super rusted out and the gear cable was completely broken so I couldn't change gears at all. Have I mentioned before what a hilly city I live in? Gears are really nice.

So I will get there. The goal is just to boost my endorphins, get out and enjoy the spring/summer more, and build back up some muscle and stamina. If I don't work on getting my lungs healthier I will probably have to fill my inhaler prescription soon, and I really don't want to go back on inhalers. I haven't had one for 8 or 9 years now and I want to keep it that way.

4. Overall I am feeling really good about life. Personal, at least. I'm actually doing things, that feels so good. And I'm baking and cooking again. Work... well that's a different story. Halfway into May and I'm already behind on my thesis work. It's going to be stressful. But oh well, I will get through it.

5. Hmmm, not sure I have a fifth thing. Have a link to pictures of cats sleeping in hilarious positions, then!

So I finally read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I went into with high expectations, since it's so popular and has two movie adaptations and all. I've had people I know tell me to pick my timing carefully when I start to read it, since I won't be able to put it down. So just in case I chose to read it during my break between term work and thesis work.

I have to admit I wasn't completely blown away. Now this could be because this book is not in my comfort reading zone, so I didn't have a lot to compare it to. (Which was actually another part of the reason I picked it up. While I love SFF, I've been a little too cozy there lately. I need to keep trying other things). And I will say that I did get sucked in: the last third to a half of the book I did have trouble putting it down, kept thinking about the story, picked it back up as soon as I could. All good things.

Okay the more I think about this the more I don't think I can avoid spoilers. So you're hereby warned. Spoilers follow, if you don't want them here's the short version: overall I did really enjoy the book, but there were enough issues that I didn't love it.

First off, the infodumps. The worst one of all was right at the start, too. An entire chapter of flashback here's-what-you-need-to-know, oy. All about economics and corrupt businessmen, double oy. In chapter one. I had a hard time getting into it, that's for sure. There were other culprits (pretty much any time a new character was introduced--although I feel that's a feature of literary fiction) but that was the worst one. Makes me wonder why the heck we can't do that in genre fiction and sell a bajillion copies too. I call no fairsies.

Second thing that bothered me: why does Blomkvist sleep with all the women? Not that there are that many to begin with (excluding the very large cast of walk-on or very minor roles, and of course Harriet since she's just a concept for most of the book), but I'm not sure that's a good excuse. It was Salander who really pushed this over the edge for me. Especially with the way the book ends... Not only do all the women sleep with him, they all fall in love with him too. Of course. I mean, he's the hero, so obviously.

Third thing: I didn't feel as if the two major plot threads really meshed together. Wennerstrom and Harriet. At first it seemed as if the whole Wennerstrom fiasco was there solely to give Blomkvist a reason to accept Vanger's offer. But then the Harriet case got wrapped up with a few chapters still left to go, and suddenly we're back to the Wennerstrom stuff. Which Blomkvist quite suddenly manages to solve and wrap up quickly, with absolutely no consequences even though he's in way more deep now, and when he tackled Wennerstrom the first time he got fined and a prison sentence. I dunno, I didn't quite buy it. And I didn't like how in both plot threads, they end because the major antagonist (Martin, Wennerstrom) dies. Really felt like a cop-out to me. I was convinced that Martin's death had been faked somehow, especially given the heavy weight of faked/uncertain death throughout the entire book.

Anyway, all that said, I did genuinely enjoy the book. It had problems, but it kept me reading. And I have to say kudos to the translator, Reg Keeland, because while you could tell it was a translation, and there were certain passages that made me stop and think "huh, I bet that section was a real bitch to translate," I have a feeling it is extremely well done. (Not knowing a lick of Swedish and not being able to check against the original to confirm).

I very much enjoyed the character of Lisbeth Salander. I have a feeling entire essays could be written about her. Probably have been. I'm not going to try, but I do think she's a good character for making you stop and think. About gender, disability (your own or others'), ethics, violence, abuse... and on. I was going to say something about her rape scenes and her vengeance, but I don't think I will--while reading the book I didn't see how I could avoid it in a review like this, but now that I've finished the book and it's been a few days, when I think of her I seem to think mostly of her in Blomkvist's loft, reading, on her first ever vacation. It's subtle, but I think that's where her character has a big moment of growth... and the more I think about it, the more I think she's the only character who does really grow. (Which I feel sad to say about Blomkvist since he does go through some horrible things, but... I'm not sure how he is really different from the start to the end). I will be interested to see what the movies do with her. I really hope they don't trivialize or fetishize her.

I also really liked Dragan Armansky, and wished there could have been a bit more of him. But maybe he'll make more of an appearance in the other books. I will read the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, since Geoff owns that one already too. Depending on how I like that, we'll see if I read the third or not. I have heard that the series goes downhill from the first.

In a way I'm glad I liked but didn't love this book. I do want to see the movie versions, and I have trouble watching movies based on books I love. I don't think that will be a problem here, I don't have that possessive sense of "no! you can't change anything!" I'm going to watch both movie versions, but the Swedish one first of course. I'll post any thoughts I have about the three versions compared to each other after that. I am curious to see why Hollywood felt the Swedish movie had to be remade in the first place. (Just cause it's foreign, I suspect).

Yesterday Catherynne Valente posted a promise that she would always write books smart enough for kids. If you haven't read it, go read, seriously. This is something that's very dear to my heart, both as a reader and as a teacher.

I hate kids books that treat kids as stupid--The Series of Unfortunate Events books were (as far as I remember) the only books I didn't finish when I was a kid, because the writing infuriated me so much. It was so clunky, the dialogue would actually go "blah blah blah, some kinda big but not actually that complicated word" and the other character would go "what does that word mean!" and the first character would go "well, you see, it means [insert dictionary definition]." Granted, when those books came out I was a bit out of the age bracket, and way out of the target reading level. (I read them at the request of my school librarian, who wanted to know what grade level they were appropriate for but didn't have the time to read them herself). I'm quite sure the author thought he was doing a good thing, educating his readers. But still. Here's the thing: kids are incredibly smart, and they know when they're being talked down to. I really strongly believe that adults should NEVER ever talk down to kids--I don't mean talk to them the exact same as you would to an adult, but don't condescend.

As a dance teacher, I feel the same. There is a very common way of teaching young dancers which basically goes: teach them the "easiest" dance, and work it over and over and over until they can do it "properly" -- which depending on how young the dancer is, how motivated, how naturally talented, how focused, how strict their parents are about practicing... can take years. And sure, you teach a few other moves from other dances during that time, to make teaching the next dance easier when you get there, but basically the focus is all on one dance until that dance looks good. I have a problem with this (except in the case of competitive dancers, but most aren't competitive and are doing dance because it's fun). Because kids need and want to be challenged and pushed and to just go for it and try things and learn new things. And if you DO push them and challenge them... odds are, they will rise to it. Kids are amazing. But if you never give them that chance, well, obviously you will never see them rise up to anything, because you are not giving them the opportunity to try.

The same attitude is prevalent in the toys being sold to kids. Even the "creative" ones are pretty well boxed and packaged, with the nice pretty picture on the front of what you're supposed to make with this kit. I remember one girl I teach got a present from a friend: a build-it-yourself doll house. Sounds awesome, right? Nope. All the pieces were pre-cut, there were about 5 pastel colours of paint to use to decorate it, and all the "tricky" bits (flower boxes for under the windows, window shutters, maybe a couple other things I'm forgetting) were stickers. Cause heaven forbid a kid paint their flowerboxes a little crooked! What the hell? it's for kids, it should be messy. All the "proper" colours to paint each different piece were shown on the box. Who cares what colour a kid decides to paint their dollhouse? (I'm not even going to touch the gender conforming issues with a toy like that).

If we want kids to grow up to change the world, we should probably stop limiting them right from the get-go. This is a large part of why I don't think I could ever be a school teacher. The curriculum would make me want to tear my hair out.

Anyway. All that to say, I believe in kids. I believe they are incredibly smart and deserve books and toys and experiences that will stretch their minds, not place careful boundaries around what they are allowed to think. I hope one day I can follow through with a promise like Catherynne Valente's.

Hello again!

Posting real quick because I have to leave soon to go catsit, but thought I'd take a minute to post a couple pictures. I finished up my term work last Sunday and since then I have watched a couple movies, read a lot, puzzled even more, made one new cookie recipe and one tested-and-true one, visited the zoo, slept a LOT, played some video games (well, one video game), had a games night with friends, and um probably some other things that I'm forgetting. Very little computer time or internet time. And it was lovely and needed, I feel much more human now.

Picspam! Me at the zoo:


And baby!lemur who was the cutest flipping thing I've ever seen. The picture doesn't do him justice, he was so full of bounce. <3


Happy Sunday, hope everyone is having a good, relaxing day :)

I have a feeling I'm going to be scarce the next few days. But it will be good scarce. Here's why:

today and tomorrow: finishing up last obligation for this term, namely my Greek epigraphy essay.
Saturday: teaching dance, cleaning kitchen, baking something yummy that I will decide on Saturday (either cookies or cake but definitely involving chocolate), hang out with a friend who doesn't live in town anymore and is up for the weekend
Sunday: sleep in! then catch up on volunteer obligations, catch up on other overdue stuff like email
Monday-Tuesday: some computer free time. if the weather cooperates, maybe biking (or at least get my bike to the shop). movies and reading and such for sure.
Wednesday: trip to the zoo! apparently there are baby monkeys right now! so excited!!  (I'll bring my camera, but I don't have a very good track record with getting nice shots).
Thurs-Fri: pretty much the same as Mon-Tues except that Geoff has booked vacation for those days, so we'll have a little mini low-key, not leaving the city vacation.

Finishing up the marking yesterday really put me into a better space. So I'm going to be head down, finishing up that essay, and then taking a week to recharge. Which may still involve posting here, especially if I do get around to writing up reviews for a bunch of books that I've been meaning to, but it also may not. It's going to be a really good week, though, I'm so excited.

Playing along with W... W... W... Wednesdays (yanked from deborahjross), cause hey, any excuse to ramble about books, and I've got nothing else to post about today (oh, except that I finished all the marking for my TAship today! Yayyyy!)

So, here are the three questions:
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

And here are my answers:
Currently: The Feathered Edge, an anthology of short stories featuring some wonderful authors. I'm only two stories in so far (Kari Sperring's [aka la_marquise_de_] and Sherwood Smith's), but I'm sure the stories ahead will also be good. Also currently reading Ha'Penny by Jo Walton, which is a bit of an odd reading experience for me. I am enjoying it, but I'm also really not reading it fast. When I do pick it up, I'm into it, but I don't feel the compunction to keep picking it up until I'm finished. That's probably just as much end of term stress as anything else though. Once I'm finished my last essay I'm planning on devouring a whole bunch of books.

Recently finished reading... let's see. A very short steampunk story from Harlequin, that I grabbed up as a free ebook. It was entertaining but full of holes once you started poking. What else? Oh, Jim C. Hines' The Snow Queen's Shadow, which I put a brief review of up on goodreads.

What do I think I'll read next? Man that's a hard question... There are so many I want to dive into. The next Cast book from Michelle Sagara is definitely high up on the list. Also I downloaded some other free Harlequin ebooks, and to be honest after the stress of term some fast light junk food reading sounds pretty darn lovely. Other books that are really pushing on me... Catherynne Valente's Palimpsest, Laura Anne Gilman's Staying Dead, Catie Murphy's Urban Shaman... Sharon Shinn's Troubled Waters (but I have to book off enough time to read that one cover to cover, I've never yet been able to put a Shinn book down). HOW WILL I CHOOSE? I may just have to take a picture of a bunch of them and poll twitter. Twitter will know.

My to do list has been whittled down a little bit.

Mostly I just feel terrible, guilty when I'm not working and guilty when I am, because I'm so burned out that mostly I just stare at the pages and can't make the squiggles into words let alone the words into sense.

To do:
- essay (no fixed deadline, asap)
- proctor one exam (17th)
- mark exams (by the 18th)
- slush (asap)

Guilt is a really shitty emotion.

Meme taken from la_marquise_de_, because I need a five min break in between busy-ness.

***********FOODOLOGY***************

1. What is your salad dressing of choice?
Anything except ranch, really... usually go for Catalina or Italian, or any type of vinaigrette
2. What is your favourite sit-down restaurant?
Don't think I have one... anywhere with a nice atmosphere, friendly people, and good food
3. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of?
Cereal. Yogurt.
4. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
sausage, mushroom, pepper, onion, feta cheese, pineapple, green olives... not necessarily all on the same pizza :P
5. What do you like to put on your toast?
Toast is blasphemy, unless the bread is old and stale, in which case, probably peanut butter, or maybe cream cheese and jam. But plain, fresh bread is where it's at.

***********TECHNOLOGY***************

1. How many televisions are in your house?
One
2. What colour cell phone do you have?
Black
3. How many computers are in your house?
One desktop, two laptops. Another laptop and desktop that aren't functional but are still around. Plus two playbooks, if tablets count.
4. Have any idea how many Megahertz your computer has?
No, though I'm sure I did know when I bought it, but that was 6 years ago.
***************BIOLOGY******************

To do:
- essay (no fixed deadline, asap)
- commentary (16th)
- Greek exam (16th)
- proctor two exams (12th, 17th)
- run dance exams (13th, 14th)
- mark exams (by the 18th)
- slush (asap)

... That list isn't so bad anymore. Getting there. Mostly it's just the essay and exam that will be trouble. Biggest problem is that I have absolutely no motivation anymore. But oh well. I think once I finish, I'll take the rest of April off. Maybe dust off my writing, since it's been too neglected this term, but maybe not even. I need to regrow my brain. I'm thinking lots of tv/movies, reading (fiction!), puzzling, maybe even some crafting. I haven't had a chance to crochet or bead in ages (although my hands are sore right now--stress--so that's not as appealing). Oh, I know! Cooking and baking! I'll try out some new recipes. Can't wait.

But for right now... I have some research to do.

(This post mostly triggered by seeing this article linked to again today.)

I've been semi-following articles rehashing the "omg we need more boy books! boys can't read pink books or books with girls on the cover! think of the poor little boys!" thing, or the gender disparity in reviews/awards/acclaims for books, and well, gender issues in general as relates to all things bookish. I say only semi-following because I've been super busy and because it's the internet and hot topics explode and goo all over the place, and I don't think I could follow all of one froofrah if I tried.

Especially with stuff about kids' books and boy/girl books and girls reading boy books and vice versa, I just keep remembering this one time from my own childhood. I was sitting on the bus and, like always, I had a book out and was reading. It was a Scott O'Dell book, though I can't remember precisely which--I went through a big Scott O'Dell phase and read all of them I had. I have a feeling it must have been The Black Pearl.

Anyway, I was reading and a girl sat beside me. I don't even remember her name, though I think she was a grade younger than me. I definitely remember what she said to me though: "why do you always read books about boys?" I was... confused, more than anything, and also for the first time slightly panicked/ashamed of my reading choices. There were books I was supposed to be reading? I was reading the wrong ones? I said, probably pretty defensively, that I did not! She pointed to the cover and went "then why is there always a boy on the cover?"

I don't remember what happened after that. To be honest it's pretty likely I just shrugged, stopped answering and went back to reading. I was not very good at social anything.

I read Sarah Bishop right around that time too. (Like I said, big Scott O'Dell phase.) I remember looking at that cover and being all hah! see! a girl! *mental tongue-sticking-out at the girl on the bus*

I don't think that encounter had that much of an effect on my reading choices, really... I mean at that time my reading selection was basically "whatever I can get my hands on." But from an adult point of view, how sad is that? That 8-10 year old girls can notice that there are a lot of books with boys on the cover, and that that's worth pointing out.

So I think it's good that the girl books/boy books dichotomy is still being talked about. Girls have been reading and empathizing with boy characters for a long time, but sometimes with shame or marginalization attached to it. That judgement needs to end, and boys need to grow up learning that it's safe and allowed and good to read any book they want to, regardless of its cover. Basically the whole dichotomy of gendered books needs pulling down, cause it's false in the first place.