Where the Wild Things Are

Spike Jonze did an outstanding job getting Maurice Sendak's classic children's story on the big screen. "Where the Wild Things Are" was not an exact depiction of what went on in the original text (as is the case with most film adaptations of novels), but the writers presented audiences with a brilliant, funny, and clever interpretation of the book. The producers of this movie brought viewers into the kind of world that can only exist in the mind of a young child to such a great degree that even adult viewers felt like they were six years old again.

The film starts off with the story of a young boy named Max who struggles to get the attention of his family, as his mother is busy with work and his older sister is a teenager who would much rather spend time with her friends than her little brother. Angered by the lack of attention, Max runs out of his house and finds himself sailing into a world of his own:the land of Wild Things, as it is called in the book. Here he is introduced to monstrous-looking creatures with various personalities, who crown Max as their king because he claimed to have special powers that no one else did. As his first order of business, Max exclaims "Let the wild rumpus start!" And so begin his adventures as king in the land of Wild Things.

Max and the Wild Things were supposed to be building "a place where only the things you want to happen would happen," but they came across a few difficulties along the way. As they're building this mythical place, some social and emotional problems begin to arise within the Wild Things and Max decides to lighten up the mood by making up a war game. This game leads some of the Wild Things to have even more issues with each other and ask Max for assistance in fixing all their problems. They then come to realize that Max does not have special powers and is not cut out to be a king, which really disappoints them. This happens around the time he begins to get homesick and decides to sail back to where he came from. Eventually, all the Wild Things forgive him and bid him farewell as he sails back home.

Though a few people argued that the creatures were much too complex for this children's story, they are they key characters that differentiated the book from the movie. The fact that these creatures had the same types of emotions and problems that regular people do helped personify them, give them a sense of character, and make them memorable. Thus, leading the story line to flow more smoothly.

This movie was released at the perfect time of the year in regards to its setting. The majority of the film's scenes were lit with shades of orange, yellow, and brown, which were very reminiscent of autumn sunsets. Additionally, the movie's soundtrack, led by Karen O (singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), also helped set a relaxing and at the same time playful mood.

Randomness with Gibby

It just feels like a gloomy day

...probably because it is a gloomy day. Good job, weather.

I was gonna make a layout for this blog before I even posted anything new, but I feel like writing for a bit. I've been runny-nosed and felt weak and crappy the past 3-ish days. It sucks. The wonderful thing about being sick, though, is that it helps me really appreciate my parents.

I didn't get out of bed until almost 1pm. Apparently, my mom told me to get out of bed like five times and I responded her saying "okay" or something like that. I don't remember any of that. When I finally got out of bed, I went into the kitchen and saw that she had made me nice warm oatmeal. She even put it in my favorite Little Mermaid mug/bowl. I don't know if she did it because she knows I love eating out of that thing, or because it fit perfectly, but it was awesome. Then she made me tea. It's supposed to help get rid of all this sinus stuff. I hope it works. She said I'm supposed to drink it like 2-3 times a day. It didn't taste as good as the oatmeal, but it was still warm and made me just have this great feeling inside.

I love you, mom. Thanks for making my sick days better.

P.S. I feel like a little kid... writing in short sentences and mentioning my Little Mermaid cup.

This isn't WordPress :O

Not that I've been updating my blog frequently or anything, but I just wanted to let you all know that I have made the switch from WordPress to blogspot. I actually had this account since 2004, but never used it. I guess that's because I was using LiveJournal at the time, haha.

Anyway, I've managed to import all my WordPress blogs here so it doesn't seem so empty. By the looks of it, the transition was pretty smooth. The only thing that bothers me is that images on here don't do that thing where they wrap around the text, but oh well. I'll live. So, just know that if images make my posts look stupid, it's because the text is supposed to wrap around. Any post on here made before this specific one was imported from my WordPress.

Oh, and in case you were wondering: I switched because Blogger (or Blogspot, whatever it wants to be called) gives me more freedom when it comes to editing the layout and adding widgets on the sidebar and stuff. Blogger seems like a better choice if I have a free blog. That doesn't mean I like it better than WordPress, though. I would suggest WordPress to anyone who is making a website and needs something to manage their content and news posts.

I'll work on a layout soon because it looks kinda crappy (though nice and simple) right now.

The Closet Case that is Stephen Crane

Note: I don't SERIOUSLY believe any of this. I just wrote it because... Well, I was supposed to be writing an essay on Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat," but writer's block got the best of me. Someone told me that if I wanna get rid of writer's block, I should just start writing. This obviously didn't work, as I haven't written anything for my actual essay, except maybe the first sentence below.

Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" takes us through the experience of four men stranded in the ocean. These four men are an oiler, a cook, a correspondent, and a captain. When reading between the lines, one will realize that these men are obviously attracted to each other. The cook, the captain, and the correspondent clearly admire the masculinity of the oiler and totally want in his pants.

This story is filled with homosexual undertones and should be burned by churches all over the world. Anyone who buys the e-book should have their Kindles confiscated and reformatted so that this work can never be read in them. As much as this would piss off Jeff Bezos and the publishing industries, I think Stephen Crane's works should be kept as far away from the public eye as possible. His stories a) are super slow and b) do not teach anyone about the philosophy of man. (Unless, of course, the man is a raging homosexual.)

Not only on The Open Boat does Crane do this. His novel The Red Badge of Courage was slow and filled with homosexuality. Except instead of four being in the middle of the ocean, there are hundreds of young men in a battlefield contemplating their cowardice and sexual preference. And honestly, if anyone can be so descriptive and poetic about anything, they are obviously gay. They should not be published. They should not have their works be required reading for high school and college students all over the United States. These kids are being brainwashed by the work of Stephen Crane and will eventually realize that they too want to be homosexuals and surrounded by men at all times.

Sure, George Orwell has published books about how the government works (or doesn't work), but at least the men (and animals) weren't flaming queens. Winston Smith was interested in having sex with a woman. Only a woman. The way it should be. And honestly, no one ever takes George Orwell seriously. He is a wonderful fiction author, and that is all he is. Stephen Crane, on the other hand, pretty much writes his life experience into his works. He doesn't have the mental capabilities of making anything up for his own. Everything is writes is SOML-type shit.

(didn't bother to proofread, so sorry if there are a lot of mistakes!)

Now,  I should start working on my actual essay!

Ode To Community College Students

Yes, I know. This video doesn't apply to every community college student, lol. Only to those who are in their first year, don't have much going on, and live with their parents. This will be how you feel most of your first year at a CC and, well... if it IS your first year it might not've hit you yet (it's barely September, after all). But it will... once they start posting pictures on their Facebooks... and when they tell you all those cool stories about roomates, getting drunk, going to parties, school traditions, etc. Beware.

For those of you watching that don't know what community college is, here's a description: public institution of higher education. Community colleges are characterized by a two-year curriculum that leads to either the associate degree or transfer to a four-year college. The transfer program parallels the first two years of a four-year college. The degree program generally prepares students for direct entrance into an occupation. They are also referred to as junior colleges.

I always told myself I wouldn't end up at a community college. Specifically, the one I'm going to right now. Though it feels like a giant bowl of suck a lot of the time, it's not that bad at all.

Summer Books

This video came out longer than I wanted it to be, despite the fact that I cut out a lot.

Oh, and...
I'll be reading 3 books in September because they all have really close release dates:

Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse
by Kaleb Nation

Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins

The Lost Symbol
by Dan Brown

Church Etiquette

I'm not necessarily a religious person, but I do go to church every Sunday because of my parents. I've noticed I have a lot of pet peeves at church, especially when I attend baptisms, weddings, and quinceañeras. It's obvious who goes to church regularly and who doesn't. Anyway, here's a little list I came up with of things you should and shouldn't do at church. Most of these things just require common sense and respect to others.

• Arrive to the mass early or be there right when it begins. If you get there after the mass starts, you are a distraction. Also, seats tend to get full after a certain amout of time. Being on time to church will not only save you the embarassment of walking into a quiet room and heads turning to look at you with disgust, you will also have the freedom of choosing to sit near someone you know rather than a total stranger.


• Dress appropriately. I know my mom always tells me to wear my sunday best when I go to church, but nowadays more and more people are starting to dress casually for church. If you want to dress that way, it's okay with me (as long as it's accepted by the religion). Just don't wear anything that you would wear to sleep like sweats, a tank top, a muscle shirt,  or an oversized t-shirt. And use common sense: don't wear something that says "I'm with stupid." In fact, try to avoid wearing anything with words or logos.


• Turn off your cell phones and electronic devices. Wait... Who am I kidding? No one turns their cell phones off anymore. Put them on silent. No, not vibrate. Silent. I know for a fact that if it vibrates, you will be tempted to sneak a look into your pocket to see who called or texted you.


• Don't walk in and out of church during the service. Go to the restroom and take care of everything you need to take care of before the mass starts. On a similar note: don't leave church early. That's disrespectful.


• Try to avoid talking. If you talk, it implies that you're not paying attention and disrespecting the word of God. Even if you don't believe in what's being said, have some respect for everyone else.


• Don't chew gum. That's just tacky.


• If you have small children, don't feed them snacks. The opening of wrappers and chewing of food is annoying and distracting. (Also, I hope you have the sense not to be eating snacks yourself.)


• If you have a baby and it begins to cry, please take it outside. There's something just not right about people who go to church against their will covering their ears to drown out the sound of a baby's cries instead of the preacher's sermon.