The Hunger Games

I have a confession to make.

Last night, at about 11:30, I thought I would get a little reading in before I went to sleep. Now, this isn't a very common thing for me to do. I hardly ever read just for fun anymore. I don't even think I can remember the last novel that I actually finished. A lot of nights I watch an episode of HIMYM before I go to bed, or talk to people on facebook, or study until I can't  keep my eyes open anymore. Last night though, I decided to read a little before I slept. After seeing the new trailer for The Hunger Games, I was really curious about it and, seeing as I had just bought the book at Value Village a month ago, I decided to give it a read.

I stayed up until 3:30 and read it cover to cover in one go.

I really enjoyed it. While the writing isn't especially impressive, it tells the story well enough, and I couldn't put it down. It was an interesting story, and kind of reminded me of one of the Pendragon books I used to read, which was very similarly-named The Quillian Games, and I'm pretty sure it had almost the same plot. After reading the book, I can see how, if done properly, it could be a pretty good movie too.

It's been so long since I've sat down and read for an extended period of time, it was nice to do it last night.

I'm just glad I'm a fast reader.

Nerdy Comics

I had my last Critical Thinking test today, and one of the questions was to do with necessary and sufficient conditions. While answering it, I thought of a (really lame) joke, and just about laughed out loud in the middle of the big, silent, lecture hall. And thus, a poorly drawn comic was born. All you need to know is this:
Necessary condition: must occur for something to happen.
Sufficient condition: guarantees something will happen.
(One example used in class was "The presence of oxygen is a necessary condition for fire")
I call this comic Why you shouldn't mix up necessary/sufficient conditions:

If you don't get this, don't feel bad.But try to think harder.

 (P.S. I'm not a sick person, I swear. But I still laughed when I thought of this)

Gingers

Do you remember that time Robert Downey Jr lip-synced an entire Elton John song? And that was all the music video was? Well it's happened again, with a few notable exceptions:
a) The song is a lot better
b) The video is a lot more interesting (but no less creepy)
c) RUPERT GRINT
d) YEAH. Like, RONALD WEASLEY.
e) I like this song/video.

Check it out! Lego House, Ed Sheeran

 (Also, he has this song with a cool video featuring an ASL-dancer)

Bon Iver

Oh man. The last week of classes is brutal. These last 3 semesters, somehow I end up with all but one of my classes opting out of having an exam in exam period, and instead finishing up in the last week. Now this is good on the one hand because it means that, after classes are done, I only have one exam to worry about, while everyone else is struggling through 3, 4, maybe even 5. However, this means that the last week of classes is mad hard. This week, I have 4 "midterms," several homework assignments due, a poster project, and a butt-load of reading to finish up. Oh, and my research methods class sprung a 10-page research report on us, due at the beginning of exam period. FUN. I spent a good 15 1/2 hours in the library this weekend, so I feel almost on top of things. Also, I got two of my four tests over with today, which is nice to have behind me.

Honestly though, a big thing that's keeping me calm and focused through this last week is my renewed love of Bon Iver. Now, I've been a fan for a long time, but in the last few days I've been listening to his music exclusively, and wow. Just, wow. Bon Iver makes, without a doubt, the only music that gives me goosebumps. I've already shared his cover of "I Can't Make You Love Me," here (DROOL), but here are a few more of my favorites, to help get you through the stress of exams and ease you into the Christmas season:

Towers (off the album Bon Iver, this is my new favorite original Bon Iver song I think)

Skinny Love (off the album For Emma, Forever ago, this song is a close/tied second. HNNG SO GOOD)

Blindsided (also off For Emma, this song is just good. In all ways.)


On a related note, I've decided that, if I were to die tomorrow, my biggest regret would be not going to see Bon Iver when he came to Vancouver recently. Seriously, I can't even express how much I want to see him perform live, right now.

On a side side note, if music/Bon Iver is not your thing, my sister's friend has a blog where he shares some of his writing, etc, and it's pretty interesting. (He's doing his masters in writing at UBC right now.. so that's pretty cool) Check it out here.

Twitterverse

Twitter is, essentially, a mean through which people can share things. Things that matter to them, things that make them laugh, things that made them think, or things they put a lot of effort into. Here are a few things that Twitter shared with me this week. (Note, I'm more of the "things that made me laugh" type person).

Maniacal Toddler
 

People getting all upset that Ryan Gosling wasn't voted Sexiest Man Alive  (funny, but come on people- get your priorities straight)
Exhibit A (on one hand, Feminist Ryan Gosling is funny. On the other hand, Occupy People, although it is 99% a joke, makes me dislike people in general)
Exhibit B
Exhibit C (63 Reasons Why Bradley Cooper Definitely Isn't The Sexiest Man Alive- this one actually made me laugh)


Marcel the Shell,Two
There's a second one! And it is just as good as the first one.



The Crazy Things I Do In Normal Circumstances 
Read this, it's hilarious.



Why I Hate Shopping
If you're too lazy to read this one, just read this one excerpt:

Leggings are not pants. Leggings are similar to pants, in that they cover the leg portion of your body, but leggings are not pants. When one wears a shirt with a pair of leggings and boots, it has an effect similar to walking out of the house in pajama pants. It shows that you had the intention of getting dressed, but somewhere around the halfway point lost your morale.

 So there you go. My little snippet of Twitter this week.

In Your Arms

Check out this sweet song/video combo:


Even better is the behind the scenes video. JELLY BELLYS. Seriously, so cool.

Gambino and Rheon

There are few things more annoying than an actor or actress who release a CD just because they can. More often than not, it's pretty awful, pretty forgettable, and a cash-grab that will make it to the top 5 on iTunes, because fans will buy just about anything their favorite celebrity puts their name on.

However, lots of actors/actresses are multi-talented, and do make good music.Two people that have caught my attention lately are Donald Glover (as Childish Gambino), and Iwan Rheon. That's right. Troy from Community and Simon from Misfits rap/sing/play guitar. It's kind of weird to see them perform music so out of their on-screen character's personas, but it's good. Check it out:
Childish Gambino- Freaks & Geeks


Iwan Rheon- Sink

Tumblr?

I've been neglecting my camera lately. I've only touched it a few times since moving back to Victoria, and that makes me a little sad. Victoria is really quite a pretty place, and there are plenty of places I could take my camera. I'm going to try to start taking more photos, and I started today.
One of my favorite things about living in Victoria is that I'm so close to the water. In North Van I live "close" to the ocean, but here I'm really close. There are a handful of beaches nearby, and I love it. While Cadboro Bay is still my favorite place in Victoria, I'm going to try to find a few other beach-type areas. Today I walked off the end of Gordon Head road and followed a little path towards the water. While it didn't lead to a beach, it opened up to a grassy rock place that overlooked the ocean. It was dead quiet, except the sound of a few birds and the waves. It was really peaceful. It was kind of cold and awkward lighting (I'm still not used to it getting dark so early) so I didn't get very many pictures, and the ones I did get weren't very good (I didn't set up my tripod). I edited them (quite a bit), and I think they look alright. Here they are:

There's actually quite a drop off before the ocean here.

Also, I am not exactly proud of this, but I have joined yet another popular internet social-network-type-thing. Yep, I got tumblr (she said, slightly ashamed). I got it so I can micro-blog and share single photos/songs/other peoples gifs and pictures that I enjoy. I'm going to see how it goes. So yeah... that's a thing. If you're interested, check it out at www.zoe-click.tumblr.com Cheers!

P.S. It's my mom's birthday today. She's pretty great. Happy birthday mumsie!