This Morning's Blahs

Notes for the day:

There are two reasons I don't drink coffee, number one being that I don't like most coffee and number two being that I love black coffee and would probably have a coffee problem if I drank more than one small cup every now and again.

My math book is hufreakinmungous.

Speaking of math books, I love my class. Being in school for the first time in a long time is just the best. I mean, I've studied over the years, done so much studying on my own, ad now I have a strong sense of not being stupid; isn't that great? Just so validating ... not that school is a sure-fire way of determining intelligence but I am now POSITIVE that I can function in a solid CLASSROOM.

I am reading "The Color Purple" and am nearly finished and cannot actually like it, even though I tried. Kind of. If I try too hard I know it's not worth it to spend so much brain-time analyzing the novel. It's worth reading, I think, but I don't like the book itself. More on "The Color Purple" when I've swallowed it all.

-Lihua

Problems with "Jane Eyre"

"Jane Eyre" was of course amazing. I think a lot of you feel that way. And by all means ... you should. 'Cause it is.

It's wondrous and beautiful and creepy.

But I felt like it was missing something, or like there was something flat-out WRONG with it. And here are my thoughts:


1. Jane's character, while elaborately drawn and solidly fleshed out, was sometimes inconsistent. For example,

2. Why did she want to go to India when she had settled herself into the splendor of her newfound status as a sister? What motivated Jane to consider travelling under the hot sun alongside a person whose intentions appealed to her own values but whose personality, while to a considerable degree intriguing and impressive to her, clashed so morbidly with her own?

3. Why did she love Rochester? What about his furious fervor and wild impatience kept her passion for him fully alive?

My qualms. The end.

Lihua

Review for "Tomorrow, When the War Began" by John Marsden

Ellie and a group of friends come back from a refreshing trip deep in the crevices of the most secluded and rural part of their Australian state - to find that their everyday life has been torn apart by invading troops.

"Tomorrow, When the War Began" is a riveting book that would have been marginally more engrossing had the character development been offered more breathing room. There were, after all, eight kids in the centralized party. The first-person narration is solid and observant and keeps the reader absorbed, so it was well worth the read.

Why Comedy is Funny and Family Guy Won't Freak People Out (Plus What Jane Austen Movie to Avoid)

There is no such thing as a good Jane Austen movie that uses saxophones and electric guitars as part of its score.

http://www.amazon.com/Northanger-Abbey-1986-Katharine-Schlesinger/dp/B0007OY2P8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1281035506&sr=8-4

I couldn't get through it.

Last night on CNN's "Larry King Live" was an interview with Seth MacFarlane. Two questions on my end: one, why do viewers have to delve into the aspects of comedy like it's actually threatening?; and two, why, in response to these questions, did I only hear the word "satire" once?

"Family Guy" is stuff we think, stuff that occurs to us and WE WON'T SAY IT. Because it's buried underneath the veneer of polite humanity. But it's there, and everything's okay when he brings it out. There is no shying away from anything, so that when something changes (as in the love-it-or-hate-it episode "Brian and Stewie"), it can work. And it's interesting. Also, when something humongous happens, nobody is nervous.

I remember watching "The Simpsons" and feel uneasy when something out of the ordinary (for the Simpson family) occurred on the show: i.e., a bunch of holes in a security guard at the bank. "Whoa!" my mother said. "I don't wanna watch that! Why would I want to see that?" Because it's tame and subtle most of the time, pushing the boundaries a little didn't always work for a show like "The Simpsons". But with something uncut and wild, you can still get your sense of intellectually-driven humor when things branch off or out.

How did I go from complaining about the BBC Jane Austen movie to ranting about comedy? CRAP, I'm one of those viewers who over-analyzes.

No. No, wait, I don't have to be. I LIKE it. It's funny.

The end.

Lihua

Books

Isn't this wonderful? I've got a copy of "Jane Eyre" from the library and, from the DVD kiosk, a film version of "Northanger Abbey". And at home I've got "Gulliver's Travels". If you haven't read it please read it. Thanks. So um. You know, I find myself thinking about what a crap deal it is that we have to die before we can read everything great.

Lihua

Cutting and Self-Mutilation - NPR's Information

I was listening to some old NPR last night, from back in 2005. And apparently self-mutilation has been happening in human beings since the days of Ancient Greece. I looked this up only because one woman in her forties had said to me, quite matter-of-factly, "When I was a kid, no one would have cut herself. It's just not something you would do. If someone was stressed and she cut herself, we'd've been weirded out and would be like, 'Go read a book.'" Convinced this was incorrect, I looked it up.

In the nineteenth century, apparently two American doctors noted the phenomenon of women all over Europe puncturing themselves with sewing needles. They called them "needle girls" and said they were probably hysterical. Interesting. Here is the transcript. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4697319 Here, more interesting if you have time to listen, is the story with the real voices. http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=4697319&m=4697329 Listen to the victim of self-mutilation. Hear her logic. There is a very strong logic to cutting oneself.

Lihua

Look at me. I'm cool.

Sitting here in a library with my Star Trek lunchbox. They don't allow drinks in here and so my Star Trek mug is in the box. If only everyone could see that little bit of extra coolness I carry around. Plus I have on my TARDIS necklace. (Well, it's a little red police box. See, I couldn't find blue. But I was pleased with the charm I picked up at the dingy craft shop).

Lihua

"I want to talk about BOOKS, man!"

Peter Troughton has to be my third- or fourth-favorite Doctor. He's really incredible. I want to fight a fiction war. I want to live in a world where everyone reads. If I ever get married he has to read. Hands down. If he doesn't read he DOES have to make up for it with Star Trek or Doctor Who. Preferably BOTH. But mostly he has to read.

My brothers don't read much. My mother has no time to read. I want to talk about BOOKS, man!

(If YOU want to talk about books, especially classics, e-mail me. Please. Bai.Lihua@yahoo.com. I want to talk about books.)

I am writing a Scary Story for the kids who need one, usually two, before bedtime. This is fun babysitting. This is also bilingual babysitting.

I am now tutoring in Chinese. The first time was confusing, for both me and the student (a few years younger than myself). I don't know how she learns, the way she takes things in, and I assumed it might be similar to mine. Looks like it's probably not. So I suppose if she wants to ask questions I'll answer them. That will most likely teach me more about her method of absorption than my just spewing information ... and she was good. Most people can't repeat words with the same delicacy she did. I was pleased. And she was dedicated.

Today is MY Chinese lesson. Tomorrow is HER Chinese lesson. Fun times. Truly. I love it.

Lihua

Doctors and Slumber. And Stuff.

Tom Baker is, so far, my favorite of all Doctors. However, I have not watched all the Doctors. Tom Baker is currently number one and then comes David Tenant and then Matt Smith.

I am tired, ready to fall over and perhaps sleep. I thought I should mention the Doctors. Now I sleep on this hot Saturday night.

I'm seventeen and think I am supposed to be getting stoned with my friends but ... you know.

Lihua

TV and Heat

Today is a hot sort of day. I love the heat. You may think I'm out of my wits, like my family does, but I do love the heat. Makes me think of childhood. Brings stories to my head - stirrings from the muffled senses of conscious thought. But besides that, I have whole libraries of Doctor Who to watch. There is so much to see. My only qualm with Doctor Who is the same issue that I had when I discovered Star Trek: IT'S NOT IN BOOK FORM. This means I can't absorb myself in it in the introverted way that I tend to prefer, and that I can't pick it up to hold in my hands at convenient times. So this is how I shall spend my non-work-related hot days: writing and dreaming and watching Doctor Who. Isn't it merciful that it lasted beyond three precious seasons? Not that it would have bombed after three. I'm just glad it lasted so long. I mean, there SHOULD have been more of Star Trek.

Lihua

Back From the Shadowy Underworld

Been gone, disappeared; I know I know I know. Things to mention ...

Doctor Who is awesome, seeing as it's a show I have never watched until my friends started talking about the current season, and so I watched OLD stuff - the 1963 stuff - as well as the contemporary Doctor Who. Love it. And so pleased it lasts for longer than three precious seasons (like Star Trek. Hisssssssssssssssss).

I am writing and writing and there's stuff you can see on http://inkpop.com. Look for Lihua! There is of course also http://teenink.com/users/BaiLiHua. I make it a point to respond to your comments.

And ahm. Let's see. I'm working at a science lab. Cool, no? Yes, coolness. I like it even if it is mostly measuring salts. But measuring salts is cool, and you all know it.

Anything else? Yes, but right now I don't want to blather.

Lihua

Dear Media ...

Dear Media,

You make me want to be thin. You make me want to puke in the toilet everything I've eaten today because I hear that voice in my head (or my ear - depending on how you view it) telling me it was wrong to swallow.

You make me want to break with hunger, to feel my insides creaking as they die. You make me want to measure myself and glisten like gold when I'm finally the perfect shape.

But Lihua? The real Lihua wants to feel strong. She wants muscles and the full round face with which she was born. She wants color and fun. She wants life flowing from her hands and her voice.

It's a battle, Media. Sometimes I think you're winning and then I remind myself of who I am: a writer, a thinker, a sister, a daughter, a survivor.

Sincerely,

Lihua

Piece Online

Take a look: http://teenink.com/fiction/realistic_fiction/article/187777/The-Highway/

Lihua

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Li Hua: "I think Picard probably has a Captain's Diary instead of a Captain's Log. 'Captain's Diary, Stardate 8123.5 ...'"

Jack: "'...Worf looked at me again today. I don't like him. I don't think anybody likes him.

I miss my long, silky, dreadlocks.'"

Just One Bite

This will either water your glands (that wasn't SUPPOSED to sound so wrong, but it ended up sounding wrong anyway) ... or make you want to puke.

'Tis I

EDIT: Sorry, one of the links didn't post. It's there now.

Hello, I'm Li Hua.

There is not much to say today.

There's this, if you would like to see it. It's mine. http://teenink.com/fiction/all/article/169021/Summer-Blues/

This also is mine, no matter how anonymously I submitted it (and then regretted it later. It's just that people tend to give me weird looks when I confess I've thought about this sort of thing before). http://teenink.com/poetry/all/article/132677/Shoulds/

Finally, this is something but nothing special. http://teenink.com/fiction/all/article/169065/Morning-Light/

If you're not in the mood for such, enjoy this.

Just ahm. Don't watch if you're by some chance easily offended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bqo_43MEss

Good night from Rhode Island.

Li Hua