The Fault In Our Stars: A Review.

     I am the only person on the planet who did not like this book. It's been months since I've read it. I put off reviewing it because I knew I was the only person who didn't like it. I'm not saying it was all bad; it just wasn't for me. There was terminal cancer and love and teenagers. Only one of these things interests me, and even then terminal cancer can only hold my attention for so long. Eventually I need it to hold up to its name and end. 
    It was sweet, but dumb. I may be the only one who thinks this, but I'm not backing down from it. Too many things were coincidences and too many things could only happen in a fantasy world. Sure, a fantasy world filled with terminal cancer, but still. Fake make-a-wish foundations and trips to meet reclusive authors are part of a fantasy world. Also, really sweet teenage boys are part of a fantasy world.  
     There were parts of it I liked. Mostly the words John Green uses and the way in which he uses them. It is a nice, easy, pleasant read. I didn't have to flip to an index or keep a dictionary next to me to understand it. It's very accessible. Oh, that's because it's for teenagers. Right. I'm not its target audience so I should stop shitting all over it. It was fine.
     I know we were supposed to care about all of these people so much. It was a book full of empathetic characters; we're supposed to root for all of them and hope beyond all hope that a cure for everything is found and they all get to survive forever. Of course, they can't. They just can't and I think we're supposed to be completely devastated at this realization, but we're naive if we are. It's not a support group for the common cold and sore throats. It's a support group for kids with terminal cancer. We're being setup for heartbreak; you have to really deliver serious heartbreak.
     I just didn't care for it. Also, I'm a bit of a cynic. I do like its title though. It's fun to say.


Also, this exact same review can be found here: http://cannonballread4.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/banannerpantss-cbr4-review-7-the-fault-in-our-stars-by-john-green/

And hopefully, more reviews will be coming!

Power Naps

     Power naps are great, but you have to do them just right. I've read a lot about them, and the gist is that you should nap for about 20 minutes. Don't have a lot of caffeine or sugar for about 2 hours prior to the nap, make the room kinda dark, and your power nap will truly be powerful.
     I've taken two power naps in as many days, and it keeps me going. I should just sleep the requisite 8 hours per night, but who has time for that? I just don't always. But that's where power napping saves me. Also, it makes me feel like a superhero when others are all "oh, it's late, I need to go home and go to bed" and I can say "not me!" And then I don't let on that I power napped earlier because even though I'm currently touting how wonderful they are, talking about them seems weak.
     But seriously, I recommend it. Darken the room. Be pretty tired. Don't down espresso right before you nap. Set a nap timer for 20 minutes. Take off your pants. Lie down. Mmmmm.  It's nice.

Playing Dumb is Dumb

     And I will not do it. Not just in scenes, but ever. Not even when I'm trying to get along with a large group of people who I don't know all that well. Sometimes it can be attractive to just go along with the stupid thing someone just said and let them have their shining moment of stupidity. And as I type that sentence I see how un-supportive it can seem, but it's not because I was honoring the reality of the stupid person by calling out "uh, that sounds dumb."
     Gertrude (not her real name) is afraid of most modes of transportation. "Hm, ok. Why?" I was expecting a heartfelt story of fear and heartbreak about horrific plane crashes and auto accidents and dead puppies and parents. Nope. "It just doesn't make sense that something that big and heavy can stay in the air. Also, it weirds me out that something can be going one way while you walk the opposite way on it." No, that's not an explanation I can let go.
     First, I attacked the first part, like you do. It's science. Airplanes are designed to stay in the air. In its simplest form, the shape of an airfoil creates differences in air pressure--I drew an airfoil in the air with my non-beer hand to demonstrate--so there's low pressure up here and high pressure down here and then LIFT! The small circle of people agreed and all chimed in with "lift!" at the same time.
     Then our friend Johnny NewBoots (not his real name) attacked the second part. What about cars? You ride in cars, don't you? She conceded she rides in cars but that you don't walk backwards in a car. Well, have you ever had to climb from the front seat to the backseat while the car was moving? No, she had not. Well, can you imagine it? Let's say you left your charger in your bag in the backseat. You'd have to climb back to get it. She shook her head at us. What about bikes? If it was a really long bike--like a three person bike--and you had to climb from the font to the back, that would also violate your theory. "Hey Jerry, you take control, I'm just going to climb over you and grab something from the back of the bike." And well, from then on we just made jokes about people on weird bikes getting things from the back and let Gertrude continue to be afraid of science.

Dreams Again

     I swear I've sworn off talking about my dreams, but here I am again, talking about my dreams. But get this--this time, I was precision driving a giant truck. I was in some pretty tight spaces but I maneuvered that giant 4x4 pick-up truck through a maze like nobody's business. I did some driving in reverse, which according to the meaning of dreams dictionary signifies major setbacks in goals. That's a tad depressing, and it was really good reverse driving, and then I did go forward again, so suck it dream dictionary. You don't know my life!

Ten Things!

Ten Things! Ten Things! Ten Things! Hey hey! Ten Things!

Yesterday was picture day! Check it out! Nancy's Ten Pictures.

When We're Students

     Ego is a massive thing. A healthy dose of it is important; it helps you get through the day and make confident choices. Too much of it and you're just a douchehat. I've noticed a pretty consistent correlation between the "younger generation" and massive ego. The helicopter parenting method creates a population of individual special snow-flowers who can't hear they're wrong.
    The snow-flower ego can put up walls that I think might be a hindrance when trying to learn something. Because when we're students, I think it's important to consider everything. Even the the possibility that the things that just came out of your mouth are not the most brilliant words to be spoken. Slow down just a little bit. Listen to what others around you are saying. Consider it. It might be right. It might not be, but there's still a chance, and maybe it's kinda right. Or maybe it's just a different point of view you should be aware of. Consider everything. That's all I'm saying.
     Also, we should always be students. So we should always be considering things. And keeping that giant snow-flower ego in check.

Independence Day

     Happy Birthday, America! I love fireworks. A lot. I don't like crowds, but I love America and fireworks and am willing to brave the crowds to celebrate America with fireworks.  They're amazing.

Sometimes It's All So Much

     I have opened a new post for Oliver at least four times, wrote some weird sentence to kick it off, and then stared blankly. Where to go from there? It was all too much. I was feeling and experiencing too much to whittle it down to a few cohesive paragraphs. So I simply exited the post and walked away. And then today it occurred to me that maybe that was the thing--that sometimes it's all just so much.
     I've been overwhelmed a little bit in the last few weeks. Not in a crushing way, which I suppose is what overwhelmed means, so maybe I'm not using it right. I just mean that it's all so much. And it get to the point where I feel like I stop for even a second, I will lose momentum. So I can't stop. So it continues to be so much.
     A few non-sequiturs:

• The Del Close Marathon (#DCM14) is awesome. What an emotional rollercoaster!
• I love fireworks. I like to watch a baseball game and see fireworks on the 4th of July because that's what America means to me. 
• Yes, I am overqualified to make coffee. But I like coffee. 
• Sometimes my mom is mean, and maybe that's where I get it from.
• There are a lot of ways in which I am a human disaster.
• I'd rather make people laugh than make electricity. 
• I miss Mary.
• I believe hunger is an emotion.