Why I Didn’t Participate In #CampNaNoWriMo

Howdy!

I know I said that I wouldn’t publish a new blog post for today, but I decided that I needed to put one up today because it’s Monday and we’re starting a new week and a brand new month tomorrow.

Back in November, I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month, or simply “NaNoWriMo” which is where aspiring authors attempt to write out their novels in thirty days. If you want to reach the main goal of 100,000 words, you have to follow a certain word count, but when I started on it, I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to hit that quota every single day, so I made a decision of whatever amount of words I did was better than nothing at all. Unfortunately, I didn’t last very long. By the time week three came around, I was basically over it beyond belief. I actually do this while working on blog posts too. Everytime I get past a certain point, my brain just shuts down to where I don’t want to do anything, much less write anything.

I had made plans to attempt to do “Camp NaNoWriMo” this month, which goes on twice a year (the other is July and we all know that won’t happen!) as I was told, apparently it’s the same thing, but you have more freedom so you don’t have to follow the rules of the challenge as you would in the month of November. I wanted to work on my outline a little bit more before I jumped back into this, but I didn’t have the energy to work on it. I actually found a lot of different articles on Pinterest to hopefully look into sometime and write out some of their helpful tips and tricks into my notebook, but I need energy to do all of this and like I said, I don’t have it at the moment.

Here were some of the pieces I found that I’m hoping to look at soon and I thought I’d share them with you so you could get an insight into what I’m looking for right now.

• Creating A Rebel Resistance In Your Story
• What You Need To Know To | Write PTSD In Fiction
• How To Write Characters From The Opposite Gender

And there are things on my Pinterest board that talk about things like flaws, how to kiss, and there are important ones like how to write characters that have ADHD and/or who are deaf, which have been very helpful since my story does discuss disability. I’m still hoping to find something about writing characters with different physical disabilities, because I have a couple of characters with two different noticeable disabilities in my story that I’d like to showcase but instead of showing them as burdens or as the comic relief, they have a powerful presence to themselves that will hopefully change the reader’s perspective of the disabled community as a whole.

One thing that I really need help on is finding more information about the ins and outs about bunkers. I have thought of changing my original location with another that I’ve recently heard about, but I need to know how to recreate the atmosphere of a bunker and community within it. So if anybody knows of good links that could help me, please send them to me.

Did you participate in Camp NaNoWriMo? If so, how did you do? Do you have any advice for those who have issues getting going in the first place? Plus, does anybody else have like a certain week in a month where they have a hard time concentrating? 

Album Review: “Svrcina” by Svrcina

Today’s review is about an artist that has lend her voice on Tommee Profitt’s music in the past couple of years! Svrcina is like many singer-songwriters of the age, where they don’t usually release a full on album, where it’s like 12 songs of brand new material, they only put out a few songs a year. It’s periodically, but it’s where we are in the music industry where people would rather buy one single at a time. She recently released an eight track album during the last full week of March, and I’m happy to talk about it with you!

On her Facebook, it says that she does “alternative, ambient pop, and electronic” and that has become a favorite combination of mine in the past few years, so she has the upper hand already! The first song is “Whispers” and I really like the pop-y beat, it’s light and airy, but not obnoxious, so right out of the gate you get a nice dance track with a soft voice and catchy lyrics. Next is “Steady” and you instantly get that ambient vibe with that introduction of popping, the first thing that came to me was it’s like bubbles popping! It has a chilled, ambient and electric beat to it that I found to be really fun! Svrcina has this voice where it sounds so powerful and sweet at the same time. You get this loving vibe all around on this one. It’s becoming one of my favorites!

Third is “Who Are You” which will come back to us in a remix later on, but now we have the original version and I absolutely this jungle or over-worldly sound you immediately hear when it starts. It keeps you guessing and it’s definitely a great cinematic track. I had to look back through my reviews of Tommee Profitt’s albums to make sure I hadn’t talked about it before, but nope, this is a new track. I can’t say for sure that Tommee produce it, just because it has a cinematic vibe going on, doesn’t always mean anything. And then after that heavy hitter, we slow it down with “Astronomical” and from the moment I wrote it out on my note pad, I knew this one would be interesting no matter what. I really love the gentle storytelling, her voice is very easy going and the piano matches it so well. It’s just beautiful!

Now we move on to “Deeper” and it has this zigzag beat that makes it seem like it could be a regular pop track. but then you have all of these different elements. You have the first sounds you were introduced to, and then you have an acoustic guitar with an light dance beat on top of it. What blows my mind that even though I wasn’t really hearing the actual words of the song, I was really into it and it wasn’t even overwhelming either! Sixth is “Island” and this was another one I was really curious about, and I really love it. You really only hear her voice, but it’s almost dreamy like she’s floating out into the abyss, singing out her troubles.  It’s absolutely gorgeous!

These will be the last two songs of the album, starting with “Sweeter Place” and this has another ballad, but as much as it does have that space-y vibe that the other two tracks had, this one is completely unique. You can hear her emotion, the rawness of it, is so loud. The beat itself does increase, but not in such a way that you lose the gentle atmosphere. I like it, but not as much as I thought I would, but I will grow into it. And remember when I said we’ll  be seeing “Who You Are” again, this is a remix of it by Russ Macklin and I actually don’t like it. I felt like he downgraded it from its original state, but I guess there’s only so many ways to remix such a jam-packed track like that, so I can’t say I hate it, but it’s definitely my least favorite out of the full thing.

I was very surprised with this. I didn’t think that I would like almost every song, but I do. Once I found out what kind of music Svrcina actually makes, it did make things easier to do this. I’ve also been in a different mindset lately, so I actually liked the ballads a lot more, I am usually a lot harder to impress but whenever I get in these moods I feel like I need all of the dreamscape-ballads I can find at that point of time. Overall, I thought it was a great release, and if you don’t mind I’m going to go listen to her other singles on her Spotify profile.

Have you listened to Svcrina’s debut album yet? If you have, what are some of your favorites? Are there any other alternative artists you think I should listen to? Let me know below!

Favorite Dance Films!

Howdy!

I’m back with another list of films. This time, we are going to be discussing my favorite dance movies. I will say this, I have a lot. I actually wrote out a few movies one night on my To Do List pad, and I only had like four movies and then before I went to work on this post, I went on Google and realized “wow, I missed quite a few!” so it grew to like eight movies total!

I was going to open it up a little bit and add the singing aspect of it, but I figured we’d be here forever, so if you’d like to see that list, just let me know!

Dirty Dancing (1987) – Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes

Okay, first off if you are going to have a “favorite dance movie” list, Dirty Dancing has to be somewhere on that list, whether it’s at the top or somewhere in the middle is up to you, but it has got to be on this list in general!

I actually wasn’t introduced to this movie until later on in my preteen years! I think I saw it the same time frame I watched Grease for the first time. I love both of them just as much, but Dirty Dancing is probably my favorite though. This is such a sexy, but fun movie! I think I had more of a crush on Jennifer than I ever did for Patrick! As you’ll find out in this post, I like both ballet and ballroom dancing and I’m happy to say I enjoyed both before watching the dancing competitions on TV! And yes, I watched and absolutely loved that Jennifer went on Dancing With The Stars a few years ago!

Center Stage (2000) – Amanda Schull, Zoe Saldana, Peter Gallagher, Ethan Stiefel

I want to say that Center Stage was probably second dancing movie I ever was introduced to, but I cannot figure out who showed it to me, because I think I was still in middle school when I watched it the first time, but I think I might’ve watched it on Oxygen one afternoon and ended up liking it a lot. This has happened once before with Where The Heart Is. 

This one introduced me to the dark sides of ballet, between the concerns of the dancers weight and limited space in different companies, after finishing it I remember thinking to myself “maybe it is a good thing I’m disabled!” I’ve always loved all kinds of dance, but ballet is at the top, even though I’ve never seen a real show or know any of the meanings or stories of the ballets besides The Nutcracker.

Save The Last Dance (2001) – Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington, Fredro Starr

I remember my mom told me about this movie when I was little, her words were “it has a big car explosion in it” and when I did eventually watch it with her, butt explosion wasn’t as big as she had explained. However, I ended up loving the story so much that I didn’t really care! Everything about it was brilliant for somebody at my age, because I learned about loyalty, standing up for myself, and seeing passed somebody else’s differences. I don’t understand racism and I still hate that I see specks of it everyday and I feel very ashamed of my ancestors who ever owned slaves centuries ago.

You Got Served (2004) – Omarion, Marques Houston, Steve Harvey, Jennifer Freeman, Meagan Good

You know you’ve seen a movie too many times in your life, when you don’t need to look up anything about that certain film because you know everything about it! I was addicted to this movie when I was like 13 or 15 years old. I watched that DVD so many times that I think by the time I started my sophomore year, it stopped working for me, and the same goes for the soundtrack too!

After getting into STLD, I figured this one would grab me and never let me go too! I loved the atmosphere of it, the dances were so crazy and yes, the last battle is probably the best of the movie. I usually always cry while watching it but it is so sweet!

Take The Lead (2006) – Antonio Banderas, Alfre Woodard, Rob Brown, Yaya DeCosta, Laura Bernati

This is the second movie that I got into that involved ballroom dancing, but I think it showed you more of the styles than Dirty Dancing. I thought it was an interesting film the first time I watched it, as high schoolers are fairly difficult to “break” as they don’t like to listen and generally hate dancing with a partner. It takes a very patient and clever person to make this happen!

Fun fact: Yaya DeCosta was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model a couple of years before this came out. I really loved her in this movie and she looked beautiful in that purple dress! And yes, Jenna Dewan is in this film too! She plays the character “Sasha” and has that big dance with the boys at the end. It’s probably one of my favorite scenes.

Step Up (2006) – Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, Mario, Drew Sidora,

Oh yes! We have to talk about Step Up! I feel like Dirty Dancing was probably the ultimate dance movie in the late 80’s whereas Step Up became the best of the best of dance movies for the younger generations! Since I’ve seen both probably in the four years between each one, don’t ask me which movie I love the most, because I cannot answer it honestly!

It still shocks me that Channing and Jenna got married and had a kid after meeting on this movie, like holy crap! You got to see the love blossom in this movie and it actually makes me want to believe in love, but then after I finish it, my black heart comes back around and reminds me why I don’t believe in it.

Update: Four days after I officially finished on this post, it was announced that they were separating and I’ve been very sad about ever since.

Burlesque (2010) – Christina Aguilera, Cher, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Bell, Eric Dane

I love Burlesque! In 2015, my mom, Aunt Laurie, nana, and I went out to do some Christmas shopping at Dollar Store and my mom found the DVD, she pointed it out and asked if I wanted to get it, but somehow we never got it. I’m still stumped about it honestly, because she knows how much I loved it that why didn’t she just get for me anyways? It also wasn’t even that expensive either!

I know there are some scenes that were very corny, and seemed like they were taken from Coyote Ugly, but I really enjoyed it. I never knew about burlesque before watching the film and afterwards all I wanted to do was learn all about it, so that’s why I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to the form of performing! I really loved Cher and Christina Aguilera’s characters, but I really loved Kristen Bell as the bad girl “Nikki” she made me laugh and feel sorry for her. Oh and Stanley Tucci plays a good gay guy too!

Footloose (2011) – Julianne Hough, Kenny Wormald, Miles Teller, Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell

Last one, is Footloose and I must apologize for anyone who thought I would be discussing the original version, but I have never seen it! In 2011, my mom, sister and I went to see it in theaters and we really enjoyed it a lot. I was so glad to see Julianne Hough as the title lead, and I remember Kenny from the second installment of Center Stage that came out in 2005 I think. Oh, and we LOVED Miles as “Willard” he was such a fun character! Even my dad liked him after we rented the movie for a weekend.

If you haven’t seen any of these movies, you definitely look into them, because they’re all very good in their way! And every single film has a great soundtrack too. There are a few movies that I may not watch as much anymore but I still listen to the soundtrack almost every other day.

Are you a fan of dance films too? Did I put any of them on this list? Let me know below!

The Ultimate Harry Potter Tag

Howdy!

Today I am doing a fun tag and it’s all about HARRY POTTER!

Unfortunately, I haven’t finished reading the actual series. In 2016, I borrowed my cousin Taylor’s first three books, just to see if I could actually get into them as I have with the movies. I made it through both The Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber Of Secrets like it was nobody’s businesses, but I’ve been kicking myself for not being able to stop comparing The Prisoner of Azkaban to its film release. I’m still hoping that one day I’ll finish it, but right now I’m just content with that I managed to read the other two!

I found this on the same blog: A Geek Girl’s Guide, but the questions were taken by two separate tags and so instead of doing both of them, I just meshed them all together! I would also like to point out that I’ve left out a question or two from the original layout. Hope you don’t mind that too much, so let’s get into it! 🙂

Favorite Book?

Surprisingly I liked Chamber of Secrets a lot more than I thought I would. There were a lot of good and interesting material that I felt was left out in the film that would have made better sense to the person watching the movie, like the ghosts. Pee Wee and the story of Flich and why he is so bitter to the students and some of the staff.

Favorite Movie?

I really like both Prisoner of Azkaban and most recently Half-Blood Prince, I think both of these films have such dark tones to them but the happier times really shine too. However, I will agree Dumbledore’s death wasn’t the greatest thing about HBP but still, I think it has a lot of comical moments to it and I think that’s saying something.

Least Favorite Movie?

I’ve always been divided between Globet Of Fire and Deathly Hallows Part 1. GOF because of the introduction to the Death Eaters and their masks, and of course Cedric’s death doesn’t help either. As far as DHP1 goes, I think it’s fairly boring, because all they’re doing in searching for the horcuxes and the only good things about is that Ginny and Harry kiss and get caught by George, and Dobby saves Harry Potter but unfortunately dies at the end.

Favorite Quote?

I loved the first book/movie, so there are a lot of lines that I like to quote out loud whenever I watch it, like this one.

Now if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed before either one of you gets us killed or worse, expelled.

Sadly, I didn’t understand the reason why Hermoine said it in that way until much later and realized that if they got killed there, they’d haunt the halls like The Grey Lady or Sir Nicholas. And when I say “much later” I mean like several months ago! Yeah, I’m a little slow sometimes!

Favorite Weasley?

That’s actually really difficult, but I really love Molly Weasley. She just took in Harry like one of her own, Heromine too, but I mean she didn’t know he was thee Harry Potter when they first met at the train station. She was amazing to him after being around his crappy Aunt Petunia for years!

Favorite Female Character?

I am in love with Luna, from the moment we meet her in Order Of The Phoenix, you get a different person then the other female characters. She’s not out to impress anybody, she accepts herself and her quirkiness–but she doesn’t see herself in that way, she’s “just as sane” as everybody else.

Favorite Villain?

This is another difficult question to answer. I think it would have to be Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy. I literally have a difficult time watching OOTP because of her snotty personality. And Lucius, for obvious reasons!

Favorite Male Character?

Sorry, but why doesn’t anybody say Hagrid? I absolutely loved him to pieces, but I was a little troubled during the DHP2 when he just shows up bonded by Voldemort’s camp, like when the hell did that happen? Because if he got captured while at Bill and Fluer’s wedding, then why wasn’t Molly, Ginny, etc snatched as well?

Favorite Professor?

I know everybody will say either Snape or McGonagall, but I loved Remus Lupin very much. It was nice to see a teacher that 1.) wasn’t full of themselves and 2.) seemed to really care about Harry and wanted to help him in any way they could. I’m not saying Snape or McGonagall weren’t like this, but Lupin was like Harry’s third guardian apart from both The Weasley’s and Sirius Black.

Would You Rather

Would you rather wash Snape’s hair or spend a day listening to Lockhart rant about himself?

I think I could get through Lockhart talking about himself, because I feel like you would have to drug Snape (I’m such a muggle!) to be able to do anything to him.

Would you rather duel an elated Bellatrix or an angry Molly?

I would 100% duel an elated Bellatrix. I am not messing with an angry Molly!

How would you travel to Hogwarts, ride on the Hogwarts Express or drive the flying car?

My brother-in-law said he’d want to do both, but honestly I think experiencing the Hogwarts Express would be awesome! Especially getting to see the trolly of goodies. I want a chocolate frog and a package of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans!

Would you rather kiss Voldemort or give Umbridge a bubble bath?

I think if Voldemort ever got kissed early on in his life, I don’t think he wouldn’t had been so evil.

Would you rather ride a Hippogriff or be dragged by Fawkes?

I think I would be dragged by Fawkes because I always feel like I could end up like Draco and get myself kicked or beaked by this thing!

Book To Movie Adaption

Is there a character which you felt differently about in the movies versus the books?

I think after discovering the reason why Flich is the way he is, makes me look at him differently.

Is there a movie you preferred instead of the book? 

So far no, but I think I like the COS (book) compared to the movie, because there’s obviously more information about certain characters, but the whole scene of Tom Riddle and Basilisk was less frightening for me because back in the day I would literally try to avoid that movie at any cost and now I’m like that with DHP1.

Richard Harris or Michael Gambon as Dumbledore?

I think if Richard Harris wasn’t so old, he would have been allowed to do more of his own stunts, I think we would love him a little bit more. I also wish they would have cast Michael Gambon in the beginning because he was obviously a better choice.

Your top thing (person or event) which wasn’t included in the movie that annoyed you the most?

I think we need to talk about what happens to Norbert the Dragon during the first movie. The whole scheme to get him out of there to Ron’s brother Charlie is very informative in the book, but it’s not quite explained in the movie. All you know is that within 20 minutes after Norbert hatches, he is taken away by the Ministry.

I wish the scenes where Harry arrives at The Barrows during COS was longer, although it’s only like two pages long in the book, I’d still like to know more of the magic the Weasley’s are exposed to, because the reader is as impressed as Harry when he first goes into the house!

If you could remake any of the Potter movies, which would it be?

I couldn’t, but what’s sad is that one day, somebody is going to attempt it and it’ll be a 50/50 deal whether or not it’ll be as good as the originals. Hopefully by then, our technology will be able to produce something new to the magic that is described in the story and will be able to really surprise the older and newer generations to the series.

Hogwarts

Which house was your first gut feeling you’d be a part of?

I don’t know, I feel like I’d belong in every house but my gut is putting me into Ravenclaw, mostly for the fact that I’m very patience and have a lot of wit. I actually put a poll on my personal Facebook and everybody said Ravenclaw too.

Which house were you actually sorted into?

I remember doing a quiz a few years ago, and I think I was put into Gryffindor, but granted this wasn’t a very good quiz–it literally only had five questions!

Which class would be your favorite?

Honestly I think it would Defensive Against The Dark Arts or Divination. I already have physic tendencies but DATDA would be really cool to learn more about in a sense, but of course only if Professor Lupin was teaching it.

Which spell do you think would be most useful to learn?

Alohomora and Lumos. I’m only saying these two alone because I literally can’t open doors on my own with or without my wheelchair and I don’t have a light by my bed. I literally use my flashlight to see anything in the dark! So I think both of these would be sort of handy for me.

Which character do you think at Hogwarts you’d instantly become best friends with?

Weirdly enough probably Seamus, mostly because I was around guys like him when I was school anyways! I also have a thing for explosives too!

Miscellaneous

If you could own one of the three Hallows, which would it be?

Cloak of Invisibility. If it worked so well to the youngest brother why would I want to chose any other item?  I’m also not looking for power or resurrecting anybody back from the dead, they’d probably be miserable!

Favorite Marauder?

I’d say Sirius Black.

If you could bring one character back to life, which would it be?

Ahh, again I think it would Sirius Black. He was such a good character and once Harry found out that he had nothing to do with his parent’s death, made everything seem easier for him, that he didn’t have to stand up to Voldemort by himself. He had Sirius and Dumbledore by his side, but after Sirius was killed, it was so sad because there was a lot of things that could’ve happen to Harry in a happier way while being around Sirius was alive.

Hallows or Horcruxes?

Hallows. Hands down!

Bonus

What would your Patronus be?

I actually had to look up the real definition of a Patronus, in case I got it wrong the first time, but I think mine would be a Hawk. They symbolize something special for me and they make me happy, so that would be mine. However, since the definition doesn’t exactly say that it should be an animal per se, so I’d also say maybe a tree. They also make me very happy and are strong and can be born again after some time.

If you were on the Quidditch team which position would you play?

Now, after going after what Mad-Eye’s broomstick looks like in the films, I always hoped that there would be a cool broom for people with disabilities. To me, I’d be a keeper. I mean, even without flying on a broomstick I already have a track record of being quick anyways, so I think I would be perfect for this role!

Were you happy with the ending?

Since I have yet to finish the last book, I don’t know if I should really answer this question, because I don’t really know what happens to Harry, Heromine, and Ron after the death of Voldemort. I’ve only known what the ending of DHP2 shared with us, so I’m kind of hoping there’s more information in the book itself.

How much does Harry Potter mean to you?

I remember reading the first book in my English class in eighth grade and it was my first ever fantasy book, and what was funny about it was that earlier in the year I went to my friend’s house for a birthday party and they all wanted to watch it that night but I was too afraid to watch it with them that I actually fell asleep before it started. Here when we read it in class, I knew all of the information and then our teacher made us watch it and compare things in both of them, which was the worst thing she could have done because this was reason why I’m having trouble reading POA!

Now as I get older, I want to rediscover it as reader but I also really enjoy watching the films too. Whenever I’m down or in a weird mood, I can just lay out on my bed and watch two and a half movies in an afternoon.

So what do you think? Could you complete this ultimate tag like me? If you do, I’d like to see your answers!

EP Review: “California” by Diplo

You know every once in a while, I get in these moods, where all I want is dance music. It doesn’t usually matter what form, it just has to be something that’ll snap me out of whatever is going on with me. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work, but it’s one of my go-to’s on a very low day.

In 2015, I really jumped on the EDM band wagon. I just needed a break after being invested into the heavy metal world for basically five years straight and a DJ that I really got into was Diplo. I started talking about some of the records he was releasing alongside his other projects like JackÜ with Skrillex and Major Lazer with Walshy Fire. Diplo has recently put an EP by himself and I’m actually pumped about this! It is called “California” and it includes five brand new tracks with featured artists and one remix at the end.

We start it off with “Worry No More” and it has Lil’ Yachty and Santigold, and if anybody has ever listened to Diplo’s music before, he likes to bring in the tropical sounds, and this one definitely doesn’t disappoint. I love Santigold’s music, but I’m sorry to say but since I don’t listen to a lot of rap music, I’m not too familiar with Lil’ Yachty but I do enjoy the combination of their voices together with the relaxing beat in the background. Second is “Suicidal” and there’s Desiigner on this one, and I feel like this one has more of an urban feel to it compared to previous songs Diplo has put out, so it’s not obnoxious by any means. I like it.

Next there’s  “Look Back” and it features DRAM and I know I’ve never heard of this artist before, but I didn’t really care because from the moment it started, I really enjoyed it! It’s another pretty chilled and laid back type of song, but I like the deep but dark beat he choose to create, it’s something different. Fourth track is “Wish” and it has “Trippie Redd” and the first thing that popped into my head was how interesting it was and I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t played everywhere in the background of our favorite television shows! It just kind of has that sort of feel to it, where it can go anywhere and make a moment special in some way.

And after that, we have “Color Blind” and the artist Lil’ Xan is on it. One this song started, it kind of remind me of California, that chill but bubbly atmosphere is infectious. It’s really kind of perfect. Lastly, the remix of “Get It Right” featuring Danish singer M∅ and GoldLink is next. I did listen to the original when it came out, but I don’t think I liked it too much the first time. I really like the piano introduction along with M∅’s sweet voice. I wasn’t too sure if GoldLink was the one who remixed the song until I heard the second voice, then I realized that he might be this voice. I’m actually still confused about it, but the song as a whole is pretty good!

I really thought this extended play was really good. I always have the most difficult time deciphering songs that include rappers that either speak softly or too fast for me to catch up. It’s nothing against them, usually when this happens I twist my direction and pay attention to the actual beat, once I did that things started to make a little bit more sense. You got the full essence of what makes California, the sounds and vibe. Every song brings it out in you very quietly, which is why I didn’t notice it until the last three songs!

Have you listened to Diplo’s new EP yet? If so, do you have any favorites?