artemisgrey

I'm drinking a CocaCola (does anyone beside me actually still call it that?) as I type this. And I had two Mountain Dews during the week, which is like, a soft drink record for me. Seriously, I do not drink sodas. Partly for health reasons, but also because doing so most usually results in window-shattering belches and that seems to appall everyone around me and often provokes references to my age and supposed maturity. I mean, better out than in, right? Shrek would understand. But I digress.

There was a reason for the mass consumption of soda. And that reason was INSANITY. Insanity of every imaginable sort. We started out shorthanded. It was just one of those things with moms needing days off to take care of kids because for one reason or another the standard childcare wasn't available. Add to that a load of hay (180 bales unloaded by four of us. Two of which are under 5'5". But we are so badass:) a sick stallion (he's 32, which translates to somewhere in his 90s in horse years) and a vet visit. And that was just Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday brought one more worker, but yet another sick horse, who acted like she was one the verge of dying, yet had no diagnostic symptoms to speak of. Another vet call. This one resulted in a lot of head scratching and sustained concern for the mare who was still quite convinced that death was near. To further complicate that matter, this particular mare makes Vivian Leigh look 'low key' when it comes to high strung dramatics. So it's virtually impossible to discern between when she *thinks* she's dying, and when she's *actually* dying. 

It seemed like we might skin by, however, as the Vivian Leigh pony took a turn for the better and began acting like herself again. But with only minutes to go before 4pm, there was an incident at the main barns which to this day remains a convoluted mess of confusion. Considering just how convoluted the situation was, I make no inference as to who was at fault and what went wrong. All I know for sure is that at some point a normally docile and pusillanimous gelding suddenly decided to impersonate Mike Tyson and took a swipe at an employee's ear. Considering what can happen when a horse's teeth meets a human's face/head, the damage was minimal. The incident did nothing, however, to better the day.

Wednesday night, I got a text that the Vivian Leigh pony was maintaining her position health-wise. Then at 9ish, my phone rang. By the time I read 'Jefe' on the screen, I had one leg in my pants. Sure enough, Vivian Leigh pony had nosedived. Yet another vet call ensued (I could actually write another paragraph here about what happened between Jefe calling me and the vet arriving, but I'll leave you with 4 key words and let you imagine it all for yourself Panic Redneck Truck Mud) and by 10:30 it was clear that Vivian Leigh pony was going to get hauled to a clinic 45 minutes away that's set up for full surgery. Have I mentioned it was raining? Yeah. Just to add to the drama, you know. By 11:15 we were on the road. By 12:10 we were at the clinic for ultra sounding. The theoretical diagnosis was colic. In short, a stomach ache. But in horses, there's about a thousand things that can cause colic, and about a thousand things that can result from it. Including death. Plus, Vivian Leigh here wasn't presenting in any remotely normal manner. We left the clinic at 1:30ish leaving two frustrated vets shaking their heads (making a total of four vets who had seen the horse) and a 50/50 chance that Vivian Leigh was going to hit the operating table. Which didn't surprise us, considering that the pony had tons of painkilling/sedation drugs on board (the kind of drugs that are illegal for us to even hold the vials in our hands) and she was still putting on like she was being pecked to death by hens.

Back to the farm by 2:20something am. I got the news before I even got home from there, that Vivian Leigh was on the table. Managed to crawl into my bed at 3:40. And my alarm was set for 5:45. Woohoo. Plus there's Vivian Leigh under the knife to stress over. Sleep was... interesting. At 5:50 I got a text. Vivian Leigh was off the table with nothing terrifying found inside her and was on the mend. I'd tell you about Thursday, but frankly, I don't remember much of it. Friday was about the same. But I lived, Vivian Leigh pony lived and no one lost their ears. It was definitely a week of Zombies though.

And not all bad. I also got into the lovely Ruth'scontest and then later found out that I'd won through to the 'free pass round' I also found some more contests I plan on entering. And I managed to find, and then enter the Bring a Friend to Bordertowncontest. LOVE me some Bordertown!!! So, all in all, I can't complain. But just the same WHEW I am glad that week is over with.

Out There Twin -


I had to work nine hours in trade to get this out to you. But really, it was worth it just to see that pretty boy with the pointy ears wince whenever I lowered the needle. Tough elves my asshole. I got a guarantee of delivery out of the deal too. Who knew elves would be so damn gaga over tats that move around in their oh-so-perfect skin? Pretty Boy's in for a surprise if this letter don't reach you though. I sort of withheld the fact that my tats listen to me if I take a wanting to order them around. I'll have that twining ivy ink choke the shit out of him if he crosses me.

And no, I ain't mentioned that it's my blood in the ink what does it. Or that your blood will reverse things. And no, he can't read this letter. Can't nobody read it 'cept someone with my exact DNA. That's another little trick my nine hours bought me. Now stop mouthing questions to yourself, like I know you are, 'cause I got a cap on how much I can write so I gotta say this while I can.

You gotta come. Shit, I feel like I'm talking to me before I got here. Bordertown was made for us. Usbefore. I know, I know, you got Him now, and that little kneebiter. But you're just gonna have to bring them with you. She'll make it through fine. She ain't old enough for suspicion and judgement to slow her down. Unbelief ain't had time to root inside her yet. He'll make out okay too, I guess. After all, He survived getting passed me to marry you, didn't He?

Point is, you gotta come. Because I feel like a dragonfly with one wing broke off. Always listing to one side and going on anyhow but knowing something's missing. Folk here are good and bad alike. And some are right between, grey straight through. You don't know which they're gonna be what day, not until you look them in the eye. But Bordertown is a fine place to be, even when things are tough. Better than all that everything that's so much nothing out in the World. Here, a deal is a deal, even if it's tricky-made and giving your word on something means a hell of a lot more than just flapping your gums. In Bordertown, there's no room for people who ain't living in their lives. No room for people who don't have the guts to claim themselves. You either are here, or you ain't.

But you gotta come, 'cause I feel like only half of me made it. And like I said, in Bordertown, you're either here or you ain't. There's no room for halfway. Which, I guess, sort of makes me an impossibility, since genetically I'm here as me, but also Out There as you. Anyway, get here. I'll know when you arrive, just like always. So don't worry, I'll find you.

- Bordertown Twin

Hunger Games Hangover...
***SPOILER ALERT*** If you haven't read the books/seen the movie, you might want to not read this post because I'm just talking about things without concern for plot spoilers.





















So, we went to see the Hunger Games Wednesday night. I wanted to see it sooner, but I'm housesitting which means taking care of more ponies and dogs and cats even than usual, so it took some orchestrating to manage a movie night.

Anyway, we saw it. And, I liked it. Liked. It. Of course, I'm a 'the book is SO much better' girl, and it's really hard to impress me with movie adaptations of books I already love. But, overall, I thought the Hunger Games was a good movie-ized version of the book. I did have issues though, and I'm leaving the comments open (so many reviews of the movie that I've read have closed comments, which is fine) because I want to know if other people were annoyed by the same thing (no, none of my issues have anything to do with anyone being black, white, or green, or any of the surrounding drama that seems to have sprung up around that subject) or if they thought things that bothered me weren't so bothersome to them.

So here goes:

Gripes

1) District 12 was just too CLEAN for me. I'm sorry to be that picky, but I've spent a large part of my life in a coal town (mother came from there) and even though no one in my family worked in the mines, the coal dust was EVERYWHERE. I'm not joking. If you had the windows open, any tables/furniture near them would be coated within an hour or two with fine dust. You wouldn't see the layer until you touched it, then you'd get a skim of black on you. My feet (we went barefoot constantly) were perpetually coated in thick black, and there was a pan of water by the door to rinse them before going into the house. And this wasn't like a shanty town perched at the entrance of the mine. This was just the reality of a coal town where coal was the primary source of heating, where trucks and trains passed through and were loaded for shipment. So they could have done better there. But it's probably a personal annoyance, and it doesn't detract from the movie at all.

2) Kaniss's hair, always hanging in her eyes. I gather that it was a way of 'framing' Jennifer Lawrence's face, but it was very unrealistic for me, just because I've got long hair and I'm outside working, and THE most annoying thing EVER is having a wisp of hair in my eyes/face. And with Katniss being a bow-user, it just felt wrong for her to have crappy bangs dangling everywhere and constantly needing to be pushed aside. I don't think the real Katniss would have the patience to deal with it. She'd be more likely to cut the bangs off at her scalp to get them out of her way.

3) Sober Haymitch? Now, Woody Harrelson was AMAZING as Haymitch. Epic love. However, I felt like the 'powers that be' toned down Haymitch's drunkenness in order to keep to a PG13 rating. (I have other gripes regarding this) I 'get it'. PG13 reaches a much larger market than R, and is much more 'YA friendly' in a marketing sense. But it bothered me. I was really looking forward to Harrelson's portrayal of Haymitch falling off the stage and presenting himself as a walking disaster in general because I knew Harrelson could pull it off spectacularly. Yet, he came out muted, with only glimpses of Haymitch peeking out from a very PC version of the tortured sot he is.

4) The 'wounds'. I say 'wounds' because, well, for me they were 'wounds' like you saw in Gunsmoke or Wagon Train, where someone shot someone else and the injured person doubled over, clutching their stomach and died neatly, with no blood, or maybe a small red spot. I'm not saying that I wanted gore sprayed across the camera lens (like in 300) but honestly, I had to withhold giggles when other audience members made gagging sounds at the two inch diameter bubble on Katniss' leg that was supposed to be a gross, agonizing 3rd degree burn. Sorry, I've HAD a 4inch diameter 3rd degree burn, and it did not look anything remotely like that. Mine had fried blood vessels sticking out of it. Seriously. Now, Lawrence did a great job portraying what that 'burn' FELT like. I found her reactions and the way she moved with it very realistic. But visually, no. And leaving the pant leg like that? Rubbing on the burn? With the melted edges of the material scraping it? Never. Ever. They could have had her cut the pant leg off, or make a bigger hole. Or something. The same goes for Peeta's gihugant (supposed to be, anyway) cut on his leg. Again, I'm sure all of this tempering is for public consumption and the PG13 rating, but I'm sorry, Peeta's leg was practically severed and it half rotted off by the time they escaped. Let's face it, the Games were gut wrenching and AWFUL in the book, and in the movie they were, well, not. But to be specific, I don't want more violence. I don't want to see the kids splattering each other graphically. My gripe is literally with the two wounds primary to the main characters, Katniss and Peeta. I have no desire to see little Rue's insides all over the place or other gratuitous savagery.

5) The whole thing felt rushed. Rushed in all different ways. I know you can't very well take a book and translate the entire thing into script, but I think they could have made the movie a little longer and spent more time with various aspects. I mean Rue, for example. Rather than fleshing out her shy reserve and how she and Katniss connect, they have several pictures of Rue hiding behind something or peeking out from somewhere. So we get: Rue is small and shy. And randomly, she likes Katniss, even though Katniss is rough and scary. Uh, right. There is so much MORE to their relationship and it wouldn't have taken a huge deal to show it. And the fact that they didn't even show the rest of Cinna's team, many of whom cared for Katniss in a very personal and supportive way annoyed the tar out of me. There were a scattering of things like that where my editor brain kicked in and started going 'They could have cut out X and put in a 2 minute scene between K and F and shown Y by doing it.' Which leads me to the second rushed sensation. I sort of feel like the movie was on a schedule or something and there was a 'we'll shoot this and if we get the shot, great, and if we don't, we'll make it work anyway' mentality. Hard to explain but there were moments and sequences that were SO SPOT ON, with the characters and story, but then there were others (like Rue hiding) where the FIRST thing I thought was 'Oh, they took the quick easy route with portraying that'. It was almost textbook 'show' versus 'tell' movie style.



Now, so I'm not whining and critiquing the entire time:

Things I Loved Unreasonably About The Movie:

1) The cast. I thought they could not have done better with their casting choices. They were all totally phenomenal. And I can tell you right now if they choose to make the 2nd and 3rd books into movies and cast members change it will FAIL.

2) Lenny Kravitz as Cinna. Oh. My. Lord. Kravitz WAS Cinna the way I felt Cinna in my head when I read the books. There are not words to articulate how much I love his portrayal.

3) Harrelson as Haymitch. I AM OFFICIALLY TEAM HAYMITCH. And I hated Haymitch the moment I met him (in the books), but by the time we saw him on the train, my feelings were beginning to blur. By the time Peeta was peeling him off the floor for the second time, I was irrevocably in love with his tortured soul. So capturing my feeling of Haymitch was going to be impossible. I had high hopes though, when I saw who had been cast, and despite my quibbles with the not-so-much-drinking-being-drunk part, Harrelson rocked the house.

4) Peeta looking out the train window, waving at the Capitol folk as they arrived. He was SO FREAKING SWEET TEMPERED PEETA at that moment. It made me ache. The same goes for his interview with Flickerman and when he was talking at the dinner table about how his mother thought their District might win, but not because of him.

5) Katniss looking at that hologram of the forest, when for like 18 seconds, she thought she might be able to step through the window and just BE SOMEWHERE ELSE. Also, those seconds when she had to walk across to the Arena tube, get inside and then not panic and struggle when it began to rise and take her away from Cinna.

6) That moment at dinner when they were discussing the kids who train their entire lives for the Games, and Haymitch says they almost always win, but Effie points out that they stay in the same apartments, but they aren't lucky enough to be able to order whatever dessert they want, and Peeta and Katniss can, so isn't that lovely? And when she admonishes Katniss for having bad manners both after she thrashes Peeta and after she's shot her arrow through the apple in the pigs mouth.


So, to recap, the movie was a small little shadow in the presence of the book itself. But for all that, it did a good job of being what it was. The cast was great, the actors nailed their characters, even when inhibited by ratings. I'll be very interested to see if they make the 2nd and 3rd books. I'm not sure how that will work, what with the noticeable lack of grit and rawness in this movie that was present in the books, but it'll be interesting.

What about you? Have you seen the movie? What did you think?
Posted by Artemis Grey at 7:50 AM 1 comments
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Labels: The Hunger Games movie

So, I realize that I've been totally MIA for like the last half a year. I have no real excuse, beyond simple business with things outside of the cyber world. I hope all of you are well and I intend to make a serious effort to try and do a better job of posting here and on my blogger site.

Made of Awesome Blogfest Contest!
Okay, so I'm participating in the Made of Awesome Blogfest Contest which is being put on by Shelley Wattershttp://shelleywatters.blogspot.com/2011/05/made-of-awesome-contest.html

Here's my entry:


Title: Thornbriar
Genre: YA Fantasy Retelling
Word Count: 71,500

The first arrow nearly killed Beauty. If she had not had the good luck to trip over her injured coachman at just that moment, it would have pierced her breast. As it was, the black shaft of the arrow passed through her ruby curls while she was staggering sideways. The coachman cried out when she trampled his broken leg in an attempt to regain her balance, but Beauty ignored him, turning to look in the direction from whence the black arrow had come.

She could see the archer then, facing her directly, a second arrow aimed at her heart. Although he stood in the underbrush a great distance away, he seemed much closer, his features clear and strange. His long hair danced in a breeze that touched nothing else, it’s pale silver blond strands sparkling in a stray beam of sunlight. His ivory skin glowed luminously, eyes solid black. He seemed a spirit, rather than a mortal man.

“Lady Beauty!” The injured coachman pulled on the skirts of her gown, breaking her trance.

Beauty heard the hiss of air and swirled, throwing herself to the ground behind her coachman. Three arrows whistled, following her motion with astonishing speed. All missed their mark by only fractions.

When her coachman pushed himself onto one elbow to shield her, she caught sight of the archer, again with an arrow directed her way. He held this one though, his unearthly face contorted in rage.


Can't wait to read the other entries!

Hello fellow earthlings. I have returned from my preparations to take over the planet. Soon you will all be my slaves. And I will make you eat cumquats for breakfast lunch and dinner. Moohoohaha. Sounds about right for the sort of world domination I might plan. Alas it's totally untrue. I haven't been doing anything all that interesting during my hiatus... well besides falling down stairs and out of trees... but otherwise, just editing, writing, and watching anime, Gun x Sword this time. *Love*

Oh, but everyone SHOULD check out http://underneaththejunipertree.blogspot.com/ So. Very. Cool. And I do have a short story coming out in their Jun issue. The more support they get the better the magazine will do. So hop on over and give them a look. Try one of the weekly challenges, put out every Tuesday. Artists and writers alike.

Blogger's down. It's vexing the soul out of me. I know this is what happens with technology, but it still drives me up a wall. Even more so because those in charge of things like Blogger and LJ swear that THEIR sites/programs WON'T suffer the same fate. And then, of course, they do. Whatever. Life goes on. But I figure I can whine about it just the tinniest bit.

And on an entirely different subject:http://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/352199.html
I missed all of this. But can I just say WTF? I mean really people? We're going to go say that Seanan's cats aren't as important as shelter cats just because they came from breeders instead of a dumpster? And this was said by someone who was supposedly an advocate for cats? Um, yeah. SO DON'T GET IT. Seanan pretty much captured my opinion on the perp's opinions and judgments, and I've got Seanan's back on the matter. I have shelter cats, myself, but it's been purely by circumstance, and as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter WHERE your animal comes from, as long as you give them a good home. And I think Seanan's got the good home covered :)