i love this passage ...

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc / Mark Twain
Part III, Chapter VI

And her eyes--ah, you should have seen them and broken your hearts. Have you seen that veiled deep glow, that pathetic hurt dignity, that unsubdued and unsubduable spirit that burns and smolders in the eye of a caged eagle and makes you feel mean and shabby under the burden of its mute reproach? Her eyes were like that. How capable they were, and how wonderful! Yes, at all times and in all circumstances they could express as by print every shade of the wide range of her moods. In them were hidden floods of gay sunshine, the softest and peacefulest twilights, and devastating storms and lightnings. Not in this world have there been others that were comparable to them. Such is my opinion, and none that had the privilege to see them would say otherwise than this which I have said concerning them.

I absolutely love this book ... Read it summer 2004, at Living Waters, and sooooo lived it. I'm giving serious consideration to doing it for my English senior sem. Whaddaya think?

Thank you, Building 429

This song keeps coming on the radio, and it's my heartcry these days ...

My world is closing in
On the inside
But I’m not showing it
When all I am is crying out
I hold it in and fake a smile
Still I’m brokenI’m broken
Only one can understand
And only one can hold the hand
Of the broken
Of the broken

When no one else knows how I feel
Your love for me is proven real
When no one else cares where I’ve been
You run to me with outstretched hands
And You hold me in your arms
Again

Girls in Pants

Well, if you haven't read the first 2 books in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares, then go out and read them before trying to decipher this. lol...
Following the trend of the previous two (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Second Summer of the Sisterhood), Girls in Pants traces the summer adventures of Bee, Lena, Tibby, and Carmen. The storyline is really good, and I especially love watching each girl conquer her personal demons... I really like tracing Tibby and Lena's struggles. Howevers, I felt it was a bit rushed. There were a couple places that seemed unfinished, and there were several typo's in the quotes that preface the "chapters" as well as within the text itself. (That's another cool thing: lots and lots of quotes). I found myself subconsciously reviewing and examining the mechanics of the writing as I was reading the story... kinda weird, huh? But yeah, its good. I love these books... they remind me of the relationship I have with my girls. When Girls in Pants hits trade paperbacks, it'll be joining my copies of the first two. ;-)

Truth About Forever

As a lover of all children's lit and a fan of YA novels, I enjoy reading Sarah Dessen's work. My most recent read was The Truth About Forever. Wow. What can I say? All of Dessen's novels (I think there's 5?) revolve around teenage girls in various parts of North Carolina. Several characters appear in other books, overlapping storylines, oh-so-wonderful! I've read a total of 3 of her books (Someone Like You and This Lullaby being the other 2) and totally enjoy every word of all of them. There's something very real about the girls... as well as the various people they run into during the course of the novel. This is no different in Truth About Forever. In fact, I would venture to say this - the most recent - is the best. Maybe this is because I am able to see much of myself in Macy. Maybe because it's just, so... so... *thinking* Well, it's just so real. I know, that is a rather insufficeint phrase to use in a "review" .... but something about this book touched me, deep. And I'm not exactly sure what all to do or say to tell y'all exactly how great it was... Just go out and read it, ok? I made HPU buy it. *mischevious grin*
Again, I'll give ya an URL... http://sarahdessen.com
If anyone wants to buy me a book for my 20th... This would be a good one, LOL!!! J/K... I think, hehe...

Pledged

Ok, here at last is the review of Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities by Alexandra Robbins ... Yeah, I'm a slacker sometimes. Really, I've been meaning to do it, but ... *shrug* You know, sometimes things just get pushed behind other things. :-)

Robbins went undercover for a year to write the book. She was there, experiencing and witnessing it first-hand, making it a very informative read. (Note: I soooo do not regret not joining a sorority!) With a frank, unapologetic style Robbins presents her findings... Even done to the parts she regrets to say confirm stereotypical images of sororities and sorority girls.
She goes deeper than just recounting her observations, she makes it real - involved relationally with the 4 girls who are spotlighted/"shadowed" for a year, Robbins tries to understand what drives them to put up with all they do.
I found the book to be an amazing and revealing read... But it made my heart ache. I'd recommend it to anyone curious, or to anyone who will be willing to read it as I did: reading to learn.

Check out http://alexandrarobbins.com to learn more.

the nicest apology

"I know you don't like it, and I didn't intend for it to happen, but... I still love you though. Do you love me?"
"Yeah... I do."

There is still honesty in the world... it just hides in unlikely places and comes out at strange times. Ah, but what strange times.
It is a nice apology though, isn't it? I s'pose it's not necessarily an "apology" so much as an admission of one person's acting in a way that displeased the other... I like it though.

Cowboy quotes

"Cowboys are like outhouses... the good ones are taken the rest are full of crap."
- A fella from ABTech I've never met, but he just earned a few points.

"Coffee, Chocolate, Cowboys ... Some things are just better rich."
- A shirt I saw once in a horse catalog.

"GayCowboyWannabe."
- Originally from a fiercely Conservative Scotchman, now the cause of hyseria.

"Si, su computadora es el cowboy"
- The one and only Megs.

Some Sat.Night Cowboy Commentary

"Round to the nearest whole number - the next interger. In-ter-ger... that's a big word!"

"What's wrong with you?"
"I dunno, my momma's been asking that question for 37 years!"

"If he [a bull] acted like that in public school they'd give him something to calm him down."

"Admirations: it means she thinks they're coming over to admire her, but they're really laughing."

"Ouch... that cowboy got hurted. Where'd the horsie go?"

"There're 2 bullfighters in the ring - if another one goes down, you know who goes in next?"
"The photographer! He goes next!"

"This is the P-B-R!!!"

Under the Influence of Fever

I find these quotes amusing and hysterical... All of them "seen" under the influence of a "low-grade" fever. Enjoy....

'Did I ever tell you you've got a warped sense of humor?'
--Barney Fife

'Don't matter so much for fat people, but Barney ought not to worry.'
--Gomer Pyle

So.... I found tonight's "Andy Griffith" hysterical tonight. %) Laughed uncontrolably the whole time... hehe......