Seasons Greetings!

Hello all! I don't have much to talk about, really. I know that Christmas Eve and Christmas just passed, but I think it's a little vain to blog about all the presents I just got even though I have done so on Facebook. Also, there's not much more to say than I  spent the most wonderful past three days with friends and family and could not have asked for anything more than that. Tomorrow I go see "The Hobbit" again with my immediate family and then have a family Christmas get together at my aunt's house.

I am writing a blog today, though. It will be short, I promise. My friend Laura and I have talked the past week and she decided that she wanted to start a group called "Books Not Bullets." I told her I would promote that and she made me an admin on the page. What we want to do with it is promote education and reading to hopefully stop bullying, violence, and to help recognize signs of mental health problems. This is what we hope to accomplish in the future. We feel that if you "Stop, Drop, and Read" when you're feeling angry or upset will help with verbal communication instead of physical confrontation. Resulting in the decrease of violence within schools. Also, this will help educate kids so that's a bonus.

We have talked about doing many things in the future like a book drive, donations, etc. Hopefully with your help and support we can accomplish so many things that will help troubled kids. All you need to do right now is log into your Facebook and like the page "Books Not Bullets." Showing your support will mean so much to us right now and in the future.

Here's the link if you need it: https://www.facebook.com/BooksNotBullets

Thank you. Happy holidays. -K.

All you need is love and a good book. 

Getting a little beh---HOBBITSSSSESSSS!

Wow has it really been 13 days since I last posted? Oh, goodness! I'm so sorry! I was planning to have this up by at least the 16th, but I had a hard time deciding what to post about. So much has gone on and I feel like one subject should not be touched upon because of all of the media hype. All I want to say is my heart goes out to all the families affected and effected by the Sandy Hook tragedy. I also would like to point out that because of the media, it has gotten way out of control. There's also a possible copycat situation that may affect me if it does happen. Rumor got around today that there is someone threatening to gun up my old high school on Friday. I hope that it is just that, a rumor, and nothing more.

As a result of trying to stay more positive, I believe I will talk about (with no spoilers) The Hobbit. As stated in my bio, I am a nerd and I can defend that title more so than some of the posts of girls going around on Facebook. "I'm such a nerd. I love Marvel comics. GO BATMAN!" Barf. Those girls give me and all of my other nerdy girl friends a bad name.

I read The Hobbit back in 8th grade as required reading. The English teacher loved Tolkien and gave extra credit to those who went to see The Return of the King. I didn't understand a damned thing. I also was not into half of what I'm into now and would have been insulted if I was labeled a nerd back then. I had issues with being bullied and being unpopular back then and therefore did not want to be outcasted even more. I didn't even understand any of The Lord of the Rings movies and still don't to this day (which will change, I promise).

This past week I reread The Hobbit and went to see the new movie. Amazing. Both. I doubted myself understanding the book the second time around, but it is now one of my favorites. I'm obsessed and I just loved the way Tolkien wrote it. Although, I must admit, I didn't guess any of the riddles exchanged between Gollum and Bilbo. I'm really bad at riddles. I would have been Gollum's dinner in an instant. "Tricksy girl wants to play riddleses with precious? If preciouses wins we eats it!" "Um...No...You win. Would you like salt, pepper, or both?" Yup. That's how it would go down, at least how I imagine it would.

The movie adaptation was just that: an adaptation. With that, you have to realize that some things will be played around with whether you like it or not, but Peter Jackson really didn't alter it too much, thankfully. Just having read parts of the book it covered right before it, I think I noticed that the most. Now, you also have to realize that one book is being split into three parts. If that's the case, which it is, there's only going to be 30-45 minutes worth of material that you can expand, which isn't much. So what did Jackson do? He threw in The Silmarillion. That, my friends, is the book that explains everything. Backgrounds, histories, the what happened betweens, the what happened afters, etc. So because of that being incorporated into the movie, we now know where Gandalf went when he left Thorin and Company during their journey. We know what other people were up to while the dwarves (and Bilbo) were adventuring! We know what is happening that leads up to The Lord of the Rings and why. This allowed the movie to come out to a total of 2 hours and 40 minutes. I loved the way they tied The Hobbit with The Lord of the Rings in parts. I was impressed with the movie.

I was told, during my reading of The Hobbit, not to get attached to certain characters, but refused to be told which ones. I thought I was good because I was really starting to like Balin who I was told survives because he is mentioned in Lord of The Rings. Jen and Joe told me this because they knew I saw all the Lord of the Rings movies. My reaction: "He survived?! Now that's spoiled." Seriously, you'd think I have never seen any of the trilogy, but I swear I did. I remember the first time Frodo puts the ring on. I remember the spider. I remember some other stuff. That totally proves that I've seen them. Right? But I digress. Anyway, I thought I was ok with Balin, but halfway through The Hobbit I got attached to another dwarf. I will not name him and ruin this for others! Said dwarf dies in the end and although I did not cry at his and Bilbo's farewell conversation (and now some of The Hobbit die-hards will know whom), I will be bawling like a baby when the time comes in the third movie, if it comes.

I brought this on myself. So, I suggest you all go see this movie. It was awesome! And to all the naysayers: If you don't like the movie, then you cannot say you like the book. It was pretty spot on. "Some parts they added didn't happen in the book so they ruined it!" I say: THE SILMARILLION. Check it out sometime. I know I will. Right after I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I will be getting (and then I will watch the movies again so I can figure out what happened).

Now onto a new thing! This was suggested to me and I want to try it out. I will be asking questions and I want you to leave a response comment (I'm going to be taking down the approval that makes it go through me before it posts). I WILL BE MONITORING COMMENTS and will delete ones that are offensive. Note: Offensive, not to be confused with comments that are opposite opinions/views of myself or others. They're allowed and everyone should respect the fact that people may have different thoughts than you do.

So here's my questions: What movie do you think is closest to its book? What do you like about it? What do you not like about it? If you could change it what would you do?

Please feel free to respond, even if it's not to answer those questions. I will read them all. :)

The picture below is mostly for Jen and all the other fangirls. -K.

Unless you're Dan. He's sneaky. 

Plugging! And other stuff...

Hello all! Thanks for the views! I appreciate them! Really I do. From the bottom of my heart. Also, I appreciate the feedback, although it's limited (fix that!).

Today I am really proud to say that my friend Laura Del (http://www.thefictionwriters.net) is now a proud owner of a published book! It's called "Graveyard Shifts." Here's the description:

"Sent on an assignment to find the best diner in New York, Pat Wyatt is more than happy to complete it, but not alone. Recruiting her best friend Christina Iglesias to join her, she sets out on her fateful mission, completely oblivious to what lies ahead. 

When a handsome stranger walks through the doors of the last diner of the day, Pat is not impressed with the striking man, and quickly leaves the restaurant...only to be followed out by the attractive mystery man. 

Following a whirlwind of marriage proposals and Hamptons' mansions is the creeping recognition that everyone seems to be afraid of her new husband and that he might not be as perfect as he seems. With everything inside pushing her toward an impossible realization, Pat must decide if she can trust the outlandish instincts she has inside and truly believe her husband, Samuel Satané, is a vampire.

Graveyard Shifts: A Pat Wyatt Novel is a captivating piece of fiction that forgoes the traditional love story that is prevalent in so many novels. Pat's story takes readers on a journey of love that happens after marriage, which adds real-world credibility to an otherwise fantastic scenario.

Not to be confused with other novels though, Pat's story is more about her strength of character than her reliance on any particular man. Written for women and men interested in horror fiction and romance, Graveyard Shifts is a gripping novel that is easy to pick up and hard to put down. With its sarcastic wit and dark tone, the novel keeps a perfect pace that never lulls. A fun, dramatic, and entertaining read from the very beginning, Graveyard Shifts is a wonderful new book that offers a unique take on horror fiction and the ever-popular vampire romance novels everywhere."


I hope you will all check it out, order it, and enjoy it. I do support my writer friends and I will be ordering this book and I will most definitely read it! You can purchase it here: https://www.createspace.com/4022649

My quest to become more positive is a bit of a struggle, but it's coming along just fine. So here is a post about someone I like and have a difficulty understanding on why some people decided not to from one little mistake:

Joe and I like to watch videos from a guy on YouTube, popularly known as Boogie2988. He does game reviews and very funny videos of a character he made named Francis. He is hilarious. He even made us want a new Furby because of one of his videos. Luckily, they're too expensive for us. Anyway, if you haven't already check him out.

According from what I gathered he did this charity of event or something of the sort of eating mayonnaise. It's a pretty disgusting video just because eating a jar of mayonnaise in one sitting is nasty no matter who does it. I really don't like watching videos of people eating random things. Even in the great movie Matilda when the fat kid is forced to eat the chocolate cake makes me squirm. Being a girl, that is saying something since I do indeed love chocolate.

Anyway, so he does this charitable thing (I don't know how the charity comes into play). Just last night he posted the same video but edited it to be in slow motion. So a 6 minute video of eating a jar of mayonnaise even longer and added effects. Gross. I don't like it, but you know what? I find his other videos as Francis very entertaining. I find his serious videos quite intelligent. His gaming reviews, I can't say that I have seen, but I'm sure they're full of things that you might require before buying a game.

You know what bothers me? That because of this one video that he posted he lost 40 subscriptions in 10 minutes. I really don't get it. One video. So you subscribe to a guy you find amusing and because he makes one video you do not like you completely delete him from your list. I would understand if it's something you're morally against. I would get it if it was something you feel politically strong for/against it. I don't get it when it's just a stupid video on YouTube with no other point than just being there. I stopped listening to a band because they became so very political with their music. I decided not to spend my hard earned money towards funding something I do not believe in. You can chose to or not to spend a few minutes of your day watching a silly video. Your money is not going to him. You're not supporting something that may change the way you think. You're just being pretty dumb.

But hey! It's your choice right? And I choose to continue watching Boogie2988's videos. In fact, I did so while typing some of this. YOU GO BOOGIE!

So check him out if you feel like it. You can also comment, text, e-mail, facebook, or send me mail through the USPS of something you want me to check out on YouTube. Or you can leave feedback so I can fix what you don't like about my writing!

Thanks so much. Much love -K.

"I can't afford Mountain Dew. Ok?! The economy is rough right now. OBAMA!"