Filed under: Generalizations | Tags: childhood, culture, harry potter, life, magic, movies, pop culture, writing
Harry Potter. Oh Harry, your books are over, your movies have played, your battle is won and now my heart is void. I had the same feeling when watching the final episode of LOST, a television show Mike and I watched (and will again) with a fervor that borders on zealous. It wasn’t the horribly sad ending (which both had) that brought tears to my eyes. No, what made me bawl and smear my make up was knowing that something I’ve loved, and has been in a part of my life for the last twelve years, is over.
Sure, I’ll still pick up the books, and each time I read them, the story will be like new to me (unlike many people, I can re-read stories hundreds of times and still enjoy every minute of it). But still, it’s over and I’m sad. Harry Potter’s my buddy, just like John Locke and Jack Sheppard were. I knew them intimately and rooted for them even during their most vulnerable moments.
Although I’m sad, the sort of sadness that you get when a good friend moves far away and you know you’ll probably never see them again, I’m also thankful. I’m thankful for books like Harry Potter and shows like LOST because they gave me something, and reminded me that my love for stories is too overwhelming to ignore. I became a writer because of epic tales that span years to tell. If you want to do the story justice that is. They reminded me that there is still magic in this world.
I don’t know how other writers feel, only how I feel, and I truly believe that to write, you must believe in magic. Not just the magic we possess to entrance readers, to pull them into a different world and introduce them to creatures and people of our imaginations, but real magic. I believe in magic. I believe that there are things out there that happen which are so strange, so impossible, so fantastical that magic has to be real.
I believe in magic because without it, we’re just moving around and living in a world which is so clearly laid out for us. We are born, we go to school, we finish school, we go to more school, we finish that one, then we get jobs, get married, have children, all that stuff. I choose to believe that there are places in our world where magic hides, where you can find it if you really listen to your heart and feel it.
I have to believe in magic because without it I’m only telling the same story again and again and again. Once a year, when the new Harry Potter would come out (book, movie, whatever) my belief was renewed, I was reminded of the magic that’s hidden away. Now that it’s done, the onus is on me. I get no more reminders, from now on, I have to find that magic for myself, and bring it to you with words and characters.
Filed under: Generalizations | Tags: bum, funny, hobo, homeless, humor, life, lifestyle, people, political coffectness, synonyms, tramp, vagabond, writing
So, I really hate political correctness. There’s nothing more aggravating for me, as a writer, than to have to say “his or her”, “police person” and other stupid compromising phrases. I’m not a feminist, so that may have something to do with it, but I really don’t see the problem with “his” or “policeman”. Sometimes though there’s a PC term which is much more insulting than more common, slang terms.
I’m talking about the homeless people of Edmonton. A few years ago I heard someone refer to them as “undesirables”. I dunno, there’s something about being called undesirable that I just don’t like. Therefore, I’ve decided to examine the more common terms for these people and how they reflect a more positive image than of just being undesirable (which seems to by synonymous with “garbage”).
Bums – You know, there’s some really awesome bums out there. What about tight bums in yoga pants? Personally, I’d rather be a hot bum than an undesirable individual. So, Bum stays.
Tramp – I just like this better.
Hobo – I love this word. It sounds like they have this mysterious, inclusive club that us showering people are not privy to join. They have bonfires under bridges and travel the world on the soles of their feet. How is that not a magical image? Short of smelling like cheap wine of course.
Vagabond – When I think of vagabonds, images of gypsies spring to mind. Hot gypsies twirling barefoot in flowing skirts and screwing us hard-working saps out of our money at their super-cool carnivals. Yes, vagabonds are pretty kick ass.
So the next time you see an undesirable human being, remember, they’re cooler than you and you can’t join their club. You smell too good.
(Writer’s Edit: I’ve now spent most of my morning thinking about Hobos and have decided that their personas of “down-and-out” folks is a complete lie. They are actually magical elves spread among us so that we may remember what human generosity is about. And for beer. They bring beer. BEER. BEER.)
Upon finishing a scholarly essay:
Tannis: I want the MLA Style Guide for Christmas
Friend T: Why?
Tannis: Because it’s useful
Friend T: So is a handgun but you don’t want one of those
Tannis: How does a handgun help me reference shit?
Friend T: You just said useful.
Tannis: Useful to my craft.
Friend T: Well, shit, specify.
Tannis then discovers the Works Cited option in Word 2007:
Tannis: Wait. Never mind. Word does Works Cited. Score.
Laughter from Friend T
Tannis: It’s like the invent of calculators, but for writers.
Tannis: No. Wait. That was the word processor. DAMN YOU LOUSY METAPHOR!
Filed under: Generalizations | Tags: biased, double standards, grammar, humour, literature, prejudice, writing
As a writer I am expected to be unbiased (NOT) and provide equal coverage to all areas of mechanics and punctuation. Slowly, my own prejudice has been revealed to me. I. Hate. Semi. Colons.
Like, a lot.
Often I catch myself constructing complete thoughts just to avoid using semi-colons. ARGH I scream at my computer screen, Get out of my writing!. And then, because I’m the boss, creator and whatever else I feel like being, I abolish their existence.
On the other hand, I find myself preferring the use of colons. I LOVE COLONS (well those colons are pretty sweet too, but I’m talking punctuation wise). The way they prepare my reader for some inane list I’m about to present, or absurd idea that always spews from my brain is completely entrancing. It’s as if their very presence is announcing HOW COOL whatever I’m going to write is.
But that’s not exactly fair is it? I love the legitimate colon, but it’s bastard brother makes me cringe. I find new and exciting ways to introduce my favoured pet, yet I ignore the other one just so it knows its daddy doesn’t love it. If colons and semicolons were characters in a Harry Potter book, the semicolon would be called a “Mudblood” as it pushed its way through the hallways of Hogwarts. I suppose it’s not the Semicolon’s fault its mother stepped out with a Comma after a few too many gins.
Yeah, ok, I’m biased. I get it. Writers should love all their periods, commas, colons, semi-colons, hyphens and other markings equally. But I don’t, and wanted to express with you the double standards I place on squiggly black marks.
I WIN AGAIN SEMI-COLON!
The Lifespan of a Fly 