A Bust…for Drawing 101 Class

I did this for my Drawing 101 class back in April/May (2012). I keep calling it ‘King Leonidas’. I kept thinking of the movie 300 while drawing it; came out okay.

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My Attempt at Drawing Jennifer Lopez

I’m proud of myself. I’m improving.

 

Actually, I prefer it in this light; it makes the shadows stand out more.

Jamaicans Run Tings!! – The Olympics begins.

Jamaican athletes at the 2012 Olympics in London.

The Olympics has begun and, like everyone else, I will be fervently rooting for my country JAMAICA!!!! I hope that we come out on top again in track and field. I can hardly wait!

I shall now take the time to gloat.

It was just 4 years ago, in 2008, when Usain Bolt broke the world record in Beijing, making him the fastest man in the world. Yes, JAMAICA has the fastest man in the world. I remember sitting in front the television with my parents when the race started. I was supposed to have left to go to my part-time job but I had to call out “sick”. There was no way I was going to miss cheering for Jamaica. When Usain broke the record, I jumped around and screamed at the top of my lungs along with my parents. Then we all jumped on the phone and the internet to contact all our friends and family members to spread, confirm, and share the historic moment.

“Hardships there are, but the land is green and the sun shineth.”

Jamaica first entered the Olympics in 1948, the last time it was held in London. Since then, Jamaica has entered the summer Olympics 17 times between 1948 and 2008. The 2012 Olympics will be Jamaica’s 18th entry. According to TeamJA.org, in 1960, Jamaica competed as part of the West Indies Federation team. The website also states that Jamaica won medals in all but two games; thus the total number of medals so far is 54.

I shall be sporting the colors of my flag every day starting today, July 28, to August 12 in support of my country. For more on the Jamaican athletes competing in the 2012 Olympics, visit the Jamaican Observer’s website. Make sure to check out the 2012 Olympics website for schedules.

 

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

Cover via Amazon

Returning to Hogwarts was the best idea I’ve had in months! (By the way, I initially typed Hogwarts with a lower-case h and Microsoft Word automatically changed it to upper-case; therefore Hogwarts is a real place. I shall visit it one day)

I’ve been busy these past months, what with the new job I started at the beginning of the year that popped up right on time to help me with my student loan bills (pesky, pesky things they are; my Evanesco spell simply doesn’t work on them; I need more practice. Pottermore, here I come). I decided to take a mini-vacation from work and read my all-time favorite novel in the entire world, in my 24 years, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the U.K.) by J.K. Rowling. I think this is the best book in the series because it is the first.

It’s this book that got me so hooked that I couldn’t manage to tear my eyes from the pages when I first picked up the novel in the library of my middle school. What made me decide to read Harry Potter? I haven’t the slightest clue. All I know is that I became transfixed on that first paragraph and was held captive my Rowling’s string of characters and twisting storyline until the end of the series and after.

“Carrie” by Stephen King

So after reading On Writing, the memoir by Stephen King, I decided to read one of his books to experience his magnificence. I also wanted to finally confront my fear of reading a Stephen King novel and being forever scarred. Since his movies always scared me, I reasoned that his books would be even worse.

I decided to start at the beginning so I picked up a copy of Carrie. It took me a while to begin reading. Though I’ve watched the movies, original and remakes, many times, I was afraid that somehow the book would be more alarming. It turns out to be a good read.

I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Carrie. She has no friends and is bullied at school by the popular kids. Then she goes home to be further tormented by her religious-manic mother. The day of her first period was traumatizing. She knew nothing about periods. Believing the act of sex to be evil and that menstruation introduces that evil, her mother saw no reason in mentioning it to Carrie. When her period came, Carrie thought herself bleeding to death. Shocked by what’s happening to her, she starts to freak out only to be penalized for her oddity by the girls in the locker room who throw tampons at her, shouting plug it up. The girls gang up on Carrie and stone her with tampons as if to exile her from joining them in womanhood.

Photos from the Hobbit Movie on Entertainment Weekly

Check out Entertainment Weekly to see pictures from the upcoming Hobbit movie set to be released December 14. I can’t wait!! I totally love the beards on the dwarves and Bombur looks almost exactly as I had imagined him. Click here to view them.

Related articles

• ‘The Hobbit’ Premieres New Photos In ‘Entertainment Weekly’ (moviesblog.mtv.com)
• THE HOBBIT on Cover of Entertainment Weekly (geektyrant.com)
• 10 New Images from ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ (screenrant.com)
• First Look at Lego The Hobbit Set Revealed at Comic-Con (shoppingblog.com)

“The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom” by Christopher Healy

Available on Amazon and at your local bookstore.

Well here’s a fairytale with a twist!

Remember those stories that were read to you as a kid? You know.  Cinderella – lived with her horrible step-mother and step-sisters, danced at a ball with Prince Charming and was later rescued by him. Snow White – lived with seven dwarves, ate an apple, fell asleep, and was later rescued by Prince Charming. Rapunzel – captured by an evil witch, placed in a tower, has VERY long hair, and was also rescued by Prince Charming. And Sleeping Beauty – pricked her finger on a loom, placed under a sleeping spell, and, you know, rescued by Prince Charming.

Of course you know these stories. Most do. Well, in The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy, these stories are turned upside-down to form a hilarious tale. I did not expect to enjoy this story as much as I did. I simply bought the book because of the illustrations on the cover. I thought them cool and they made me wonder who the figures are and what they do in the book, especially the snooty girl in the gold gown. She seemed stuck-up and afraid to get her dainty hands dirty. I wondered why she was on the front cover next to the other three heroic-looking figures.