Refelction

With all the "Why is it good to reflect" stuff I have posted it only makes sense for me to reflect on my own blog. Truthfully I actually enjoy it, even though this started with an assignment I might just continue this even after the assignment is over. Doing book reviews possibly? Maybe just what ever happens to strike my fancy that particular day (in which case I'll probably start talking about my obsession with criminology more often than not)? Who knows. I kind of wish I had put this on tumblr or something that I'm more used to (where with a click of a button I can reblog all the personal library pictures and calligraphy gifs I want), but I'm not going to beat myself up for starting up on this site. It's pretty good in it's own way. To make my blog more appealing though is a bit tougher for me to think about. I'm not very good at designing things (especially blogs as it turns out) so I had a little trouble with this one at first. It will probably stay the same as long as long as this blog exists since it's the most though I put into a blog. I wanted to keep it warm and friendly looking, while still remaining true to my own interests, and at the same time sound/ look a little more sophisticated than I am capable of as a high schooler. With that in mind I made it red, black, added a book background, and created a title that could be misconstrued as a thinly veiled "psychopath blending in with society" story. Like I said before I'll probably keep this blog up and running even after the assignment is over, be prepared for book reviews, my personal philosophy, and famous serial killers in the near future (or after break, whatever.)

More Sherlock (In Case You're Not Sick of Hearing About it Yet)

I have just finished chapter 5 of Nigel Cawthorne's "Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Guide to the World's Most Famous Detective".
[Insert cheering crowd]
The entire chapter was dedicated to summarizing "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and did a marvelous job of spoiling the stories I haven't had the time to read yet.
[Insert cheering crowd]
I won't bore you with details (or spoilers), but I actually like reading this. The first few chapters had several facts about the Conan Doyle I didn't know before and really put into light all the trouble he went through to get some of his stories published. The next few (which I'm currently in the middle of) describe all of Sherlock and Watson's adventures together and, in a few cases, point out a lot of things I missed while reading (see? This is why it's important to reflect on stories). Even though the book itself doesn't tell a real tale I'm still excited to read more.

Why is it important to reflect on what we read?

This may seem a little silly at first, I mena you just read it. Big deal, right? Actually in many things I've read, if reflected upon, I've found deeper meanings. I'm not talking about your english teach over analyzing why a write decided to describe curtains as blue, but like allusions or hidden references and maybe a few metaphors for life and death. Albeit I usually find these kind of things in poems, finding something you didn't notice before in a story isn't uncommon and feels pretty cool. Like in the Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Red Headed League" when I first read it I didn't pay much attention to the assistant, but [SPOILERS] as it turns out he was the culprit. After thinking back on it, a lot of the things he did made a lot of sense and had originally escaped my thought. Allusions and references could be hidden in stories too, or if you're really luck foreshadowing, like for example I once wrote a story for class and named the character Richard Parker. I realize this is also the name of Spiderman's parents, but my original intention was to reference Edgar Allan Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" who had a character named Richard Parker (and was subsequently cannibalized by the remainder of a shipwrecked crew). Unless you look back on stories you might miss these kind of things and truthfully it makes you feel kind of cool to know you just figured out that in the "Wizard of Oz" the poppy field was alluding to opium (not to mention it adds depth to the tale) because you totally knew that.

Sherlock Holmes

I'm still reading "Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Guide to the World's Most Famous Detective". I finally finished up the chapter that talks about how Sherlock was made and Doyle's life during it's publication (and I found out that Conan Doyle died on July 7th, which is my birthday) and started the next chapter. The next chapter talks about "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Sign of Four" and breaks it down. The next chapter, which I haven't been able to start yet, is titled "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" and I can see that it will break down "A Scandal in Bohemia" featuring the only woman who outsmarted Holmes, Irene Adler!

Conan Doyle

I read more of my book finally! The first part is pretty much dedicated to how Sherlock was created and Doyle's life at the time. He was quiet the ladies man and very active in several different sports, lectures, and traveling around. He also kept journals with everything that he wanted to include in the stories, but eventually he wanted to get rid of Holmes, after a few attempts to just drop it he eventually killed Holmes by throwing him off a waterfall. The magazine that ran the stories lost 20,000 subscribers. Over time he wrote several more stories, and plays (one being a Sherlock Holmes play which coined the phrase "it's elementary, Watson!" and eventually brought back Holmes for another adventure.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving!

Food. I would leave it at that, but I'm pretty sure if I did I would get in trouble, so I'll be a little more specific. Deviled eggs. Here there are only two ways you'll ever be able to eat a deviled egg 1) at a family reunion or get-together of some sort and only if the elderly members are attending, and 2) at Betty's Cafe, so it's sort of a rare treat, I guess? (the whole deviled eggs thing is actually a big inside joke with my mom) The rest of the food is absolutely marvelous, though. We have stuffing, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and whatever else you could want, also I'll admit that sometimes it is nice to just sit down with family and have a dinner (although this year is going to be a little different than usual). It's mostly food though.

Describe your favorite character from a book, movie, or TV show.

Why would you ask this question? Do you know how many favorite characters I have?
Gaara- Naruto
Gokudera/Mukuro- Katekyo Hitman Reborn
Sherlock-Sherlock (TV)
Sherlock- Sherlock Holmes (books)
Sherlock- Sherlock Holmens (movies)
Ironman/ Tony stark- Avengers/Ironman
Loki- Thor/Avengers
Usui- kaichou wa maid-sama
Nerd boy- Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt
Tim- Marble Hornets
Kenpachi- Bleach
Vash/Wolfwood/Millie- Trigun
Noah- Tribe Twelve
Sebastian/Undertaker- Black Butler
Alphonse- Full Metal Alchemist
Death the Kid/Stein- Soul Eater
Vinny's beard- EverymanHYBRID
Sanosuke- Runouni Kenshin
Donovan- Escape From Furnace
Mary- Mary Quinn mysteries
Suigintou- Rozen Maiden
Guy/ Clarisse- Fahrenheit 451
Etc.
The list goes on and on, and I have to pick one?
For the sake of completing this though, I will pick Sherlock from the TV show since I'm reading a book about Sherlock Holmes and the TV show happens to be on of the more recent fandoms in which I've participated in (aside from the newest Tribe Twelve live stream, but I don't think that counts as a TV show). My favorite character is, of course, Sherlock the high functioning sociopath and consulting detective.
He is played by the actor Benedict Cumberbatch who, if you don't know, has lovely eyes. The character himself has dark brown curls and is almost never seen without his blue scarf. When going out he usually wears a black coat and is never without his cellphone (the source of his research). Personality wise he is very introverted and more than a bit critical and harsh when it comes to analyzing people, but after getting to know someone he warms up a bit, like with Watson. He's usually very calm (or appears to be), but gets excited when he has a new crime to solve. Least favorite thing in the world is to be bored. Symptoms of Sherlock being bored include shooting at walls, starring into space, and looking for a new case to investigate. A normal day for Sherlock includes gay innuendos with Watson, acting/disguise, insulting Anderson (even if a life is on the line, there is always time to insult Anderson), an annoying his brother.

Pick a quote!

 " Pick a quote that has really struck you as being an important factor in your story. Why did it speak to you? What situation did it make you think of? Can you relate to any character's predicament or situation?"

I'm reading Sherlock Holmes, The Complete Guide to the World's Most Famous Detective By Nigel Cawthorne. I'm only at the beginning right now so it's talking about what inspired the creation of Sherlock Holmes and what happened while the stories were being published. A quote that really stuck out to me though was "Doyle did not like Holmes and thought his historical novels to be more important  He famously tried to kill off Holmes in 1893 by plunging him over the Reichenbach Falls with Professor Moriarty, but was forced to revive him in The Hound of Baskervilles." I knew that Doyle tried to kill Holmes and due to the outrage by fans he had to think of a way to bring him back, but it still surprises me that he hated one of his most popular works enough to kill him off. Truthfully it reminded me of all the other Sherlock Holmes (like movies and television shows) where he and Moriarty took the plunge (and this is where I break down crying yelling "Why?" dramatically). I count myself lucky enough to say that I've never been in Holmes's situation, but in case of the author's I'm actually pretty similar. I've killed off characters in stories before, not because I hated them, but to create a better storyline, so I can't say I'm exactly like Doyle (in skill and in motive for the murder of fictional characters).

It's close to December! and food.

My favorite thing about November is that it's one month away from December (and thus Christmas break) and, of course, Thanksgiving. My family is a bit messed up so my Thanksgivings aren't really about family like it should be, it's mostly just tradition and food. What can I say, I'm American, I get excited about the biggest meal of the year, but the absolute most exciting thing about this month is that it's cushioned right between my two favorite holidays, Halloween and Christmas, so just as we're taking down the skulls and fake blood, we're putting up a Christmas tree (fake of course, we never started the tradition of going to chop one down every year and at this point when I say we should try it I'm met with the "Are you serious?" look). Plus during November we get a break for Thanksgiving! This is just sort of a lazy moth for me.