Bits 'n Pieces - Cyn Balog

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City or country?

Country, definitely, cities make me claustrophobic!

Favorite coffee chain?

I don't drink coffee, so my favorite would be the one that charges people a lot of money so that I can sit there and laugh at them as they spend 5 bucks a day to feed their caffeine addiction.

Have you ever sang karaoke?

Nope, I think the world would explode if I did that.

Would you rather have stars in your eyes or eyes in the back of your head?

I would much rather have stars in my eyes and just be blissfully ignorant about everything. I look at my 2-year old and she is so happy because she doesn't understand what "taxes" and "work" and all those horrible things mean. I'd like to be like that-- always seeing the positive about life. People who have eyes in the back of their head are generally very negative-- how can you see all that and not be?

What does your perfect day look like?

I would just love to spend a nice summer day on the beach with my whole family, then go home and have a big pasta meal, some fun fruity mixed drinks, and maybe play some card games like Michigan Rummy or Seven and a Half.

What movies could you watch over and over and still love?

I love stupid movies like Dodgeball and Vacation, but I also love romances like 13 Going on 30. And I am BIG into Disney movies! But my favorite movie of all time is The Goonies. I saw it in the movie theater, and have watched it a billion times since then. I can recite every line to that movie by heart. I have the DVD and once watched it with Spanish dubbing, but translated it to my husband as it was going along. He thought I was whacked. But he can do the same thing with Raiders of the Lost Ark, and that's really messed up.

What is the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?

In 4th grade we had this assignment where we had to write about a dream we had-- I had a dream about a kid in my class named John, so I just wrote about that, because random people always showed up in my dreams. Then my teacher read it out loud and everyone was like, "Ooooooh, Cyn and John, sittin' in a tree..." Puhleeze. He was a total goober.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A writer! I have been writing stories since I was 5 years old. I used to sit inside writing all these crazy tales while all the other neighborhood kids were outside getting fresh air. As a result, my growth was stunted and I am two feet tall. No, not really, but I thought this interview could use some pizazz.

If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?

Stephenie Meyer.

A Summer List

8 things I love about the summer.

1. Eating burgers and hot dogs and potato chips and potato salad and jello and and and.

2. Being able to get my belly tan.

3. Wearing flip flops on a daily basis. Especially the cheap Old Navy ones that mold to your foot after enough use. Yum.

4. Biking everywhere. Hearing the hushhush of the pedals and feeling the world rush by.

5. Listening to Christmas music.

6. Fruit smoothies!

7. The odor of sunscreen that emanates from everyone you pass.

8. Anticipating the school year. Twisted? Yes.

A Shakespearean Summer - Othello

A summary by me:
This play follows a military guy named Othello. He's pretty high up and has control of a large number of troops and minions.
His right hand man/best friend is named Cassio. Cassio is a good guy through and through. He's content with his position and with his life.
Othello's standard-bearer guy is named Iago and Iago is Cassio's opposite. He's wily, selfish, conniving, and greedy but he's able to hide it and get people to trust him.
Othello is married to a lovely woman named Desdemona who adores Othello and is always faithful to him.
The big event of the play is that Iago wants to take hold of Cassio's position and will stop at nothing to get there.
He convinces Othello that Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio and much drama ensues including lots of death and lots of sexual innuendoes.
In the end, Othello stabs Desdemona and then kills himself once he learns that Iago's been lying to him all along. And that's basically it. No joke.

So what did I think?
I thought that it was an...um...interesting and sort of pointless play. It made me wonder how these works have actually stood the test of time. I guess a bunch of it was probably in the delivery. Also, I think there was a lot of satire and medeival naughtiness that I didn't get. Shakespeare was a pretty sexual guy. But I did enjoy some of the different passages and lines. There were deeper, more intellectual undertones in certain scenes that really stood out to me. Like when they talked about honesty and intelligence and worth. I think that Shakespeare offers something to everybody. He's able to please the cynic, the comdedian, and the intellectual all in one play. That takes skill. And while the plot might have been a little weird, I think that it was worth reading. Just to say that I did it.

What plays have you guys read for the challenge so far? And what did you think of them?

It's Not You, It's Me by Kerry Cohen Hoffman

Zoe loves Henry.
Henry dumps Zoe.
Zoe wants Henry back - at any cost.
Zoe's two best friends come up with a plan to help Zoe get what she wants. The plan: make Henry jealous.
But the plan takes a surprising turn...
(Summary from jacket flap)

So I read this book a while ago and thought so little of it that I didn't want to write a review of it. I think it's probably worse that I'm doing it now because I remember almost nothing about the plot or the characters or really anything.

So basically, the thing I think I can say with certainty is that this book sucked. First of all it was too short to actually have any space in which to develop a story line or build any tension or emotions. Secondly, Zoe was completely pathetic and Henry was a loser and the other guy who Zoe decided to use and smooch around with was just as lifeless. It was like reading about the adventures of paper dolls.

I don't know if there's anything good to say. The cover's cute, I think. I like the little chicks and the spirals coming out of the red ones mouth. Very aesthetically pleasing.

But not memorable at all. Just a stupid book, IMO.

D - just for the cover.

I'm back. I hope.

I promise to post at least 20 times this July with half of those being reviews. The end.