Hiro Antagonist

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( still life of the day )

Hello. I have never really kept an online journal earnestly, but I'm hoping this one sticks around for awhile. I enjoy reading the journals of other people, and catching a glimpse of how they live and what they think about.

Myself: I am a 20-something girl, living with my family and my cat in a town not far from the ocean. I'm rather anxious a lot of the time, but I do value the connections I make with people. I'm simple, but also very flawed. I'm still figuring out what to do with my life.

I'm a music lover and compulsive book reader, fascinated by history and moved by art (though I won't claim to be an expert of anything, really). More recently, I am striving for a healthier and fuller life after some difficult years, and I hope the positive changes will reflect in my online writings. I am hopeful and pressing forward in life.

If you'd like to add me, just let me know.

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In his début novel, Brian DeLeeuw brings us a story about two boys. One of the boys is real, while the other isn’t – but you may have a hard time deciding which is which. Our narrator is Daniel, who met Luke in the playground, when the latter was six. Luke is the only person who can see him; yet Daniel seems no common-or-garden ‘imaginary friend’, having apparently attained consciousness. Daniel returns home with Luke, to find a household under strain: Luke’s mother, Claire, is fragile, still affected by her own mother’s suicide; when an incident brings matters to a head, she leaves, taking Luke with her.

One day, Claire has a surprise for Luke – she’s bought him a pet dog. This new friend starts to take Daniel’s place in Luke’s life, so much so that Daniel finds his very self disintegrating. In a bid for survival, Daniel tricks Luke into poisoning the dog with some of Claire’s medication. She, of course, doesn’t believe her son when he says that Daniel told him to do it, and takes Luke to see a psychiatrist. Soon after, Luke is able to restrain Daniel, eventually locking him away inside his head, for twelve whole years. But, when Luke is eighteen, Daniel re-emerges – with his own ideas of what Luke should do, who Luke should be.

In This Way I Was Saved is quite a difficult book to evaluate. How do you judge characterisation, for example, when you can’t even trust that the narrator is – well, is, full stop? Well, let’s see: DeLeeuw has created a chilling presence in Daniel, a narrator who’s just that bit too knowing, whose voice is that bit too articulate. Not to mention that his opinions are also pretty vile; Daniel has little patience for humans and their messy emotions: when Luke finds a girl in whose company he can relax and forget his cares, Daniel just takes the view that Luke is being insincere – and the situation Daniel then engineers is not a pleasant one. As a portrait of such a cold individual, the book is a great success.

Yet there’s ambiguity here, too, as it’s possible to read Daniel as being entirely a product of Luke’s delusion. This is a more difficult reading to make, because the narration naturally invites us to view Daniel as a separate entity; and I’m not sure that the novel sustains its ambiguity through to the end. But it’s fascinating to read a scene and see it happening in two different ways simultaneously; DeLeeuw interweaves the possibilities well. The reading of Daniel-as-delusion also deepens the book’s portrait of people and lives unravelling; it’s harrowing for characters and readers alike.

In This Way I Was Saved is not without its flaws. I feel a sense of distance in the progression of the plot – as though it’s happening rather than being made to happen – which I think arises because neither Luke nor Daniel is able to truly drive the story directly. Nevertheless, I am impressed with what DeLeeuw has done in his novel. It’s easy to assume, from the first few pages, that you know who Daniel is and what has happened. I read most of the book thinking, it can’t be that simple – and, happily, it’s not.

No more of that, though, for it’s the road to spoilers. To conclude: In This Way I Was Saved is an intriguing puzzle of a book which takes you into a mind that’s not a comfortable place to visit, but that visit is compelling all the same. Whose mind is it, though? There’s a question to ponder…

( My Bookshelf )

This is what I love about audio programming, because everybody gets it, at a level so deep that nobody can explain it properly:

http://vimeo.com/5732745

Everybody.


Also: proper nap-of-the-earth flying, none of that namby-pamby American 50ft treetops stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoWQd8pcvek

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My name is Natalie and I have a hankering for some morning star veggie patties. Not because I'm a vegetarian, (by no means - I adore the smell and taste of cooking animal flesh. Baby ones in particular.) but because it's the only damn thing I have in my tiny apartment to eat right now. H'uh.

I just turned 22, and I can honestly say that I can feel senility already setting in. My fiancé teases me about my inability to walk straight, remember things, and tendency to walk through playgrounds in my skivvies while whittling random sticks and twigs into small headless animals.

I have a cat, a rat, and two ferrets. The mister and my rat are the only ones with testicles, so this home is overrun with estrogen. I am the only one still able to reproduce, however, but I aim to remedy this scariness soon as I can. Maybe I can trade in my womb for extra cupholders or a portable DVD player so I can stare at my crotch and enjoy Madagascar 2 while I pee. Hm. Note to self.

Well, here's the dillio. I'm devoutly anti-religion. I'm not really an atheist per se, as this would require a level of "give-a-shit" that I simply do not possess. I simply have a hard time getting into the whole "my god is better than your god and if you don't agree with me then you're a stinky weiner poo-poo head!" ordeal. I also hate politics, but I tolerate them more than I can tolerate Jehovah's Witnesses harassing me in laundromats ANY DAY.

I look to find people with which I can share my eccentricity. As you can see, I tend to go into spurts of "What the hell?" from time to time. My journal is friends only, so comment on my Friends Only page with a bit about yourself and I'll let you know what's goin' dizz-own.

Salutations!

http://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2009/11/report_from_for.php

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Looks like the Author that spawned this post here:
http://community.livejournal.com/guns/1990184.html

Has written a follow up post in relation to our comments. I've dipped my toe in the water but certainly there are many other points to contest.

http://montclairsoci.blogspot.com/2009/11/comments-galore.html

Certainly hasn't raised any red flags to me as an unreasonable gun-banner, but more somebody who isn't familiar with our laws, and certainly hasn't put much thought into the gun issue.

some polite comments might go a long way.

Goodfellow Air Force Base, 1990

Just a funny, Spouse managed some spooooooooooiled guys. Guys who should know better. Guys in their mid to late 20s. Now, keeping in mind that EA had things like soda machines with 25cent drinks, bins of cereal and milk--free. Full little kitchens on every floor, a cafeteria. A concierge that you could call for haircuts, dry cleaning, car detailing (yeah, because you ain't never gonna go home again). You could wear anything. No dress code. Every desk has a tv and a game machine. Free rentals of movies and games.
And yet those boys (mentally about 10-years-old) complained ALLLLL the time about how bad they had it. Not about the hours, that came later, but about how bad the job was. A couple of years ago they also had regular monthly group events like all going out to see a movie or all going out to go ice skating. That stopped as the work load got heavier.
Yes, this was all their first job.
The lay-offs this time around were substantial and one of their own got the ax (as well as spouse, spouses boss, and a ton of other guys here and there). Looks like suddenly, they all grew up for a moment. One guy actually became physically ill and ran to the bathroom puking when he heard. The guy who got fired, "didn't take it well," from all witnesses. Tears perhaps? But ya gotta feel sorry for him. He's not ever going to find a job with this many perks again in his life. He has no idea what a real job is like. None.

And the Indian (dot, not feather) who said working a 40 hour week is not ever going to happen is now going to have 3 jobs. Manage the guys, technical director, and technical assistant, just like Spouse did when he was first hired. With no extra pay. Welcome to the world of nothing will get done and there's not enough hours in the day.

But, because the culling was such a big deal, this company read it, immediately hit Monster.com for names and skills, saw Spouse and realized they had worked together 2 companies before EA and called him up. So that's in the works. A place Spouse interviewed with, that basically does internet porn, that Spouse passed over for EA is looking for him again. Now, the guy...thing that interviewed him was a tranny that didn't take. Picture a fat, socially inept computer geek. Now give it a sex change. Yeah. Anyway, that could come up as they're moving their whole company to here and going to staff a few people. Sometime. And he has a lunch with a headhunter today and one tomorrow or Friday so things aren't entirely dead. On the other hand, things are always perky at first, they just tend to dry up as time goes by. This is not the first layoff. Let's just hope Spouse will not have to move out for a year to get a job like the last time. Apparently, North Carolina has lots of job openings.

Hello (:

My name is Florence, I'm 20 and I currently split my time between Devon and Somerset, England.
I like MGM musicals and open fires, glitter, rock&roll and sending people postcards.
I think literature is fantastic. Reading is a gift, as is making music.
I'm open minded and full of contradictions.
I love having beautiful things around me, and really admire creative people.

I like to read other peoples journals, but I'm lacking in friends at the moment because I deleted all the people on my friends page who only posted twitter updates. I try to update regularly, about my life and what I've been up to. I'm a fresh at Exeter Law School, so I work hard but try to keep my posts interesting! I'm sadly single, so no fear of getting nauseous as I wax lyrical about "the boy". My fandoms are many and varied, I'll probably have a shared interest with most people. I like active friends :)

Add me, my journal is FO but there is a comments page. Drop me one to make sure I remember to add you back :)

x

Preferred Name : I chose evelynwordsmyth because just about everything else has been taken. Evelyn is my middle name. I'm stuck with it, but I like it. A word smyth isn't exactly who I am, but it's who I want to be. I see the title as setting a goal for myself.
Age : 23
Location : Oregon
Why LJ?: I'm writing and looking for support/feedback. LJ is full of writers and supportive communities. I'm mainly lurking at the moment and I take part in fandom communities: reading fan fiction and talking with other fans of my favorite movies and tv shows.

About Me: The internet is my life. I read, I write, I ponder, and I share with all. I've met many-a interesting personality on here, and I hope to learn and meet more. I work for a local TV station, been there for a year. I graduated college in 2008. I like the color green. I like walking in the park during autumn and walks on the beach in the summer evening. I'm a liberal, I voted for Obama. I'm a girl, in case that wasn't obvious. I like hanging out with friends on my days off. I like riding my bike, walking. I'm white/Europrean-American: Irish, Scottish, and English, to be precise. I've got great blue eyes, but I have to wear contacts/glasses. I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid. I often wander freely, indulging in my imagination, and I am very fond of fantasy and creativity. I hope to travel and change the world someday.

Favorite Books Authors: Christopher Moore and Shakespeare. I'm making a goal to become more literate. My List Here: http://alice-in-blogger-land.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-reading-list-for-summer-and-beyond.html

Favorite Movies : My Movie Sophistication, Let Me Show You It --> Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menance (don't judge me), Star Trek: Voyage Home, Wrath of Khan. Bend It Like Beckham, Blind Date, Wristcutters: A Love Story, Nochnoy Dozor (Night Watch), About Adam, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Kenneth Brannaugh's Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and Hamlet. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep, Milk, Erin Brokovich, Moulin Rouge, Kill Bill, X-Men, the Matrix, Pride & Prejudice, Babel, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Ocean's 11, A Knight's Tale, The Good Girl, Bridget Jones' Diary, Love Actually, Romeo + Juliet, Donnie Darko, Amelie, and just about every Disney 2-D animated feature released from 1989 to 2000. Other movies - similar to these listed are what I like.

Favorite TV Shows: Currently: Grey's Anatomy, Castle, Eastwick, FlashForward, Doctor Who, the Simpsons, Family Guy, Medium, Law & Order, and currently re-watching the old Star Trek series after watching the new movie. In the past: Pushing Daisies, Torchwood, Heroes, That 70s Show, Xena: Warrior Princess.

Miscellaneous / Other : While I use LJ to work on fiction writing, my non-fiction writing (personal/editorial) writing is here: http://alice-in-blogger-land.blogspot.com/

That's it, so...Add me!

Returning to LJ after a long time away (on a new journal). Check my interests for common ground; I'm not going to list them all here. They aren't important anyway. The only thing that matters is whether or not you're enough of a natural people-watcher to add the journal of another person stumbling through life, looking for a deeper purpose and something higher to live for. If you've ever had doubts about the beliefs you were raised with, if you've ever found day-to-day life shallow and unsatisfactory; add me and we'll struggle through together.

How many 4-cycles are there in S_4?

How many 3-cycles?

It would be most convenient for my purposes for there to be eight 3-cycles and six 4-cycles, but I don't know how be mathematically sure. It's not a simple "how many permutations?" combinatorics question because that overcounts 'cause (123) = (231) and such.

Thank you in advance.

~If you can't join 'em, beat 'em.

http://xkcd.com/661/