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Star Trek (viewed at home 11 May 2013)
I actually saw this film in theaters when it came out in 2009. I was still living in New York City at the time, and I remember being irritated with the fabricated relationship between Spock and Uhura. When my grandma, my dad, and I sat down to watch it again, it was my grandmother’s first time. (She ended up liking it and wanted “another episode with the same actors”, so there’s that.) My dad and I talked most of the way through it in quips and incredulity, but in the end, the music was the best. It was great in the 60s (or so I’ve heard), and why fix something when it’s not broken, right? Anyway, my brother’s already announced that he and my dad will be seeing the new movie when it comes out and the family is in Texas in mid-May 2013 for my brother’s college graduation. So, we (re)watched this film partially in order to prepare for that. I’m not sure I’ll get to see it with my father and brother in Texas, but I’m sure I’ll watch the new one sometime.

42 (viewed in theaters 05 May 2013)
Grandma’s choice for family night. Decent. I’m not a huge baseball fan, but if I had a favorite team, it would be the Brooklyn Dodgers. The film fails the Bechdel test, but I suppose it’s a man’s world then and now. -_- I don’t like movies like this (see also: The Blind Side and others) because they just end up making white people feel like we weren’t as bad as we actually were… and still are. It makes white people feel like Racism Is Over, when it’s so obviously not. Ugh. I mean. Just… ugh.

Supernatural, season 6 (viewed at home late April—mid-May 2013)
Okay, so Sammy is back together in one piece… sorta. Castiel’s gone darkside… apparently. Dean’s completely removed himself from Lisa and Ben’s lives… ALL MY FEELS. I just… T_T I want to yell at them all to get the fuck over themselves and be a family again because SERIOUSLY. All this angst. But the more I watch this series, the more I want to write something about sibling relationships in media (film/TV, literature, etc). I’ll put that on my to-do list hahaha. >_>

The Dark Knight Rises (viewed at home 01 May 2013)
I saw The Dark Knight in theaters in 2008 probably ten times, but unfortunately, I never saw Rises even once. I decided one afternoon, after having a bunch of appointments cancelled on me, that I wanted to see the latter, so I met up with my best friend and we rented it. (Novel idea: renting a DVD!) It was… good, but I must admit it felt really long by the end. I thought the “romance” between Bruce Wayne and Miranda Tate was totally contrived and fan-servicey. Ugh. I read up about their backstory, so I get it, but still. I called Robin easily, though I later found out that that character was created specifically for the film and wasn’t an already-existing character. Bane was… hammy, and I didn’t like that so much, but I suppose not every villain can be dark and maniacally insane like I like them. I did like Selina Kyle and Commissioner Gordon. I was expecting more Batman and less Bruce Wayne, but I also thought the storyline was more gritty and realistic than fantastic, at least until the very end. Also, Scarecrow’s appearance as judge was awesome. “Your guilt has already been determined; this is just a sentencing.” Also also, the film utterly and completely fails the Bechdel Test. The film was good, but I liked The Dark Knight much better. Then B mentioned (again, apparently?) that he’s still never seen Batman Begins, so that’s obviously next on the list.

Supernatural, season 5 (viewed at home April 2013)
I can’t even. Sam… and then Dean… and then Sam… and Castiel… and Dean… I can’t. Overall, I think this about sums it up.

30-Day Poetry: 30

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Day 30—Write a poem employing extended metaphor to illustrate the experience of the last thirty days.

Molasses

The jar with molasses
never runs dry, but it does run slow.

Sweet and sticky,
it makes a mess of things

before I can ever get
any in my mouth. The sweet

isn’t for the faint
of heart—it’s made more than one

soul sick
with emotion.

————
Prompts here

30-Day Poetry: 29

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Day 29—Briefly research a poetic form of your choice and write a poem according to the rules of that particular form. (I chose the pantoum.)

PTSD Pantoum

Stand in front of me, where I can see you.
Wake me up slowly, gently.
Don’t worry; it’s just post-traumatic stress.
Some “jokes” aren’t jokes—

Wake me up slowly, gently.
Next time, I will be prepared. I’ll kill you.
Some “jokes” aren’t jokes—
I need to sit with my back to a wall, where I can see the door.

Next time, I will be prepared. I’ll kill you.
Never put your hands on my neck.
I need to sit with my back to a wall, where I can see the door.
Thanks for letting me know you’re an asshole.

I don’t run wearing headphones anymore.
Don’t worry; it’s just post-traumatic stress.
I haven’t forgotten what happened.
Stand in front of me, where I can see you.

————
Prompts here

30-Day Poetry: 28

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WInged Victory of SamothraceDay 28—Visit a virtual art gallery and look around until you find a piece that intrigues you. Write a poem inspired by the artwork.

Winged Victory of Samothrace
—a found poem

An original Greek statue
probably destroyed by an earthquake,
this work was found in countless pieces
in 1863 on the island of Samothrace,
in the northeast Aegean.

The right wing is a plaster copy of the left
wing, the only one to have survived.
The cement base beneath its feet is also modern;
the statue initially stood on the sculpted prow
of the ship. It loomed out of a hilltop sanctuary
at an angle, which explains why less attention
was paid to carving the right-hand side.

Victory is shown as if she were just alighting
on the prow of the ship to which she is bringing divine
favor: with her raised hand, she announces the coming event.

————
Prompts here

30-Day Poetry: 27

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Day 27—Begin with the title “The Poem I’d Never Write.” Then, write that poem.

The Poem I’d Never Write

Rape is fun. It’s just surprise sex!
I really did want it, anyway;
honestly, what was I expecting?

In jeans and a frumpy t-shirt, I was
totally asking for it. It’s all right;
I liked rough sex before, so why not

then, too? Why was I alone with him
in the first place? No one could hear me scream.
Didn’t I know I shouldn’t trust anyone, ever?

Well, don’t worry. I’ve got it all figured out.
I’ve learned my lesson; I should’ve known better.
I won’t trust anyone again, ever.

————
Prompts here

30-Day Poetry: 26

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Day 26—Gather some magazines/catalogs you don’t mind cutting up and spend ten minutes flipping through them looking for words/sentences that spark your interest. Cut out the words as you go, and (at the end of the ten minutes) arrange the words to form a cutout poem.Day 26

Lady Lace

Metropolis living hits rock bottom:
have dog, will travel.

I’ll take a real retreat,
the light of the fire breathing secret.

I am Lady Lace, full moon so bright,
a mermaid’s sweet revenge.

I shine, capture Spring, and disappear.
It’s your missing future:

Make the Sun jealous; surround your
wild side come rain or shine.

We offer perfect lessons, good instinct
time beyond compare.

Maidens need to know…
the official color of passion

It’s delicious. The art of making
scars will never be the same.

————
Prompts here

30-Day Poetry: 25

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Day 25—Write a poem that includes all of the following words: pistachio, ink, pebble, weather, varnish.

The Rain

When my writing’s dark ink dries,
I look in on my sister’s progress with the varnish.
It hasn’t come far, as I imagined it wouldn’t.
The pistachio-colored walls are hindering her
creative process, she says, and
I don’t know if that’s true or not, but
it doesn’t matter because nothing’s getting done anyway.

Rubbing a smooth, lucky pebble in my palm,
I move on toward the door to check the weather—
perhaps she’d be more amicable
to working outside? She wouldn’t mind
the rain.

————
Prompts here